garments, part 2

holy garments,
again, you find me here.
clinging to these outer layers,
white knuckling with desperate pull.
until tired the grip now loosens,
noticing the presence doesn’t move away.
these fingers releasing,
reaching forward new hands now open.
those same garments once grasped,
my shaky hands slip past.

ah, new warmth here,
fingers tracing the ribs around.
and now we cling again.
the hold now not with hands,
but a full body endeavor.
letting go of the weathered,
tattered garments,
to receive something far weightier.

desperation gives way to a steadied state.
strengthened, secured in this soft place.
as tension eases, and muscles loosen,
evident its not my arms that hold me here.
for around me,
wrapped and established,
a far firmer embrace.
in those same garments, i’m now engulfed,
safe and secure, this place.
somehow both snug and spacious,
a strong hold mightier than strongholds.

this garment shelter,
shadow, refuge, fortress,
under your wings,
behind this shield,
in this tent,
on this mountain.
from desperation to declared,
from outside to consumed within.

tears of despair,
look more like a leaky, melting spirit.
suffering and life familiar,
and shared in this space.
for it is well,
to find myself,
in these arms,
and simply dwell.

the external reality is muffled
from this hidden place.
the former cries and questions,
how long, what now, what then,
how so, have mercy, this again?
seem far flung and distant here.
applicable yet not needing naming.
the atmosphere changes,
altogether different standing this near,
proximity shifts the entire framing.

now resounding strong,
i only hear,
a voice from within,
an echo no longer i resist,
reverberating from the cage,
the same heart i rest against.
where from your core beats,
a much truer word,
one higher, wider, deeper.
it fills the fullness of this space,
sounds like comfort, comfort.

unclothed to be clothed,
oh have mercy.
i dwell here, until it melts me.
holy garments, hold me here.
love has me, still near.