The Age Of Innocence
Strange thing is dusk –
With sky of deepening blue –
Lighter in the West
As earth rolls onward
Into depending
Night.My day was bright,
And brighter till the noon day
Of maturing years –
Until this time.And then –
All through those heady teenage years,
I felt the zest and vigor
Of my rising
Strength –Matched as it was
With thrills,
And joys,
And wonder
Of maturing heart,
And mind,
And body –“Who am I?”
I found that question
Swirled around
The deep recesses
Of my soul –Exposing depth
I did not know was there –
And yet it was –
Then echoes of that cry
Called back from deep
Outside myself,
Increasing
Yet again
A deeper
Wonder
In my soul.And then it came –
Conflicted time for me to go –
That time for me to leave
Protective days,
And nights
Inside that home
I’d grown to love,
And now found
I’d outgrown –And so I left –
High hopes,
Great expectations,
Matched with firm
Determine step –
As I left home,
Drove long uneasy miles
Into a life
So new –
Alone.I made it through –
It was quite hard,
And yet I won!Still puzzled though
About that flow of prayers
For me each day,
As I fulfilled
The daily round of class,
And books,
And life
Of mental
Stretch –But now I know –
Or, if it’s not exact,
It’s of the type –
For in this summer break
(I’d faced with such relief)
I hit that wall –And felt its crushing weight
Against the fragile nature
Of my soul.Dear Lord,
If it were not for grace
So freely given by You
Throughout these days
Of horror and disgust,
I don’t know
How I could
Have
Coped.Dear Lord,
Is this what adult life
Is really all about?
Played out each day and night
With filth and
Degradation –
Not from the folks
Who struggle in
The desperation
Of their sordid
Lives.No – not from them,
The helped –
But from the very folks
Who are the ones
To whom they’ve
Turned
For help.Dear Lord –
Each night as I retreat
Into the shelter
Of this sanctuary
I call home,
I find You
There –Complete with gifts of food
And drink,
Which brings
A settling
Comfort
To my soul.And most of all
Your gift of water –
Flooding from the shower,
Taking with it all the
Grime and filth
Picked up by me
Today,
In this
Environment.You said, O Lord,
Refreshment’s what we’ll need,
And therefore we’d best
Wash each other’s feet,
Or else we’ll die –You took a towel,
And bowl,
And washed the feet
Of those
God gave to You –
To train,
And send
Into the world,
With salt,
And light,
And leaven,
For their
Troubled
Much distorted
Ways
Of doing life.I see it, Lord!
As now I feel that draw,
To rush back home –
No – not to stay,
Not even spend much time,
Before I come back here
To do another week
Of helping those
Who have so
Little
In
Their lives –Lord, you were correct –
I need to touch –
Be touched –
By those so near,
And precious
To my soul –To feel once more
Their cleansing touch,
Uplifting words,
Not extra given –
But normal like –
From hearts
Redeemed
From all of this –
By You.And thus
Be cleansed
Once more
By You,
Through them,
As they,
With towel girt
And a basin filled,
Refresh my dusty feet –
And thus restore my soul,
Once more,
On Your behalf.O Lord,
For this refreshing grace –
And healing touch –
And gracious Word –
I give You thanks
This night.navigation