Shaoyin

All in a flash the supplicant stands, suddenly illuminated by the expanding disk of the moon. As clouds might drift to obscure reflected light, the voices of memory whisper in the ear. A bitter draft is poured into the chalice, the near-deceased transubstantiated in the descendant flesh: a communion realized in the chapel of suffering. The subtle arc of stars and spheres circle around a central pole: its length conjoining Heaven and Earth. Cold blows above the waters. An unseen wind blows and lists like an echo. The sole flame sputters and sparks: an irrepressible fire yet burns in the nave.