Notice of absence from Tristan Robert Lange
Friends, I’m doing my best to keep up with comments. 😅 I’m still current on my own poems and first replies on others’ work, but this season has been a bit of a twister. Figured I’d drop a quick note so you don’t think I’ve vanished or gone flaky.
Read. Write. Rise. Realize. 🤘💀🖤
Friends, I’m doing my best to keep up with comments. 😅 I’m still current on my own poems and first replies on others’ work, but this season has been a bit of a twister. Figured I’d drop a quick note so you don’t think I’ve vanished or gone flaky.
Read. Write. Rise. Realize. 🤘💀🖤
A life lived in search for the sacred,
Never to be caught up in empire’s essence,
The wilderness reveals true identity.
Hermitage in the arid house of humility—
Outsiders are not operant ouroboros—
Naysayers are to be expected to mock;
Yes!—belonging begets arrogant belittling.
Offering oneself in service extends out
From the lived lessons learned in listening.
Everyone has demons that dominate them.
Grapple with them—God will guide you—
Yesterday’s allegiances fade fast like fury.
Perhaps this is the day to retreat and reckon.
The desert door—the threshold to transformation.
POET’S NOTE:
An acrostic Scorched Sunday poem. Part of my Scorched Strays series. This poem reflects on empire, wilderness, and the moment one steps beyond belonging toward transformation.
© 2026 Tristan Robert Lange. All rights reserved.
First published on tristanrobertlange.com, March 15, 2026.
Tittu
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Author:
Tristan Robert Lange (
Offline) - Published: March 15th, 2026 09:17
- Comment from author about the poem: I’m now published in an anthology featuring authors from across the Poconos, PA. All proceeds benefit the Pocono Liars Club — a collective of authors and editors dedicated to supporting and mentoring local writers. Available in paperback and Kindle, please consider purchasing one and supporting a great cause. https://a.co/d/58uxM69
- Category: Spiritual
- Views: 7
- In collections: Scorched Strays.
Offline)
Comments3
A poem of wisdom. The sacred never what is preached or lived by others. It is in absence that one learns who one is with out the mask used for society. To live in humility opens one to scorn from the keep up with the neighbors crowd and those dependent on conformity where the ouroboros feeds on its own tail. True service almost unknown where everything has a price. Facing one's fears is the only way to defeat them. Why did so many retreat to the desert to find themselves or who they called god. God is within us. A great write Tristan
Soren, this is a rich reflection. The idea that the sacred is discovered in absence rather than through the expectations of others fits deeply with the desert imagery here. Your thoughts about masks, conformity, and the ouroboros sustaining itself through social pressure really echo the tension between empire and wilderness in the poem.
As for your question at the end, I think the answer may lie in figures like Anthony. From his perspective, the wilderness became the only reprieve from getting caught up in the system itself. At the time, Christianity was becoming increasingly intertwined with the Roman Empire. Most people did not follow Anthony into the desert to live, though many did visit. Yet it is true that to live within society one must bend to it to some extent. I think that tension was part of the objection. Still, Anthony was known to travel from his hermitage to cities such as Alexandria, where he taught and supported the poor. A very interesting person, for sure.
Again, thank you for such a thoughtful reading, my friend. Much appreciated. 🚪🏜️🔥🙏
My pleasure Tristan
Transformation is a good and lofty goal. Well written as always. You put a lot into your work.
Blessings~Katie
Katie, I appreciate that very much. The poem really circles that moment where someone stands at the threshold and chooses transformation over comfort. That desert door felt like the right symbol for that kind of turning point. Thank you for the kind encouragement and blessing. 🚪🏜️🔥🙏
Didn't Anthony live to 105? Oh no! Popeye's grappling too. What with? Don't answer that! What if he lives to 105? lol.
Orchi, yes…Anthony did live a remarkably long life. Which now raises the terrifying possibility that Popeyeus Glug Maximus Solus may indeed be training for the same record. What exactly he’s grappling with…we will respectfully leave that mystery to the ages. 🤣🚪🏜️🔥🙏
It'll be lost in the mists of time. We'll never know what he grappled with - which is just as well! lol.
Sadly...the glugs carry across time. They're unstoppable...even by time and space. LOL!
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