Guardians, poem

Sestina: O, Guardian Most Dear

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O, Guardian Most Dear*

From earth to earth, drawn by the hand of need,
and wielded by the arm of justice to
protect all people, serve the Lord Father,
uphold the Sacred Balance. Let thy will
never falter, thy heart never become
corrupted, O my Guardian most dear.

In times of strife, O Guardian Most Dear
be at my side to guard, guide and help at need.
Shelter me when I’m lost, lest I become
Swamped by the world’s darkness. Be a light to
my path. Shield me from all evil. You will
protect those I hold in my heart, Father.

O Guardian most dear, I hear Father
calling. Darkness threatens, O Guardian dear.
Be my hope now that storms oppress me. Will
you lead me home? More than ever I need
you. Life’s sweetness is lost,  taken away by too
much sorrow. Sadness does not me become…

O, Guardian dear, my savior become.
Cleave the darkness with the sword thy Father
gave you. Cast demons out with your light. To-
morrow comes in arms of comfort. My dear
Guardian, thy voice speaks wisdom at need.
Your presence kindles hope. You’re will’s my will.

O Guardian most dear, what is your will?
Speak your words and my shield they will become.
Speak and fashion for me a sword at need,
Clothe me in the pure light of your Father.
Give me your armor O, Guardian dear.
Hammer my will till its hard as iron too

O Guardian dear, your labors done, to-
morrow comes and I wonder if  you will
still be there? Consign not your blade, dear,
to the earth’s muddy embrace. It becomes
you not this martyrdom. Don’t give Father
back his gifts. O, Guardian, I still need–

 You to once more my champion become.
Will your shield and seize the sword your father
gave to you. Dear Guardian, I still need…

~~~

*Based off several prayers from my fantasy series. I mashed them together to make this sestina. I haven’t introduced my Guardians yet but I will. They are my favorite characters to write about. Who knows, you may have already encountered someone who will become one later. You’ll just have to wait and see.

Technical Specs

sestina

Above is a screen shot (of Wikipedia’s table) of the end word position for the six stanzas in a sestina. The last stanza is supposed to be something like this, according to Wikipedia:

It consists of three lines that include all six of the line-endings words of the preceding stanzas. This should take the pattern of 2–5, 4–3, 6–1 (numbers relative to the first stanza); the first end-word of each pair can occur anywhere in the line, while the second must end the line.[3

30 thoughts on “Sestina: O, Guardian Most Dear”

  4. Holy cow Melinda I have never even attempted a sestina you are so talented, much more than I! Is your fantasy series published? I have not published a book yet but I’m collecting poems for one. I wrote for 3 years to fill it. Love your work! I’ll be around to read more going offline now. Bravo!!

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    1. Thank you! Around the same age as you, I would get up after my parents put me to sleep and peer out the window to see if I could spot my Guardian angel doing a fly by. I tried everything I could think of but I never saw. On clear nights when i’m out alone, I still turn my gaze skywards and sneak a peek in hopes of seeing my angel. .

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    2. I find we meet angels all the time…a person grabbed my arm on the city street seeing a cyclist riding into me, a woman who screamed to my grandson last week to run when she saw a pedophile talking to him from his car…we meet angels all the time:)

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  10. Brilliant! Beautifully done, Melinda! I doff my (non-existent) hat to you.
    It’s funny — you sent me the link to this, saying, “That sestina you encouraged me to do. thanks again for the motivation.” I say to you now: “Your effort and lovely sestina is encouraging me to get to work on mine.”
    However, I’m taking tonight off. Will do something either tomorrow, or on Sunday!
    Great work!

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