Thursday, April 15, 2021

The last excursion

The last excursion                                                                       
 
You said hold on to Your damaan
like a child in the marketplace
 
holds to its mother’s skirt.
I find that when I dawdle,
 
distracted by the crowd,
enticements in the shop windows
 
or a shining trifle in the gutter,
You slow Your step to wait for me.
 
When I run ahead, sure I know the way,
letting go of You in pride and excitement …
 
or when I tug on Your skirt to direct You
the way I want to go, You keep Your patient,
 
loving pace and guide me gently toward the goods
we came for and the true road home.
 
O child of God, hold on to His damaan, until
the last excursion -- when you have come of age.


                                  (from A Jewel in the Dust, 2011)

 

 

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