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Susan Cowger

Art & Poetry

Art Poetry

11. HIDE AND SEEK

by Susan Cowger 6 Comments

Wooden
Woman takes in a long breath.
This is
where she takes off her shoes.
Between the
toes of Engineers boots and hers
it’s dusty.
Long hairs have migrated
under the
shoe tree and merged with
grey-coated
carpet. Wooden Woman remembers



house dust
is mostly skin, cells shed like snow.
Within
seven years every cell is replaced.
Constant
renewal. Yet we grow old. Her toe snags



a bag
of almost-ready-to-give-away
clothes,
past
indulgences one could almost forget,
but not
quite.
The dirty things
and
hanging
things whisper the lingering scent
of sweat
and perfume,
the truth
and the cover.

Go into your closet and pray.
Wooden
Woman is a literalist.
And a
closet figurative -ist.
She closes
the door and
thinks
about Holy God
kind of
like a first and last name.
What does
your name mean?
Wooden
Woman means Graceful Lily.
Graceful
Lily is laughing

unable to
conjure a face to go with Holy,



feels like: All heads down.
Mustn’t
peek,
even in a dark closet
with the
door closed. Wooden Woman
presses her
palms against her eyes,
bits of
light whirl and sift.
Wooden
Woman imagines this as an entry
into
eternity,



shoe boxes
and shelves, walls
fall away
and openness reels outward,
gathering
yesterdays and calling tomorrow,
the way the
strike
of a church
bell
announces
beginnings and ends
and endless calling of the name…



Holy. Holy Holy 
and there
seems nothing else
worth
saying
so she chimes
in
Holy Holy
Holy and Holy

Holy



And she
understands sorrow
because she
is not
Holy
or even holy
and the
closet is her cover.



And
comfort. For a long long time…
was it
time, or just being
with I AM?



She rises,
takes what
she imagines to be
the hand
of he who
drove her home
on a dark
night,
turns the
palm up and places a kiss.
She opens
the door with…


…thank you.
   



    
 * 
  
  

After a few steps she pauses,
shivers… and
looks back… nah, nothing there…



…“Surely goodness and mercy will follow you…” 

 –Psalm 23:6


  
  
   

April 22, 2014 Blog

Previous Post: « 10. SHE TELLS A STORY
Next Post: 1. BEGINNING AGAIN… »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Unknown says

    May 11, 2018 at 2:02 am

    I am a holy closet literalist as well
    one of the places I approach the wholly holy throne of grace
    in all my wholly unholiness
    because of the precious blood of the Lamb

    my name means different things
    depending on who you ask
    and what language they speak
    in the Gaelic ~ she who lives on the edge of the meadow
    in Hebrew ~ God wholly holy says (the word chunk of His Name
    is actually there, "EL")
    and then there is the word chunk for mine
    I am my Beloved's and He is MINE…"
    if you ask an Englishman he would say without hesitation ~
    little shell ~ protector of life

    One of my missions in life
    is to find out what people's names mean for them
    I have found it to be an explanation,
    a prophecy,
    and a beacon of protection
    that keeps us from turning to the left or to the right when our name would point us
    straight to the Creator
    Who made us
    to be named

    Heard a couple preachers talking on the radio
    they said the animals we name
    will join us in heaven
    because
    naming is couched and rooted in love and in destiny

    since all of creation will be there proclaiming and praising the King
    I believe those two preachers
    though I couldn't tell you their names…
    God knows
    and I feel His smile when I talk about Him
    and His marvelous ideas
    like love
    and grace
    and language
    He created them
    and He writes the best stories
    in our hearts

    Reply
  2. thefisherlady says

    May 11, 2018 at 12:44 am

    Deep
    holy
    in His presence
    His Kingdom is within us
    …and the closet is her cover…
    love that, graceful lily
    Wooden Woman

    so beautiful

    Reply
  3. Jamescrist says

    June 5, 2015 at 4:35 pm

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    Reply
  4. Kathy says

    April 24, 2014 at 2:57 am

    So beautiful, I needed a whole day to pull it all IN. I can picture you there, in your literal prayer closet…and my heart overflows with GREAT JOY knowing that He is there with you; with us. SURELY His Goodness and His Mercy will follow you!

    Reply
  5. Brian Miller says

    April 22, 2014 at 11:16 am

    dont you love those moments you feel his holiness so intensely, just want to breathe it in…

    Reply
  6. Craig and Bethany says

    April 22, 2014 at 8:06 am

    Brilliant. Prayer, a portal, a secret, a place. Wooden Woman steps in and HOLY happens. Even the particles of dust testify. Everything becomes REAL. Becoming REAL, this is why we pray. REAL. And who knows what will follow you out.

    Lovely, lovely piece.

    Reply

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