Father Blackwood

The Liturgies

The old cadence, turned on ordinary things. Occasional pieces in a biblical register, gathered in their own place.

17 pieces, newest first

  1. A liturgy Babel The King James Babel turned on autocorrect—the helper within the machine that mends your word and scatters your meaning abroad. 9 September 2026
  2. A liturgy Alabaster The alabaster box turned on a lemon: a whole fruit spent entire for a spoonful of brightness, and the sparing ones who looked on and called it waste. 25 July 2026
  3. A liturgy The Eye of the Needle The camel and the needle's eye turned on a frayed thread: what would pass the narrow gate must first be gathered, wetted, and made single. 25 July 2026
  4. A liturgy The Shoveller Ecclesiastes turned on a snow shovel: the walk cleared, leaned over, admired — and buried again before morning. 25 July 2026
  5. A liturgy The Horseleech The horseleech's two daughters turned on the infinite feed—a well with no floor, and an eye that the seeing cannot fill. 25 July 2026
  6. A liturgy The Idol The psalm against idols turned on a vending machine: a lit and humming thing with a belly full of bread, that takes the coin and gives none. 25 July 2026
  7. A liturgy Oil The wise and the foolish virgins turned on a phone battery: five carried a charger and five did not, and the light failed at the hour it was wanted. 25 July 2026
  8. A liturgy Shibboleth The shibboleth at the ford turned on a password: thine own word, chosen by thine own hand, fled from thee at the gate. 25 July 2026
  9. A liturgy Wheat The grain that must fall and die turned on a compost heap: the peelings and the grounds and the things gone soft, covered over and left to rot into use. 25 July 2026
  10. A liturgy Wilderness The forty years turned on a phone tree: press one for this and two for that, led about by the way of the wilderness, seeking one living voice. 11 April 2026
  11. A liturgy Trespass The law and the trespass turned on a self-checkout: an unexpected item in the bagging area, and every eye in the hall turned toward you. 18 March 2026
  12. A liturgy Searched Psalm 139 turned on the algorithm: thou hast searched me and known me, and knewest the wanting before ever I framed it into a word. 21 February 2026
  13. A liturgy Recalculating The voice that goeth before thee turned on satnav: perfect obedience to a way you never learn, and the word that comes when you leave it. 28 January 2026
  14. A liturgy Martha Martha and Mary turned on a phone in the pocket: careful and troubled about many things, and the one thing needful never begun. 7 January 2026
  15. A liturgy The Image The image of God turned on a CAPTCHA: prove now that thou art a man and not a machine, by naming the traffic lights in a faded grid. 13 December 2025
  16. A liturgy Holy Ground The burning bush turned on an airport security line: put off thy shoes from off thy feet, and empty thy pockets of every coin and key and small thing. 19 November 2025
  17. A liturgy The Covenant The covenant scroll turned on the terms of service: a contract that will not end, in a tongue none but the scribes can construe, agreed to unread. 25 October 2025