October 13, 2011

The Mercy We Long For

Seaside at Saint Maries, by Vincent van Gogh

Don't boast, you judges, that you no longer torture
or clamp an iron collar 'round the neck.
Though the mercy we long for
may rearrange your features

and the scaffold fall into disuse
like an outgrown toy,
no one is better off.
The god of true mercy would step differently

into the undefended heart.
He would enter with radiance
the way gods do, strong as the sea wind

for treasure-bearing ships, and claim us lightly
as the child of an infinite union
absorbed in play.

Sonnet to Orpheus II, 9

1 comment:

  1. What a terrific poem- it really does describe the true God for me and not the unflattering depiction of a demanding and harsh punitive God that is oft cited. Thanks so much
    Blessings

    ReplyDelete

"Everything is blooming most recklessly; if it were voices instead of colors, there would be an unbelievable shrieking into the heart of the night."

~ Rainer Maria Rilke

Go ahead, bloom recklessly!