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| Religion by Charles Sprague Pearce |
What is Apophatic Verse?
It seems the Internet did not wish to answer my question as to what apophatic verse might be. What I got were thoughts on negative theology rather than poetic verse which, I suppose, was on target if "verse" were taken to be referring to Bible verses.
Yet, this was not what I wanted when searching the Internet. And yet, in a skewed, sideways sort of mention, I suppose my query might have unconsciously asked how "Spirit" and "spirit" might coexist between my God and my heart.
As example of this latter mention, when positively declaring "God is infinite" one might redress the topic apophatically - that is, in negative rephrasing - by saying, "God is not finite." Even so, this was neither my question of the Internet nor how I normally wish to come to God's Person or Personage in negative address.
And yet, curiously, in it's reply the Internet went a bit further when expanding on the tangential subject of apophatic prayer - of which question I definitely was neither asking, nor seeking, nor even considering such a reply.... even so, I continued my sideways glance, focusing on the wayward paragraph then reading it finding my heart warmed in a way only the Spirit might do on so late an eve as I quietly read for a third time the Internet's serendipitous contemplation:
What is Apophatic Prayer?
Answered negatively, "Kataphatic" prayer has content using words, images, symbols, and ideas; whereas "Apophatic" prayer has no content. It simply means emptying the mind and heart of restless words and thoughts to find oneself simply resting in the presence of the God in prayerful reflection. Restated,... a centering prayer may be apophatic in result.
R.E. Slater
May 15, 2024
*What is apophatic mysticism? Apophatic mystics claim that nothing positive can be said about objects or states of affairs that they experience. These are absolutely indescribable, or “ineffable.” Thus, apophatic theology typically will be negative theology — meaning, we may only say what God is not. - SEOP: Mysticism
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| Francesco Botticini, The Assumption of the Virgin (c. 1475; detail) |
Questions I Ask Myself
An experiment in apophatic verse
by R.E. Slater
Sitting in absence wishing it were not so,
is unlike sitting in want having no needs.
On a day when the heart is broken,
only then can it be made whole.
So is curiosity a curious thing -
and satisfaction when unmet.
There is fullness in every new day,
though by nightfall is found empty.
When mind and heart restlessly struggle,
God's presence brings stillness.
Can the way of the bee and the ant teach anything?
Or is it foolishness that cannot be taught?
If true, a good plough horse requires a good field,
so a good student requires a good teacher.
When parents fail who do they turn to?
Or, when turning, find none to help.
Is time a mystery or an illusion?
Though both may be true of relationships.
There is also mystery in each new day -
but by day's end all has been revealed.
"Can a true thing be less true?"
If so, were it true at all?
And can a false thing teach truth?
... Perhaps, if discovering error.
Daily chores seem a burdensome imaginary,
until unmet, when finding naught was imaginary.
Of thoughtful questions there is no end,
but reflection requires being asked.
Is salvation found before one is fallen?
Or must one fall to be found?
If one is found had a fall occurred?
Or was it the fallen who needed most to be lost?
Testimony always seems right when utter,
but in hindsight, it holds many a cruelty.
A faithful witness, like one's love,
is needed most when spoken timefully.
To waste a day is to lose more than a day,
but in truth, many days are easily lost.
And if one's heart goes unheeded,
does it sour in remiss when neglected?
Or if one's heart is heeded,
does an errant day run brighter?
Many days seem futilely spent,
though each was as necessary as breath.
A good prose poem blends seamless to the hour,
even as the wayward hour expires when unnoticed.
Age looks back on youth seeing wonder and miracle -
yet youth, when looking to age, has much to comprehend.
R.E. Slater
March 26, 2023
edited June 30, 2026
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all rights reserved