ALTAR – A Poem by Camille Maurine

fire hands

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Place yourself on the altar,
There with the flowers and dancing flames,
The sacred stones and icons.
Offer your heart to the mystery.

Here on this hallowed ground,
Fall to your knees, press your belly to the Earth,
Be held in her loving arms and let go.

Surrender your sorrow,
Disappointments and doubts,
Worn stories and self-descriptions,
All your envy and fear.

Dissolve into darkness,
The ancient healing depths.
Offer yourself to this fertile soil,
Feed your wounds to the worms.

Cry out from the bottomless well
As if there is no tomorrow.
Offer your tears to the ocean of love,
A river flowing back to the source.

Go further still, into the furnace of creation,
The holy primal fire.
Step onto the pyre, dance and roar –
Desires and dreams burning clean,
Down to the golden essence of your being.

Here, here,
Where death turns into life,
And down turns to up,
Remember the spark that ignited this birth,
The inspiration to incarnate.

Cherish this breath, as innocent as the first,
Newborn, willing, free.
Open your eyes to the miracle –
These flowers, these stars, this sacred Earth,
These hands, these hearts,
This company of angels.

This dancing flame, this ocean of love –
You are this altar and the offering,
Radiant beyond belief,
An icon, an avatar
Of the Divine.


– Camille Maurine
1 January 2019