beloved*
This is what came to me while silencing the creeping need to fret away the time… a moment of grace in a busy day.
GRATITUDE
I am exposed
Half hairs showing
Fingernails too long
Guff and scarred
But still growing
I am not a mystic warrior
With supporters beckoning from behind
I need to assert myself
Delve in
Not mistake countenance
for sustenance
Not for a moment forsake
The purpose I am here.
I need to keep going
Offering up
Hands bent back and afraid
- And yet -
The frightened stares of my intellect
Are no match
For my tiny, listless Friend.
Why is this called gratitude? It occurred to me too. A little strange, but somehow true. All that chaotic intellect shining and getting in the way; all the competing voices yelling this way – no, that-a-way! All the uncertainties with puffed chest standing in the way…
And yet, this voice comes. This voice that tells you no, not that way. You are here for a reason. All this will go away. Keep writing. Keep going, though your neck be too long, or your will not that strong. Keep fighting past the insecurities that time throws in the way. It will all go away.
And in the meantime, when you are silent, and no one is around, this voice will find you. Your one, true, tiny and listless Friend. She will comfort you. She will ring true. She will be your one true confider, who will tell you: it won’t be long now. Just keep going.
The world awaits you.
Amen.
*This work is part of a poetry collection Krista has published on Amazon called “Song of the Beloved”. The First edition is now available on Kindle, but it is continually being updated.
