Rhythm of the Rite

                      
	(chastity)

When idle Sodomites,
	Fed to the full,
Abandoned chastity
	To follow shame;
When David’s soul,
	Through lust
Allowed the pull
	Of evil-doing tests
To cloud his name
	I was forewarned that
Chastising my flesh
	Embraces iron-chain work
	of heavy mesh.

Bold test of skill
	Challenge this novice knight;
Late-privileged to share,
	In history,
The glory of a faint and fading light
	Of Roland’s faith captured in mystery.
Now I confess, 	
	And humbly ask Thy power
To cleanse me of all sins
	In this late hour.

Nightwatch I pledge,
	avoiding barren days.
Ezechiel! Stand guard
	lest I stand still –
Quiescent in my life’s
	death-dealing ways.
Provision for my soul
	rests in God’s will;
Sanctifying grace,
	my constant passion;
Fired by the flame of faith,
	in my fashion.

The Curator’s Notes: This poem treats chastity not merely as sexual purity but as a broader spiritual discipline—the ordering of all desires toward God rather than self-gratification. The military and knightly imagery frames it as active warfare requiring vigilance, not passive avoidance. The poem’s fragmented form mirrors its content: the struggle for chastity is not smooth or regular but requires constant adjustment, vigilance, and renewal. The poet positions herself humbly (as a “novice”) while also claiming agency and determination (“in my fashion”). There’s an interesting tension between the weight of tradition (biblical examples, medieval heroism) and personal, contemporary struggle—acknowledging that the “faint and fading light” of past faith must somehow illuminate present effort.