Stylites

There was a time a "stylite" was a saint
who lived atop a pillar or a post
in some forsaken desert. They would boast
of their asceticism, make complaint
against society, the gaud and paint
and fleshly sins. Stylites were the most
extreme devotees of the Holy Ghost,
repentant souls who fled the world's taint.

St. Simeon himself would now confess
fifth-century morals really weren't that bad.
These modern deserts all are pillarless
and words don't keep the meanings they once had--
it's only on the fashion runway aisle
that people speak admiringly of style.

Collection available! Knocking from Inside