Elizabeth Barrette (ysabetwordsmith) wrote,
Elizabeth Barrette
ysabetwordsmith
  • Mood: busy

Poem: "Star of Gailah"

This poem belongs to the Path of the Paladins series, and you can read more about that on the Serial Poetry page.  It has been sponsored by laffingkat as part of the half-price poetry sale.  It didn't come out of a fishbowl, just popped into my head one day while I was riding in the car.  It's a hymn that Gailah's paladins often use for invoking her power, sometimes the whole thing, other times just one relevant verse.  In my head it sounds kind of like Gregorian chant, although it's polyphonic rather than monophonic.  But still gorgeous choral church music.


Star of Gailah


Shine on, star of hope and mercy
Shine on, star of guiding grace
Shine on, star of peace, compassion
Winging to us in this place

Shine on, star of pure bright virtue
White as snowfall, light as lace
Shine on, star of truth and freedom
Show to us our Lady's face

Shine on, star of might and valor
Evil vanquished without trace
Shine on, star of strength, protection
Armor us with honor's brace

Shine on, star against the darkness
Shine on, star of steady pace
Shine on, star of holy sanction
Light up all this sacred space

Shine on, star of health and healing
Soothe us with a soft embrace
Shine on, star of dear redemption
Capturing without a chase

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fantasy, music, poem, poetry, reading, spirituality, writing
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  • 5 comments
zianuray

zianuray

May 18 2012, 00:16:11 UTC 9 years ago

I hear this as plainsong, or maybe with chime-bells threaded through.
ysabetwordsmith

Well...

ysabetwordsmith

May 18 2012, 00:48:19 UTC 9 years ago

Close. It doesn't have instrumental music, but does have musical divergence in the voices. I really like the melody/harmony. They stay together part of the time and then one goes higher, so there are these little uplifts in the sound.
mdlbear

Re: Well...

mdlbear

October 3 2017, 16:19:46 UTC 3 years ago

I would love to hear this sung! (Or see the sheet music, if you have it.) Would that be possible?
siege

siege

May 18 2012, 00:34:59 UTC 9 years ago

This reads to me as something that might be appropriate for a spell-working involving the Star card from a traditional tarot deck. Alternatively, an invocation for a ceremony involving one or more Powers of sky and/or light.
ysabetwordsmith

Yes...

ysabetwordsmith

May 18 2012, 00:53:02 UTC 9 years ago

It should work for the Star card, that's my significator so I can usually light it up just fine. And this does work as a hymn or a spell incantation for accessing positive energy or virtues.

It's kind of ironic, because usually the power loss is really huge going between universes, but Gailah's forces are already so low-key, the gap is a lot smaller. Someone here with reasonable spiritual experience could get about as much effect with this as an ordinary follower of Gailah there. Paladins have more range but even they can't do what they used to be able to do with it. So the comparison is interesting. Huh. Hadn't really thought of that before.