Assisi, Italy

[mark alba escobar]

ASSISI: VENTRILOQUISM FOR MY GRAIL

A leap across the hill-top,
Is an encounter with God.
Concealed in the language of history
the depth of human religiosity.

It rings true for me though
those stories of Francis of Assisi.
Surely, striking the hallmarks of simplicity
in quietude where I cling to reality.

There is a twofold bridge in it,
That is historical and biblical
That I must continue to face
the conundrum of life in details.

As my eyes follow the historical marks
My spirit keeps me wander to go beyond.
I saw and greeted my experience
rooted in a quest for holiness.

On this journey that I make
Seeks intimacy and familiarity
With the One beyond in my sanctuary
the great mystery, the depth of my sensitivity.

It is my own nature and being
to be fascinated and become aware.
Like the ancient Greeks’ epikeia
the gateway to conventional sapientia.

St Francis of Assisi walks with me
Who awakens and links me to nada
An experience of self-emptying and detachment
Indeed, he is a mentor, an inspiration.

Maybe there is a restriction on the way
to go inside the religious buildings.
But such an experience to be there,
increasingly, more interior and spiritual.

It is not always the way I think though
But it is tremendum et fascinans.
The dynamics of inwardness compels
to the experience of silence and beyond.

Francis and Clare, mirror of sanctity!
Through the centuries they have been our saints.
Being a pilgrim I hail them as my friends
in search for beatitude and spiritual fulfillment.