Things they taught me in Catholic school: How to genuflect How to raise my cupped hands to receive Christ’s wafer flesh on my tongue In a way that didn’t leave pieces of Jesus between my teeth. All the saints, all the holiness outsourced In the first gig economy & Sin. Girls if you have the urge to sin Plant flowers in your garden. I’ve always had beautiful roses.
Things they taught me in Catholic school: Transferable skills Stolen from pagan lore and worship Through the senses Brass incense holder and sandalwood Forest green or deep purple (the colour of sin) Draped across the altar, Woven gold vestments and Votive candles.
And now my ritual. Each day of worship Beneath the Banyan, where the Asian spirits live With the magpies and lorikeets And here I stand In prayer to protect Her buttress roots from plastic beside The ancient Gadigal river. An act of devotion. I pray to her canopy, and she answers with peace And I listen, I listen. Good Catholic girl that I am.
Word upon Word 