by Alan Altany

Unbounded decision
for boundless loving,
self-emptying eclipse
of the renegade ego,
sacrificial beauty &
exaltation of heart
with elite empathy
in unrestricted good
for the beloved
without expectations
for any returning.
Free appreciation
for who she is &
can godly become
in the saving fire
of God’s seamless
love for all who are,
mystical experience
of blissed immersion
in God’s love for God
hidden in every soul.

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Alan Altany has BA & MA degrees in Catholic theology, and a Ph. D. in religious studies (University of Pittsburgh). After an academic career, he is a semi-retired, septuagenarian professor of Comparative Religions at a small college in Florida. In the past he has also been the founder & editor of a small magazine of poetry (The Beggar’s Bowl), a high school teacher, factory and lawn maintenance worker, hotel clerk, novelist, delivery truck driver, etc. He has published three books of poetry in a series, “Christian Poetry of the Sacred”: A Beautiful Absurdity (2022), The Greatest Longing (2023), and Intimations (2024). His poetry has been published by Tipton Poetry Journal, Beltway Poetry Quarterly, Valley Voices, Sand Hill Literary Magazine, The Hong Kong Review, North Dakota Quarterly, Montreal Review, and others. He writes with the steadfast support of his golden retriever, Zeke.