Eighth Meditation

(Ascent of Mount Carmel, book I: chapter 11-12)

"But I say, walk by the Spirit, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you would...And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit." (15)


Repairing The Leaks

There is a crack in the cistern
Of her heart where love slowly leaks;
The clay of her will can't discern
The havoc that desire wreaks.

It takes just one small crack to turn
A wealth of love, from a deep well,
To an abandoned old cistern:
A dried-out, cold, and empty shell.

Just as cracks are cleaned and repaired,
Her wants must be held and curtailed.
If left indulged, her heart's impaired;
In ways of love, she will have failed.

She strengthens resolve not to slack;
To not forge on is to slip back.

15. Galations 5: 16-17,24-25


(c) Paul Buis, 2003