Friday, February 20, 2009

Desiring Patience

Brick by brick and slowly
Is the solemn structure made,
Step by step and swiftly
does a racer win the day.
Inch by inch in marble
Is the craftsman's work revealed,
And mile by mile in dust,
is the path of the pilgrim sealed.

God of the meandering heavens,
God of the rushing fields,
God of the sleeping cities,
God of the turning wheels,
Teach me the slow things slowly,
Teach me the swift things fast,
Teach me peace in the hustle and bustle,
Teach me patience in the things that last.

Friday, January 30, 2009

Eucatastrophe

"I sought you in the narrow ways
in soot and shifting shadows
I sought you on the mountaintops
'Till I was weak and sallow."
I paused within the middle way,
My hopes failed with the sky
As the sun fell under darkness
I fell forward with a cry.

"God of love," my cry came bitt'rly,
"Thou measurest all things well,
You know how far I am from Thee 
And how close I am to hell.
Spare just a word for the sinner
But one soft sigh for the damned
Slake his thirst who has sought for You
Across an ocean of sand."

My cry then broke off sharply and
I pitched forward to the sand
And as I lay, I heard a gasp
As if from a running man.
"Please thou give Him just a moment"
Said the deep voice of the land,
"He's run so hard to catch you that
He has hardly breath to stand."