From Mysterium

A member of the Order, Alice Despard has penned this beautiful poem that is so powerfully evocative of Advent. Here is her offering:

Oh, restless hearts,
so full of disquiet and unease,
unbind yourselves from the mad rush of these days
and seek out the eternal pivot point
upon which the cosmos entire spins
and is still all at once.

Allow the deep mystery to penetrate
through the layers of cold and harsh realities,
to penetrate the heart center
and begin the arduous task
of radiating the glory of Love outward,
back into the ethers of the cosmos,
back into the Source of All That Is.

Take time to rest in quietude,
to explore and ponder the fissures
and recesses of thine own soul.

Smooth the wrinkles of anxiety from your brow
and bow in deep humility towards the Coming One.

Some with furtive step,
some with strongest stride
explore the dark and hidden hallways
of their souls.

Hold a steady gaze upon the inner fire:
Does it smolder and smoke,
or does it blaze and consume brightly?

Breathe upon thine inner fire,
and stoke it with spirit!

Lay your cares carefully upon the inner fire-
balancing them like logs just so-
and sense the burning,
the inner conflagration of sin
upon heart's heat,
and let this dense matter
be consumed utterly in divine flame,
leaving only lightest ash to drift upward
in offering to the Most High.

Offer up yourselves, consumed in fire,
burning off heaviness and care,
leaving behind only a lingering fragrance
of incarnate purity.

-- from Majesterium by Alice Despard