A day stretches its wings
before me
bidding me to mount
and glide.
before me
bidding me to mount
and glide.
No stipulations.
No necessity.
No demands.
Just
Let’s fly.
I hardly know
how to say
Yes.
Can I banish
my to-do list?
Can I relinquish
my hesitancy to dismiss
my shoulds and oughts
from this day?
Can I soar
on eagle’s wings
breathlessly
expectantly
without guilt
into unexplored realms
of renewed strength?
How to let go
my own stilted conventions
and find God’s freedom
is no small task.
Even vocabulary
of spontaneity
in intimacy with Him
hides from me.
My ways have acquired
chore contours
the order of my days
constructed by lists
and shoulds and oughts -
when I do organize
when I’m not evading
eluding
No necessity.
No demands.
Just
Let’s fly.
I hardly know
how to say
Yes.
Can I banish
my to-do list?
Can I relinquish
my hesitancy to dismiss
my shoulds and oughts
from this day?
Can I soar
on eagle’s wings
breathlessly
expectantly
without guilt
into unexplored realms
of renewed strength?
How to let go
my own stilted conventions
and find God’s freedom
is no small task.
Even vocabulary
of spontaneity
in intimacy with Him
hides from me.
My ways have acquired
chore contours
the order of my days
constructed by lists
and shoulds and oughts -
when I do organize
when I’m not evading
eluding
lists
and shoulds
and oughts.
Guilt lurks
at conscience’s edge
stabbing
probing
needling
until each uncertain step
and shoulds
and oughts.
Guilt lurks
at conscience’s edge
stabbing
probing
needling
until each uncertain step
leaves bleeding footprint.
No wonder
I escape the shape
of days
I’ve fabricated
from bricks of blame.
So just for today
(and maybe tomorrow)
I’ll say
No wonder
I escape the shape
of days
I’ve fabricated
from bricks of blame.
So just for today
(and maybe tomorrow)
I’ll say
Yes.
I’ll sail
on Holy Spirit’s pinions
into abandon’s
unknown
uncharted
zone
Into Jesus’ smile.
NG
Beautiful. Just beautiful. "I hardly know how to say yes." My favorite line...
ReplyDeleteAs I prepare for work, I wish such an invitation could be extended to me. Instead... I'll accept the notion of wearing mocassins to work... :)
ReplyDeleteI love the many word images in this poem --"chore contours," "guilt lurks at conscience's edge," "bricks of blame," among them.
ReplyDeleteIt could make an interesting discussion whether the freedom expressed by the poem would really be a virtue or not. So many of the obligations and responsibilities that tie us down are obligations and responsibilities to other people, people who are counting on us do something or be somewhere as promised.
Most of us live our lives as if busyness and structure are virtues. When we complain about such things I am not so sure we are not actually boasting. Retired people like to say they are "busier than ever." To be free to be spontaneous each day could itself become a burden, carrying the message to us that we are not really needed by anyone else.
Be that as it may, the sentiments in this poem reflect an ideal -- like unlimited wealth -- that is fun daydreaming about, but may not actually be as good as we imagine. These words, more importantly, remind us that even in our structured lives we need to be ready to veer off our chosen path suddenly and to be open to new experiences and even new obligations as God leads us.
Ahhh yes. "No wonder I escape the shape of days I've fabricated from bricks of blame"... no wonder. *sigh*
ReplyDelete