The Journey (A Poem)
I.
I am surrounded by
light, trees, water
The world
is bright
The sun sparkles on
the dew
Birds fly
through an ocean
of sky
Trees sing
wild songs in the breeze
But not all
is well.
On the horizon
a speck
a dot
of darkness
of grey
appears.
Quickly
so quickly
the speck becomes
a roaring wave
of cold
of grey
The trees
shrink back into
their roots
The grass is dead
The sun half gone
I am surrounded by
mist, darkness, chill
The earth
is silent
with the howl of the wind
sweeping the lonely
dark
plains of life.
Was light
a mirage
Was warmth
a dream
To remember
is to forget
To relive
is to die.
Yet even now
in this
darkness
I am not
I cannot be
alone.
You are with me
You are beside me
It is enough.
II.
Before me
a forest
Dark
Lonely
Its mouth
ready to swallow
me up
The waves of its branches
in the wind
ready to drown
all who come in
But I must go in.
For behind me is nothing
and before me is everything
that may be
alive.
I step into the darkness
the unknown
One foot.
another.
The path is
narrow
I cannot see
The lions behind each tree
And yet fear
is not here
As long as
my hand is
Held
III.
I stand at a fork
Two paths.
I must choose
Yet I must not choose
falsely
IV.
I took the right path
The right path took
me
to a chasm
as deep as
the earth
A cliff
with no ladder
A wall
with no stairs
I may fall and die
Or else
I must die and not fall
Should I stop
now
before I can go no further
Or should I go no further
before I must stop
my heart
from standing
on this wall.
I must fall.
V.
I fell.
Into the river
at the base
of the chasm
I was swept
to the edge
of life
To a place
where I could not tread
To a day
where I could not stand
Till You pulled
me
out
of
the
river
and set me down
on the other side.
VI.
Come stand with me
on the banks of the river
watching, listening
to the currents
that would
sweep
my life
away
VII.
Now I must climb
the other side
The wall
with no stairs
The cliff
with no ladder
How can I climb
If I cannot fly
Why
should I climb
What will I reach
if I reach
the top
When I reach
the top
But if I stop
I will not reach anything
So I will reach
for You
VIII.
You have pulled me up
Out of the chasm
I can see it all
the world
before me
So dark
And cold
IX.
I cry for joy
in times past
that is gone
It did not last
I lay my head
upon the earth
For I too
shall soon
forget my birth
X.
But what is this
a jewel?
on the earth before me
No not a jewel
But a drop of dew
And yet still a jewel
With more value than gems
For it sparkles
with a drop
of light
I turn
to the east
to find the sun
that must be rising
from the depths
where it died
But it is not there
the sun is still gone
Yet every second
the world is brighter
Trees are growing
The grass has
turned green
The cold harsh wind
has become
a gentle breeze
But what is this Light
From where has it come?
I hear Your voice
and turn to see
That the Light
is not the sun
but Thee
