The Priest King

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Priest King

  

The awaiting hopefuls gather, 

their hastiest converging necessary.

They speak in hushed and conciliatory tones.

 

Newly selected,

this trusty replacement,

will be born of white smoke,

will choose a protective moniker,

make promises for a sure shirking from sin.

 

Censers sway to honor this most recent 

broker of treaties, and keeper of the faithful.

The gray at his temples on the side of his head

reminds him he must keep the edifice temple clean.

 

The faithless say that much written 

within past communiques will become obsolete.

The faithless say one hand cannot save all,

but the priest king reminds us

that civility buys hope,

and, for centuries, there has been one 

who can do the saving.

 

Linda Imbler

 

 Examples of Linda’s poetry and a listing of publications can be found at

lindaspoetryblog.blogspot.com. Linda is an avid reader, 

classical guitar player, and a practitioner of both Yoga and Tai Chi.  In, addition, she helps her husband, a Luthier, build acoustic guitars.  She lives in Wichita, Kansas, U.S.A.  She enjoys her 200-gallon saltwater reef tank wherein resides her 21 year old yellow tang.  Linda’s published paperback poetry collections include Big Questions, Little Sleep,  Big Questions, Little Sleep: Second Edition, Lost and Found, Red Is The Sunrise, Bus Lights, Travel Sights: Nashville and Back, and Spica’s Frequency. She has four e-books published by Soma Publishing;  The Sea’s Secret Song, Pairings, which is a hybrid ebook of short fiction and poetry, That Fifth Element, and Per Quindecim. Linda has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize and five Best Of The Nets.