Into Grace
The wind is free to choose
its course across the land,
and birds fly without asking their way
or covering their feathers with clothes.
And the snake, damned to slither on its belly,
turns left and right without thought of time.
But the old man, maker of his steps,
heaves a too heavy load onto his back.
He straps a watch around his wrist
and spends his days planting seeds
that yield a bitter fruit: Although
he no longer notices the taste.
I find him walking to his car,
and turn him just slightly.
It is hard to move him more,
as his steps are small.
But this one degree change,
takes him off his usual path,
to the edge of a stream where
the dragonflies do not hunger or thirst,
and the dark orange fish
always swim towards the light.
And when he eases his body into the water,
Spirit fills his heart.
Rising, he moves in great strides,
drops his baggage at the foot of the tree.
He crosses the trails of Eve and Noah and David,
Matthew, Mary, Peter, and John.
He is walking in the lands East of Eden,
step after step, falling into grace.
The wind is free to choose
its course across the land,
and birds fly without asking their way
or covering their feathers with clothes.
And the snake, damned to slither on its belly,
turns left and right without thought of time.
But the old man, maker of his steps,
heaves a too heavy load onto his back.
He straps a watch around his wrist
and spends his days planting seeds
that yield a bitter fruit: Although
he no longer notices the taste.
I find him walking to his car,
and turn him just slightly.
It is hard to move him more,
as his steps are small.
But this one degree change,
takes him off his usual path,
to the edge of a stream where
the dragonflies do not hunger or thirst,
and the dark orange fish
always swim towards the light.
And when he eases his body into the water,
Spirit fills his heart.
Rising, he moves in great strides,
drops his baggage at the foot of the tree.
He crosses the trails of Eve and Noah and David,
Matthew, Mary, Peter, and John.
He is walking in the lands East of Eden,
step after step, falling into grace.