“holy resurrection monastery”

by Jacob Riyeff

—st. nazianz, wi 

the hall lined with cyrillic inscriptions 

i can’t begin to understand. and darkness 

reigns for now. the scuttling of monks 

and visitors is a song in the quiet before dawn. 

the icons demand kisses, and always 

more incense, the young deacon a whirling 

seraph, sash in hand. and now they’re clapping 

up and down the halls upstairs, 

the call to awaken, semantron pulses 

haunt the p.a., the call to prayer. 

dark figures moving in the dark. 

12-29-18 

Jacob Riyeff is a translator, teacher, and poet. His books include his translations and editions of Benedictine works from the early medieval through the modern periods, as well as his own poetry collection, Sunk in Your Shipwreck. Jacob lives in Milwaukee's East Village. Find him at:

web: jacobriyeff.com

blog: jacobriyeff.com/blog

twitter: @riyeff