Poetic-Verses from ATHANASE
You Say Come Close
to Norton Hodges
‘…whither I go,
ye cannot come.'
St John 8,21
The endless dread inside, among,
above, beneath my books!
Words forged from fear, countless numbers,
pallid pages
where fear lives, fear the widow whom the hand
cannot contain!
Roads, fences, journey through
tears,
ocean, snowfalls, cliffs, palm trees, everything except
the dream within the Dream! Breezes
looking for new breath,
wild birds thirsty for peace!
…whither I go,
ye cannot come.'
Lord?
Quiet! Cry out, speak in silence!
I can listen with My eyes!
Come here, run, hurry,
come close,
now that you know
the blank solemn weight
of what you call sin
and I call deafness!
But You can't
speak to me like this Lord,
You can't really say:
You'll die in sin!
Aren't You the Redeemer, the Lover,
the Merciful,
the Life I most adorn with life?
Come close! You say, there,
lay against Me, upon My Heart!
What makes others turn away is
the blood of true light,
the Light of true blood!
I am powerless!
Look with the beating waves
of your heart,
rays of light are emerging from
every seed of air!
Come close!
Everything in mercy
is Light!
I'm waiting for you!
Translated from the French by Norton Hodges
‘…whither I go,
ye cannot come.'
St John 8,21
The endless dread inside, among,
above, beneath my books!
Words forged from fear, countless numbers,
pallid pages
where fear lives, fear the widow whom the hand
cannot contain!
Roads, fences, journey through
tears,
ocean, snowfalls, cliffs, palm trees, everything except
the dream within the Dream! Breezes
looking for new breath,
wild birds thirsty for peace!
…whither I go,
ye cannot come.'
Lord?
Quiet! Cry out, speak in silence!
I can listen with My eyes!
Come here, run, hurry,
come close,
now that you know
the blank solemn weight
of what you call sin
and I call deafness!
But You can't
speak to me like this Lord,
You can't really say:
You'll die in sin!
Aren't You the Redeemer, the Lover,
the Merciful,
the Life I most adorn with life?
Come close! You say, there,
lay against Me, upon My Heart!
What makes others turn away is
the blood of true light,
the Light of true blood!
I am powerless!
Look with the beating waves
of your heart,
rays of light are emerging from
every seed of air!
Come close!
Everything in mercy
is Light!
I'm waiting for you!
Translated from the French by Norton Hodges
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You Say Come Close
You Say Come Close