Sunday 12 January 2014

THE VOCATION OF JOB: DARK NIGHT



Taken by Beren Hartless 2012

To look into the darkness,

Know the slow, uncertain fall
Into depths of echoing emptiness
And onward-drawing call;
To face the existential dread,
Lose all that once enthralled,
To look, and to articulate
The deepest doubt of all.

To sit within the tension
Of the never-ending pain,
To ask the hidden questions no-one
Asks: they all refrain,
To agonise and strive
To understand, and ask again,
And live without the answers
In unyielding, night-black strain.

To take the fearful step
Into the cloud of naked faith,
No crutch, no arm to lean upon,
Nor sweet, consoling grace,
To stand alone and broken
Through obscure, mysterious days,
Representing mankind's shadow,
And obliterated face.

B.I.Hartless

Tuesday 7 January 2014

The eagle


Stretch out your wings, my bird;
A wonderland of lift and drag
Bald headed eagle taken by Beren Hartless
Awaits you.
 
Exercise your muscles and
Prepare to fly,
To risk.

Who knows?  The growth of courage
And the full-fledged wing
May be together.

You have nowhere else to go.
The single step into the void,
Alone,
Your sole alternative to death.

Will you fly, and eagle-like,
Swiftly stoop, or float
On hidden currents?

Will you trust the wind?
Look, I'll show you how to step, and fall.
And rise.
 
B.I.Hartless