Vulnerability visible, thin fragility decorating,
Refined carpentry creation,
A table next to the Altar,
Bold in lacking, strength in weakness,
Silent in demand, quietly standing,
Wooden perch of pronouncement,
A sublime displaying of burning incense,
Wafting upward and Eucharist bells,
Four legs acting pillars during Mass,
Symbolically, the Gospels supporting,
Curving crafted lines of subtle intent,
Minimal structure amidst the sanctuary,
Precious protection in need of restraint,
A drop of water and wine mixing,
Everything susceptible, the salvation of man.

Left alone, unaided in effort, abandoning ambition, rain drops infusing,
A voice chanting within the lasting body of earthily creation, a call,
One amongst many living and deceased, revealing depravation, ceaseless cessation,
An example within a reflection lacking self-consciousness, a habit hood pulled over the head, disappearing,
Mediocrity pronounced, salvation defined, perfection announced within unification,
Reality usurping chatter, noisy dispositions, no dispensations, a war without wage, hidden amidst orders,
For All is the same within individuality, returning to the center, wandering deserted, the prodigal son returns,
One Son eternal, a Father patient, loving, and kind, a Dove descending,
Walking solitary down a darkened cloister hall, fluted columns to the left and right, silent in witness,
Desert settling, boundaries pronounced, lines of demarcation plotted about, points of contemplation planted as seeds,
Day after day starting anew, stripped bare to the bone and still bleeding, the body remains, a soul imperfect,
The heart beats as the mind surrenders, the will renders relation, stubborn and old, fighting the whole way,
In little ways, nothing great accomplished, nothing superior established, nothing done in magnificence,
Home bound, distinction and division soothed away, attrition the lessening, no hope of papal ascension,
Argument and debate silenced, willing to be forgotten, willing no longer, religious aspirations and reputation erased,
Religious authority embraced, sacrificing exceptional performance, lowly within the center of hierarchy,
A Carthusian monk sits alone with his brothers, alive and awake in Christ.

Reposing within my own life.
The watcher observes the one who acts.
During Mass, a voice speaks:

Be gentle and kind,
Be caring and compassionate,
In all things.
I provide the treasure of mystery,
The blessings of space,
Allowing the healing of time.

The nearest way to God
Leads through love’s open door;
The path of knowledge is
Too slow for evermore.

‘The Cherubinic Wanderer’
Silesius Angelus

Afford the grace to see beyond,
The veil of Your Eucharistic face,
Interior dark, buffeted by passions and desires,
Self-inflection pounding, battering, and banged,
Sitting at the foot of the Cross,
I barely hold on to a bloodstained toe,
Desperation locked hold, I cannot let go,
I will not let go,
The plundering descent pulls strong and hard,
Forces determined, exterior and internal,
Hurricanes whipping, fires searing, a roar deafening,
Sensual upheaval, mind reeling,
I will not let go
I will to cling to love,
I know nothing more,
I will not let go,
All through sanctifying grace.

A loving mother cradles her Son,
Bodily heat shared,
Nursing warmth,
Allowing maturation,
Separation impermanent,
The child grows,
Endless silence reigns,
Within faith, hope, and charity,
Standing eternal for all life,
The Cross awaits.