Final Reproof Poem by Steve Slimm

1) Godless Descent




listless -
falling
helplessly down
and down



You
once put
your loving arms
around me


it
was
sweet
shelter





You
once
cupped
my fall
with
big hands






ONCE




NOW
You are
far away



I keep you
THERE
with the long arm of Defence



the arm is
heavy
dead meat
cold
rigid
and utterly
unbending


even descending
at 32 feet
per second
per second
it
is
frozen



helpless
am I
to thaw out joints


powerless
I am
in decent




who will be able
to break
this fall?



Who?

before
too late
I
explode
into
Oblivion?



what
gravity
pulls
me
down?

Into
which
star
am I
being
sucked?


toward what blackness?



black-
holed
darkness






D e a t h....and.... the. l o n g. a r m. of d e f e n c e

between
these
stones
I stand

and
fall



Oh God – keep away from me!


And yet...






2) Staying in Touch




Outside of Touch
there is only
Being



Being alone
feels outside
of Everything



all Things
wholesome
are in Touch



Being
out of Touch
is Nothingness



Life is
Being
in Touch
















3) illusionary pose



do I really imagine
I can keep you
away from me
with an outstretched arm?


can I think
so unintelligently
of ways
to abandon myself?


even plummeting
toward death
could only be falling
into you


control finds no place
in a realm
where illusion
has ceased


I kid myself
to believe I can
withhold you
at arm's length


even in the pose
my strong arm weakens
revealing
an absurd illusion










4) Understanding



Deciding to make a Stand
in the midst of my own Circumstance
was courageous

and bright


Forgetting to bow the head
and to let the arms hang loose
only deserves to be seen

as an oversight


With left arm outstretched
to hold You at bay
and my right engaged in the fray

was no way to stand


So I lay down the shield
and cast off the sword
to stand amidst circumstance

unarmed and defenceless


You are my sword and shield
You are my overall Standing
You are my Life - and You are my Death

Without You I cease to exist


This being understood by me
I am free to stand straight and tall
I am the UnderStanding of You

And by You I am understood






5) Communion



It was said
that gifts of Sacrifice
would one day cease

They became
something of necessity
in accord with Justice

They become
quite unnecessary
on account of Love




It is said
that the gift of Gratitude
is everlasting and pure

It became
something to strive for
in accord with Peace

It becomes
something to live by
on account of Grace




It will be said
that the gift to Commune
is greater than life

It becomes
something to live for
in accord with Oneness

It will become
something to die for
in concert with The Infinite