*Enchiridion

Clad in leather;
with layered skirts of soft tissue
and gilded edging-
The better to tempt my hungry soul...

Adorned with ribbons;
falling from crown to feet.
My fingers glide from front to back,
the better to mark the sweetest spots...

Young as baby's breath;
sweet whispers of a child.
Sad lamentations of a weeping widow;
my soul tells me I must possess her...

Yet it is I who am possessed!
I slit and spread her warm leather wide
as wisdom flows with passion of Spirit.
This is my sweetest font--my Bible...

*Archaic — a manual or a book