Stephen is a web developer, Bahá'í, and interfaith activist in St. Paul, Minnesota. He likes to write about religion, social justice, sustainability, science, programming, &c.

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poetry, prose, and other strings of words · 1993 - 2003

Unicornus Tuetur

Number 117

January 8, 1997

The unicorn still sits
Locked in her cage –
Her castle of ice boiling
And seething about her;
And I can do nothing,
For life is my mantra,
Life the dream I chant
In the waking hours of this gloom;
Pestilence–you will not find
It in here, trapped among
The cruel spears of wood
And knives of iron;
Dreams cannot shake me—
Dominus diu mansit—
Cannot break the hold over me,
Manens veritas me habet;
The glowing embers of this fire
Seem so impossible,
To me, here and now
As the glowing sun ignites all;
These words are inane—
I speak them everyday,
And who is listening
To my refrain?
Dominus mihi auscultat
Tamen no possum
Propter sanguis in mis aurium
Pulsat;
So impossible—
All of it,
Yet everything is possible
When you’ve opened your eyes;
The muscles struggle,
Tense, bunching,
The hare ready to spring…
Yet still I cannot see;
Vita mihi date!
Hic veniebar,
Atque hic sto
Cogitans me paratum quo mihi offeretis;
But we are never ready,
Such is the wisdom of the ages,
And the unicorn awaits—
My beacon…

Translation from the Latin:

Title:
The Unicorn Gazes

4th Stanza, Lines 14 & 16:
The Master has waited for a long time // Waiting, the truth holds me

7th Stanza, Lines 25-28:
The Master listens to me / Though I cannot / On account of the blood in my ears / Pulsing;

10th Stanza, Lines 37-40:
(You all) Give life to me! / Here I was brought / And here I stand / Thinking myself ready for what you offer to me;