Poetry Host: Elizabeth Barrette on Sacred Poetry

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My name is Elizabeth Barrette. This week I'm hosting discussions of sacred poetry.

The world is home to countless religions and spiritual paths. They all contain liturgy and other cultural material, whether spoken and/or written. Much of this is poetry. Some poetic forms are closely associated with a given culture and often appear in its religious poetry, such as the many Buddhist haiku or Islamic ghazals.

Sacred poetry can do many different things. It can celebrate a deity or other spiritual figure. It can muse on numinous experiences or ideas. It can talk about belonging to a religion. It can discuss enlightenment or other sacred goals. It can be part of a ritual. It can even challenge ideas about a given religion or the concept of divinity altogether.

I'll be sharing some classic poems from various world religions, along with some of my own poetry with a similar flavor. Please feel free to chime in with recommendations of sacred poetry or poets that you enjoy. It doesn't have to be from your own religion, or any of the ones I happen to feature -- just stuff that inspires your soul.

Pagan Poetry: "Maenad Prophecy" by Starhawk

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Paganism is a field of spiritual traditions broadly described as "nature religions." This includes a variety of different examples in historic and contemporary cultures. Asatru, Druidry, and Wicca are among the best-known branches but many Pagans simply identify as "eclectic."

Happily, Pagan culture adores  poetry.  Most Pagan magazines include at least some poems.  So do many ceremonial books, because spells and rituals often consist partly or wholly of poetry.  Much has been posted online, especially chants for which you can find huge archives.  Paganism is also one of the few cultures that currently has a thriving oral tradition.  Many chants, songs, and certain bits of ritual are regularly transmitted by word of mouth at festivals.  People hear them, go home, and try it with their own coven or other spiritual group.  There are even folks who can recite some of the historic Pagan poems like the Poetic Edda.  Some of this is explicitly magical or spiritual poetry, while some looks like plain nature poetry because Pagans revere nature.  So you don't necessarily have to be Pagan to find poems that may resonate for you.

One of our greatest living poets is Starhawk.  She has tremendous skill with imagery, word choice, and rhythm.  Her poems, chants, and liturgy are vivid and they really tend to stick in people's minds.  Almost all Pagans today have heard of her and at least seen or heard some of her work, even if they practice a different tradition.  Starhawk is best known for her work in feminist Wicca; she founded Reclaiming and wrote the famous book The Spiral Dance.

"Maenad Prophecy"
by Starhawk

When kings wage unjust war,
When poison fills the skies,
When the rich prey on the poor,
When hope for justice dies

When a spell lies o¹er the land,
Of malice and of lies,
Then a wild and fearless band
Of women shall arise

Crazy saints, yoginis,
Peering through the gloom,
Maenads and dakinis
Witches grab your brooms!

Sweep away the stench
Sweep away the sneers!
Sweep away the clench
Of hunger and of fears

Dance to feel the passion
Dance to wake the wild,
To honor deep compassion,
For the forest and the child,

Dance to keep the Arctic cool,
To keep the jungle green,
Dance for every holy fool,
For every wound unseen.

Dance for justice, dance for peace
Dance for life to thrive,
May beauty, health and joy increase
For every being alive

Dance in love, dance in wrath,
For chains to fall apart,
Dance to choose a better path,
Dance for strength of heart,

All across the nation,
Bankers quail and glower,
Cracked is the foundation
Of the bastions of power

Strong walls crumble,
Kings face their final hour,
An angry earth shall rumble,
Down shall fall the Tower.

And through its stones shall weave the roots
Of a living tree
That offers us its shining fruits
Of truth and liberty

Fruit to fill each empty hand
With sweet gifts of the earth
Dance to heal this bleeding land--

A new world comes to birth.

Pagan Poetry: "Brigid's Braid" by Elizabeth Barrette

[ysabetwordsmith]

I'm a Pagan poet.  I write poetry across many different topics, but this is one of my main categories.  I've been published in major magazines including The Beltane Papers, Circle Network News, Green Egg, NewWitch, PagaNet News, PanGaia, and SageWoman.  I also wrote a book, Composing Magic: How to Create Magical Spells, Rituals, Blessings, Chants, and Prayers.  It explains all kinds of magical and spiritual writing, and it has two whole chapters specifically about poetry.  Most of the examples are Pagan but I included a few from other traditions, so it generalizes well for anyone who wants to learn about writing your own sacred material.  You can find many of my Pagan poems online.

I'd like to call your attention to one in particular, "Brigid's Braid."  It has special formatting so I'm not going to try recreating that here.  The poem is designed to be read aloud by three people working together, and yes, the lines actually do braid. (That was my partner's idea, braiding the lines together.  I worked out the rest of the form on my own.)  I wrote this for an Imbolc ritual and performed it with two other officiants.  It's a good example of how the structure of a poem can embody specific traits associated with its subject; in this case, a three-part poem for a triple goddess who is associated with braids.