Monday, March 12, 2018

Befriending Job


In the places grief has hollowed out
We will tread with silent reverence
For God has been here first.
We will shed tears unashamed,
For all buried seeds need water.
In the divine devising
The tomb and the womb are one.

Wait, wait for the promise!

We shall not deploy the pebbles
Of our well-digested clichés
Lest we insult the truth
With our shallow, easy words;
Lest we deny the dignity
That every sufferer bears;
Lest our mouths should drip futility
And blaspheme the name of God.

Learn to stand in the silence!

Let us own only one small arc
Of the terrible path of justice
Is shown in this world
And we cannot see the whole.
All that we know
Is the one who stood at the brink,
Hands scarred and bleeding,
And bent back its shape to mercy.
That is enough.

Be still in his presence!

And, till the dawn shall break,
Weep with those who weep …


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