Acrostic for Simone Weil
Philosopher, Political Activist, Mystic
1909 – 1943
Saint. Sinner. What
Insanity, my friends, still trying to wrest
Meaning from moribund
Orthodoxy. I’m beyond contradiction
Now. Beyond detachment, beyond the desire for
Extinction. But not beyond
Waiting, not while you steep yourselves in
Evil. By you, I’m ultimately
Imprisoned. Waiting with God whose
Love is absolute affliction.
Note: French philosopher, political activist, mystic, Simone Weil refused baptism, on the grounds that “God does not want me in the Church.”
Maryanne Hannan has published poetry in Magma, Stand, Oxford Review and elsewhere. Her first book, Rocking Like It’s All Intermezzo: 21st Century Psalm Responsorials, will be published by Wipf and Stock (2019). She lives in upstate New York, USA. Her website is www.mhannan.com.
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