Scented Words

A love poem to my prayer book.

I come to you, at least, three times a day;
morning, noon and night
I seek your solace
and inhale the perfume of roses and hyacinths.

Phrase by phrase I consume your scented words;
expressions that combine
the savor of honey and bitter herbs
with the fragments of my shattered heart.

Embossed on your dark green cover
faith’s nine-pointed star
shines out
about the terror of the pit.

Reverence fills my soul
and I kiss you.

Kiss you again,
then open you to love’s salutation.

The black words printed
on your white pages
echo salvation’s melody.

Sentence by sentence I intone
the prayers
revealed by the pen of glory.

Without you
the insufficiency of my own words
would reverberate
hollow and forlorn
through the gate of paradise
and never reach the goal of my desire.