Click in the field, then press CTRL+C to copy the HTML code
The Desert Fathers
As far from men, as near
to God, as they could achieve, living
where the desert met the mountains;
their sustenance
beyond our supermart imaginings,
alone or with a few devoted
kindred spirits, they lived a life
of hard work, ascesis, prayer –
with all the urban wit of the best
gentlemen’s clubs, all the perception
of consultant psychiatrists:
observing in themselves in solitude
all the ills of man, before, then, since:
‘We have rejected the light burden
of condemning ourselves, and
we have chosen the heavy burden
of justifying ourselves, and condemning others…’
touché, Abba John!
They, a little lower than the angels,
between the desert and the mountains,
between the hard place and the rock,
between human tragedy and
the divine comedy;
on their face,
above rough cloth, rough hands,
humility; bright eyes; compassion’s smile.
poem
by
Michael Shepherd
solid border
dashed border
dotted border
double border
groove border
ridge border
inset border
outset border
no border
blue
green
red
purple
cyan
gold
silver
black