Beginning Again

by Walt Garlington (July 2023)

The Choir of the Capuchin Church in Rome, François Marius Granet, 1814–15

The lights of the Roman villas went dark
In Britain sixteen centuries ago,
But you raised up the Light of Christ across
The land, building many churches and abbeys
And filling them with godly-minded folk.
–
The Light of Christ is now fading among
Your children in the West, Holy Fathers
Illtud and Dyfrig, who find themselves
Ensnared and deceived by digital worlds
And drugs that bend the mind—doorways into
The perilous realm of raging demons.
–
Gracious Fathers, you once saved Wales from
The deadly snares and savage claws of evil
Wights. Wearing masks of science and healing
They have descended deep into our souls.
And you must drive them out lest we perish
With a darkened nous decaying within
Our heart and a fool’s grin upon our face.

Table of Contents

Walt Garlington was born and raised in that part of Dixieland called Louisiana. A chemical engineer by training, he has spent the last several years writing full-time. He has written essays and poems for The Hayride, New English Review, The Tenth Amendment Center, The Abbeville Institute, Reckonin’, Katehon, Geopolitica, and USA Really. He writes regularly at his own web site, Confiteri: A Southern Perspective.

Follow NER on Twitter @NERIconoclast