Dayna Patterson
Made from circles of paper or parchment,
the volvelle was part timepiece, part floppy disk,
and part crystal ball
—Rheagan Martin, The Getty Iris
More than the bishop’s gold crosier
with a face hidden somewhere in the wooden staff;
more than the sketches made from early
microscopes of bugs’ wings interlaced;
more than the illuminated Christ on his cross
with drawback curtain of red grenadine;
Here in the Folger Shakespeare Library,
among the display of 16th-century books,
this one snags my roving attention—
I hunch over the volvelle.
From Latin volvere—to turn, I turn and turn
the volvelle in my mind like a sin
of omission. Two rundells revolve on a paper pivot,
arms that could point the path of the solis
and luna, or could determine
a Universal Address by aligning starlight.
Nine letters representing the nine names of God
swivel into sacred combinations,
an invention meant to settle all
religious disputes, though I’m not sure how
arranging nine names could quell
any differences, calm any heads.
I confess I believed brads and paper wheels
the make-do of kindergarten teachers
conjuring small magic to captivate
their captors, spin a few minutes
into a few hours. Hard to believe
these little devices, paper astrolabes,
were once labeled dark arts, shunned
by skeptics, resentful of their sussurate
prophecies. A cautious sort myself, I confess
I whisper past glass, prophesy
to me, unwind, unfold, say which
is which. Then I hold my breath, watch for the twitch.
Dayna Patterson (daynapatterson.com) is a co-editor (with Tyler Chadwick and Martin Pulido) of Dove Song: Heavenly Mother in Mormon Poetry. She is a consulting editor for Bellingham Review, poetry editor for Exponent II Magazine, and founding editor-in-chief of Psaltery & Lyre. Her work has appeared recently in Hotel Amerika, Boxcar Poetry Review, and Sweet.