[a poem for J-Wave and for Patricajj]
Let us see, in the faces of neighbors (known and unknown)
the face of our Lord and our God, Jesus, the Christ.
Let us see, in the Face of our Lord Jesus Christ (known and to be known)
the faces of our neighbors freshly revealed.
Let us draw together in the fellowship of Nearing;
without the trumped-up terrors of fearing;
regardless of what aspects are, or are not, appearing.
Let us gather together while our time is yet today.
Let us weave our common cloth more closely, lest it further fray.
Let us not hesitate or disdain to draw near
each other while we are still local here:
for this, too, is a preparation
for the Heaven's eternal jubilation.
Starward
[*/+/^]
Author's Notes/Comments:
This poem assembled itself with little if any alteration from me. I know that it mixes rhyme with unrhyme, and I would not normally have chosen to do so. That is how I know the poem has a spiritual inspiration, because it does not conform to my idea of structural consistency, but I dare not attempt to compel it into compliance with my previous poems.
January 9th, 2022: I SINCERELY APOLOGIZE FOR THE TYPOS THAT WERE IN THE FINISHED DRAFT OF THIS POEM. I BELIEVE I HAVE CORRECTED THEM, BUT I AM SORRY THAT THEY HAPPENED IN THE FIRST PLACE.
The poem came to me immediately after receiving a comment from Patriciajj, including an encouraging word about using the term "Nearing." That led me to hope that I might someday be able to make a sequence of themes and variations on that word---perhaps like Chopin's Twenty-Four Preludes?---but that I cannot guarantee, so I will not verbally commit to it. I am grateful to have this one, and this one, if it be the only one, will be sufficient.
The dedication of this poem is to two people who have had a tremendous impact on my life. This poem would not have come to me without Patricia's comment. The dedication is not an attempt to curry favor, or to obligate her to make a comment, but an acknowledgement of my indebtedness to her, and of the inspirational power of her words.
I'll tell you how I know that
I'll tell you how I know that this came from a place within you yet beyond you: It alludes to ancient wisdom and to universal, esoteric truths. The fact that it poured itself onto the page in your eloquent voice but without the constraints of your preferred forms (appropriate for your other poems but for not this one) is another sign of a finer, wondrous source of inspiration.
Yet it takes skill to funnel higher wisdom onto the page without filtering it too much with poetic interpretations that come from overthinking and second-guessing. And yet you managed to maintain the purity of the message while delivering it in a reliquary of soft, gleaming artistry.
There's no shortcut to a profound relationship with the Almighty. You can't get there any other way but through love. Not the easy, convenient love that falls apart with every gust of emotional wind, but the love you described in this gorgeous and moving poem.
To see in "the faces of our neighbors . . . the Face of Our Lord . . . regardless of what aspects are, or are not, appearing."
Yes! You struck gold. That's what it's about. That's all there is, actually.
A melodic invitation to "weave our common cloth more closely". Amen and bravo!
Thank you kindly for your acknowledgment and support.
And thank you for that very
And thank you for that very kind comment. I do not think I could have gotten this poem down without the precedent of your cosmic poems.
Starward