THE SIN OF EARTHLY ADAM

The bitter burdens weigh heavily  

on love that's been scorned.  

If the blind lead the blind, you see,  

both will end up in the pit.

But today, they spit in the palms  

of some wanderer from Eden.  

With glee at their blindness to calm,  

they dig at the earth on their bellies.

Alas! Human nature  

doesn’t heed Heavenly pleas.  

It desires not a single ache,  

only to eat and to sleep with ease.

And for long it will scratch and claw  

with claws right down to hell,  

where the bat and the mole draw  

their masquerade in a swell.

No saint could weep for them, caught  

on the cross in despair.  

The world is shrouded in darkness;  

the earth is wrapped in twilight air.

Amidst the spite, fury, and jeers,  

the sightless will fade away,  

where sin will roll them in death's fears—  

the sin of earthly Adam, they’ll pay.

Stefan Glavchev  

(Fleeting Remains)

WINDOWS WITH WASHED GLASS

Radiant rays do not penetrate  

through windows stained with mud,  

but if a wretch sheds tears –  

he has yearned for Heaven all his life.  

And his soul will shine alive,  

like a house built on a Rock,  

while messengers in Heavenly attire  

there will spread their mighty wings.  

Just a handful of tears to exchange  

and in his heart, with Jesus, he is rich.  

No other such Holy invitation  

exists anywhere in this fallen world…  

For the spirit can give birth to everything –  

feelings, music, words, dreams.  

But his deep thirst  

will tremble among bitter tears.  

They are the pains of stone, hewn  

from the Great and Holy Rock,  

that returns its eternal longing  

through windows with washed glass.  

May Christ abide and shine,  

like the Sun in a sanctified home,  

while hope sings hymns  

in the heart of one whose sins are forgiven…  

Stefan Glavchev  

(Fleeting Remains)

DISTANT TARGET

If a man loses one thing,  

he becomes rich in another.  

He may fall in love with Heaven,  

or with this deceptive world.  

And with this inevitable choice,  

the heart will pay the price  

to pursue its longings  

toward darkness or to light.  

Universal Truth will bear down  

on each of its Holy Swords.  

The earth will swallow earthly beings.  

The spirit will soar away.  

In two kinds, clearly divided,  

fate will reveal itself.  

And on the fateful arenas,  

it will bleed from fierce battles.  

In an unrelenting drama,  

the world will dig a trench,  

while the victims, with the fiercest flames,  

will vanish in their love.  

With a distant target—until  

the flesh breathes its last,  

and the spirit steps into the Holy  

Heaven, which opens its doors…  

Stefan Glavchev  

(Fleeting Remains)

FAITH, IN UNYIELDING SPIRIT

This world is drenched, like a pendulum,
Swinging tipsily to and fro.
Long ago, black became white in it,
And the crooked was designated a temple.

From its extreme poles, the evils
Recharge from deceived souls.
Justice counts her bruises,
As evil seeks to crush her with a hammer.

The awakened faith is being banished.
Covenantal words are crossed out.
In the spotlights - abasement and depravity
With spectators - parched grass.

Joy abounds in godless halls
And noise rises from all-consuming shame.
The earth shakes in lawlessness
And roars with tremors, here and there.

In the deceptive pit of progress,
A devastation of virtual worlds,
While somewhere behind the dark veil,
A snake keeps slithering.

The world has been given to her since time immemorial,
And with a double-edged tongue, she twists it.
To swallow souls with a merciless whirlwind,
And to distort Meaning into a lie.

I live with faith, in an unyielding spirit,
And my heart whispers a final call.
On the path, narrowed to a slender ray,
May the Heavenly Moment catch me.

And may this world, dangerous and depraved,
Vanish like a mad nightmare,
While somewhere in the Eternal, awakened,
I glimpse Life - in Joy and Gift.

Stefan Glavchev  
(Fleeting Remains)

DO YOU CREATE DUST...

If you try to hold onto a speck of dust, it will slip away.

If you try to hold onto sand, it will scatter everywhere.

Do not waste the time you have been given,

for it is a loan, borrowed from the Creator.

But every loan will eventually be repaid,  

and the interest accumulates and weighs heavy.  

And in a mortal body – a home for your spirit,  

how will it balance the time it has spent?

What will it see when it returns to God,  

far above – to the kingdom free from decay?  

Will it be able to embrace the Creator,  

having gathered treasures for His Eternal Day?

Treasures prepared for Glory,  

that no wicked thief could ever take…  

What in this world is worth the effort,  

pushed to the very limit?

It is pointless to gather dust  

and fill it with feelings and dreams.  

For what is mortal will eventually die,  

while the eternal soars towards the Everlasting.

And it is sad when among the wealthy,  

you carry a beggar's bag…  

Didn’t God send you to this world,  

bestowing you with spirit and a choice of destiny?

Has He never greeted you with rays?  

Has He never blessed you with Love?  

Even if a traveler wanders through a hundred lives,  

they are empty if a flame does not ignite them.

If you create dust – you forge a chain.  

And the sand keeps you bound in a desert.  

And time for God? It's never enough,  

because it is burdened with lies.

And this is the tragic judgment  

upon the mortal descendants of Adam.  

Born of dust – drawn to dust,  

for their hearts are there as well…

Stefan Glavchev  

(Fleeting Remains)

I REMAIN A STONE

I’m not filling up a congress hall

and I don’t wear a righteous suit.

I’ve kept my soul pure and small

from every Babylonian hoot.

Without deafening glory at the podium.

Without titles or some great renown.

Without businessmen with their millions,

sitting right there in the front row.

Without a shiny car and security.

Without a fat church fee in hand.

Without worldly honors or invites

to a king's palace on this land.

Without a deal for a new book.

Without signatures or autographs.

Without any tempting chains that hook

in the spirit of the wretched Esau's paths.

Without anything vile that would drown

my spirit in a pit so deep,

and would cause my heart to frown

the Radiance of Christ’s Light to keep.

I remain a stone with rough caresses.

The flesh from it still hurts inside.

And there’s no way to love what suppresses

because an abyss does divide.

For it lives “with,” when my spirit

stands firm in “without” though it’s tough…

And all that is True and Holy

is my steadfast counterbalance, that’s enough. 

Stefan Glavchev

(Fleeting Remains)

GLORY TO GOD! I WILL SOAR UP!

Old age will knock at my door too.

With white hair, aches, and sorrow.

It will wrench a cry from my soul 

and it will be a jagged edge on my bed.

It will become a temporary shadow.

A judge with a memory devoid of passion.

It will be the breath of lonely evenings.

It will be my wrinkled self.

Inevitably, it will reign within me

without a crown and a glorious throne.

In my joy, it will mourn defiantly

and in my peace, it will bring strife.

I will resist it with all my might.

I will tell myself I’m still young.

And I will even wish to long for

the rays of a pure meteor shower.

It will be my companion for a while.

Until the final Holy gate.

Goodbye, with it my spirit will take flight,

like the wind with the yellow leaves.

And when I pass beyond,

it will stay here. Without me.

Like some gray imprint

of a life surrendered to decay.

Like a stump, drying from the roots

to remain forever dry…

GLORY TO GOD! I WILL SOAR UP!

For man in heaven is spirit!

Stefan Glavchev  

(Fleeting Remains)

THE SERVANT WITH A HEAVENLY BURDEN

Before the rebellious world falls silent  

and the Righteous One stirs it with His Sword,  

the burden will bring His servant  

to the pearly gates of God.

Left at the churchyard refuse,  

he stretched out his hands with kindness,  

ready to fill his heart with disdain  

and mix his bread with sorrow.

The proud kicked him with scorn.  

Well-fed kings spat upon him.  

And every human self-righteousness  

refused to let his spirit see.

For the polished conscience of many,  

he became the inconvenient thorn.  

And so his life passed by,  

just as the Lord had decreed.

But a moment comes with judgments and rewards,  

with deeds weighed on righteous scales.  

The burden will bring forth His servant,  

and the Heavenly King will appraise him.

Only then… Yes, only then  

from Justice would he receive a reply,  

whether he sought God's Glory  

or was cursed before the Judge.

The world is in twilight. Soon it will be dark,  

and the beast will leap out to devour.  

Yet God's servant still carries  

his burden to the Holy Gates.

May in that Moment, as brief as a second,  

he find his ending beyond,  

in the Spirit marked with this imprint,  

that the Faithful is not judged by the Court...

And after that, with a sigh he will step  

into a City free of pain, sorrow, and night,  

where in anguish the wretched do not weep  

and no breath of evil lingers...  

Stefan Glavchev  

(Fleeting Remains)

THE FILM HAS ALREADY BEEN SEEN...

The film has already been watched once,

To the very last moment of existence.

So with hope, hold on tight

To every sorrow and grief in your heart.

And on the bright, wise screen,

You see yourself in the time that's passed.

For when you’re nailed to the Cross,

God will come to take your spirit at last.

And beyond, there will be no bitterness,

Nor will a crown of thorns weigh you down…

Lift your eyes up to the Father -

Eternity waits for you at the threshold.

The film has already been seen once.

Nothing new under the sun remains.

But after the drops in the late rain,

The cruel drama will come to an end.

You’ll then say: I lived

In a dreadful era until the very last.

I was in the Lord's palm,  

To know His love for me.

I drank from the Cup of suffering,

And in dreams, I tasted comfort.

In His Eternal Covenant, I hid

To safeguard the Heavenly garment.

The film is ending… May I be ready!

May it find itself within me!

Caught by Christ's Call -

To step through the Heavenly doors…

Stefan Glavchev

(Fleeting Remains)

THE TRUTH AT THE CROSSROADS

To the Truth will arrive everyone,  

who steps beyond at their journey's end,  

down one of all the paths,  

choosing at their crossroads' bend.  

For there, on the other side, none will be  

blind or deaf in their plight,  

but will confront their true drama  

with soul and spirit in sight.  

Whether sinking into darkness,  

or soaring to great heights —  

they claim their reward  

for all their earthly nights.  

Whether bound by rope or chain,  

tied down in life by those things,  

they'll rise in peace above,  

or descend in fear to what dread brings.  

And they won't ask a single question  

of why they're here or there,  

for the revealed Truth  

will leave their breath silent in the air.  

Fate is not a die in a casino  

nor a strong card in bridge or whist.  

Even having lived like in a movie —  

a person has but one life in the midst.  

And it’s worth the prayer to kneel,  

before God, face to the ground,  

before death strips them bare  

to a slave with a heart tightly bound.  

For the Truth saves in the now,  

once it enlightens the spirit within,  

but on the other side, it’s the Judge,  

who closes the gates of Heaven's kin.  

To her will arrive everyone,  

born of flesh in this world’s sight —  

down one of all the paths,  

choosing at their crossroads' height.  

Stefan Glavchev  

(Fleeting Remains)