Dionysos Melpomenios,
who pours out words like wine,
whose wisdom is sung
before it is understood,
still the restless movements of my mind.
Let me not seek only what confirms my opinions,
nor overlook what calls me to change.
Open my ears to hear beyond the sound of words.
Open my eyes to behold the symbols
hidden within the symbols.
Open my heart to receive what cannot
be taught by argument alone.
If these sacred words comfort me,
let me give thanks.
If they challenge me,
let me remain humble.
If they confuse me,
grant me patience and persistence,
until I untangle the knot.
If they illumine me,
keep me from pride.
May Mētis dance with you Dionysos as I read,
weaving together memory,
reason, intuition, and revelation.
Grant that these texts become
not merely something I have read,
but something I have lived.
May every verse draw me deeper
into your mysteries,
until the reader,
the reading,
and the One who is read
are joined in sacred communion.