Vox Populi
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Adam Bittleston: September
Into the ripening
Of earth’s great gifts
The mists of autumn
Begin to be woven.
We feel the touches
Of winter’s coming,
The gentle earth
Has suffered conflict
Of man with man.
Dust is the witness
Of faithless hearts,
Of cruel thoughts,
May we learn
To care for the earth
Though the purpose of Michael,
Lord of the starry iron,
And the help of Raphael
Spirit of the morning dew.
~~~~
Adam Bittleston (1911–1989) was an ordained priest of The Christian Community, a movement for religious renewal founded in 1922 with the help of Rudolf Steiner, philosopher and the founder of Anthroposophy. From his student days in Oxford, Bittleston was a close friend of William Golding, author of Lord of the Flies. His wife, Gisela, once wrote that his “main interest was to help people sort out their destiny.” His knowledge of Shakespeare was equal to that of any academic or writer of his time, and most of his books and articles draw deeply on Shakespeare’s work. Bittleston was able to translate spiritual ideas into modern life and was the author of several books, including Meditative Prayers for Today (1953), Human Needs and Cosmic Answers: The Spirit of the Circling Stars (1975), Our Spiritual Companions (1983), The Seven Planets (1985), From Loneliness to Connection (1987), and Counselling and Spiritual Development (1988).
Poem copyright 1953 The Christian Community. From Meditative Prayers for Today (Floris Books, 1953).
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This captures so much in just a few lines.
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Happy St Michael’s day to you, dear friend! I had never heard of “Michaelmas”…
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I’m a lapsed fundamentalist Baptist, so I’d never heard of it until my kids were in the Waldorf school years ago, and the Saints Days were celebrated with semi-pagan rituals. Michaelmas is the celebration that welcomes Autumn.
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Into the ripening…Spirit of the morning dew. With many vivid, earthly images in between.
Ah, September, how it passes with dust and mayhem for so many. But perhaps with spirit unabashed, if we only learn to care for the earth and each other (with the help of spiritual poems like this)
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Lovely, Jim. Thank you.
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Yes, may we learn.
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Yes, I love this poem. An invocation for Michaelmas.
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Bringing to mind “Bavarian Gentians” by D.H. Lawrence, which compelled teenage me with its music and mystery.
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Interesting comparison. Thank you, Luray.
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