Diana Syder
Protestations of Innocence
after The Book of the Dead
Here am I. I have come to thee
in the Hall of Righteousness
that I may be released from all my sins.
O Thou who Recycles
I have not wasted paper or glass since 1990.
O Multiplier of Microbes
I have not been houseproud.
O Giver of Ecstasies
I have not taken mood enhancers, unless you count caffeine.
O Raveller of DNA
I have not been unfaithful to any current partner.
O Thou Opener and Shutter of Doors
I have not wasted opportunities.
O Roller-skating, Hang-gliding One
I have not been sluggish, except during my period.
O Weigher of Scales
I have not taken what was not mine, except used envelopes.
O Thou of Steady Liver
I have not taken alcohol, except as is consistent with a reduction in
the risk of diseases of the heart.
O Pacific One
I have not killed, except for mosquitoes, fleas, grasshoppers
and bacteria, also indirectly sheep, cows, chickens and fish
of culinary varieties.
O Right and Left Handed God
I have been neither Capitalist nor Communist.
O Thou of the Pure Garden
I have not used slug pellets.
O Nester of Jackdaws
I have not cowled my chimney pots.
O Speaker of Curses
I have not been bad tempered, except just before my period.
O Wearer of Masks
I have not concealed my true face, unless I judged it to be
in everyone’s best interest.
O Universal One
I have not been perfect but tried my best.
I honour you. Be kind to my spirit.
Let the Boatman guide me through the firmament
of Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow,
to rest forever in your emptiness.
Diana Syder’s second collection, Maxwell's Rainbow, is to be published by Smith Doorstop in the spring. She won The Poetry Business and Blue Nose Competitions in 1996 and in 1998 was a runner up in the Arvon International Poetry Competition. She is currently a Leverhulme poet-in-residence at the Department of Electronic and Electrical Engineering, University of Sheffield.
Page(s) 74-75
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