Shallow glimpses,
An idyllic panorama.
Fields of Elysium, here on earth -
As far as the eye can strain.
As wide as the voice can throw.

 

 

Ingrown undergrowth.
A cesspool of shame and guilt.
Gripped, choked, barbed intentions,
Weeds, mites, the miry clay.

 

Each season,
Under the sky.
Parched, pining to be fed,
Straining for licks of warmth.
Sopping, undone with tears,
A downpour of disappointments.
Neither, either, both.
Too much, too little,
Then nothing at all.

 

Roots laid bare.
Lungs scraping for untainted dreams.
I'm gasping for childhood hopes,
Baby's breath,
Just breathe.

 

I'm aching -
Dazed.
I'm shaken not destroyed.
Only displaced,
Torn loose,
Slashed asunder.
A merciless upheaval -
From bondage of torturous Earth,
To independence of melodic sky.
Hope of renewal,
Expectant faith.
Life resumed.

 

New.

 

Though words hung,
Though deaths pronounced,
Though bridges dilapidated -
Then incinerated,
Then suppressed.
Will life rouse?
Will forests flourish?
Will hope redeem the scorned?
Even me -
The orphaned daughter?
 

Yes, resounds the Father.
Be still.

 

Yes.
Safehaven where He is,
Safehaven where I am.
Anchored roots to Heaven -
I have never been without.
For He is with.

 

Me.

 

A chorale of thick prayers,
Sung, whistled, pitched,
Over me.
Otherworldly psalms of sound victories -
Endless battles not yet fought,
Already won.

 

Grace falls afresh each morning.

 

What unfathomable peace.
Sown into an evergreen garden.
Embraced, lavished, loved.
An abounding bouquet of souls,
A laurel wreath for me,
A darling daughter,
Whose home has many heartbeats.
My Father's family,
My family,
His promise.

 

The blood of His covenant,
Generous, brave, thick -
Poised atop,
Dry waters of the womb.

 

Conditional love,
Let be.
Unconditional love,
Pursued me.
I am found,
In the vineyard.
He is the vine,
I am the branches.
His love,
Grows.

 

Me.