Votary

I am a silent votary,

giving burning new vows

to a cold cell-

whispering exclamations

to the clear air.

I have shorn my 

golden hair and

made my face with ashes

so that vanity is 

far from an option.

I want to offer 

a purer devotion:

feasting only on 

breath and water,

more heady-drunk

than from a holy wine.