All we need of God
is already within us,
so why go without?
A deity is most devout
when dying grievances are dire:
the fallow fields of shallow doubt
to deeply flood with fickle fire,
their unborn blossoms budding higher;
the honest urge, the hidden force
beneath the burning water's source
that cleanly streaks the witness wall
behind its noble, tumbling course;
and while the Knight has miles to fall,
to strike the truest Heart of All
the squire holds aloft His lance;
and, by such smolderings of chance,
lay-servants take their lords to task;
what heathen priestesses advance
the pious idols may not ask—
is God a mirror or a mask?
-commonly credited to Saint Anna Tabatha Olaythe