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ARTS AND CULTURE

Op-shop religion

  • 21 February 2012

We cannot measurefor Thomas von Kempen

We cannot measureThose saved by the WordBut those fallen and assaultedBy, let's be clear, the Word

Seek a suitable time for meditationOn the saved who live in secret pactsHiding from the harsh worldBy wrapping all in holy clothNever holding the courageTo unwrap

 

Tweed jacket

you must leave rather soonor they'll cry 'get out!'

if you try on any more religionstorn, weary & greylike many a tweed jacketfrom St Vinnie's

they're never your sizeand they humble your closetso proudly

 

The coals I carried for you

Who am I to deny your genealogyin the form of commercial paganism?Those earthly stars hardly matchthe real ones just overhead now.

High voltage delirium found solacein underfed unicornsexpounding commonsense.Why not turn inward instead?

 

Pixilation

our preserverour soon-to-bestreets to be litteredwith deconstructing waresno natural life-forceto engulf and spiral through

only the 'products'computer chip fragmentsreplacing the 'sands of time'

pixilation earthDOS-dust

 

It overwhelms

and your lawless heartcannot intend another divideto break throughto bend throughto chew through

the adultery you commitin your heartmakes churchessuch scarce ventures

but all of that skinthat you pace foroverwhelms youralready bright yearningin the shadowsof cold compunction

 

Clutching at air

Of course, all longhairs are assuredThat you can't rely on anyone, forAnything, for any length of time,For any staidness in space, for anyRapture dissipated out in a friend'sKind impatience.

Offer a hand up to offer another lifeIn the desert to one inhaling dust, asHe denies the metaphoric futilities.It isn't exactly life, but admit it freely,If you were a sun-baked carrion, orSimple fearing the marketplace. HereYour soul would leap, forgotten byDealing, crushed by opportunity.

If this being does not transpire, weTurn, after clutching at air, to Christ.For the time-watched glory is there.The baggage, on first sight, is slim,He's travelling light, he'll softenThose silly little whims.

But more so for the pathetic weaknessThat walks on high without aspirationOr pill. His shorn power as the lamb, notAs the holder of the keys to the lost andFound box. The smudge of sweat uponA clean, crisp page, a wrinkled face lit,The joy of a crippled black pup. 

Matthew John Davies is a writer and blogger from Brisbane, Australia. He has been published in Cottonmouth, Page Seventeen and  Skive Magazine.