Rough and tumble

Rough and tumble                                                                      
 
You are a wild stag.
I spied You at the hill’s crest;
 
followed You down the deer run
into a labyrinth of paths
 
hidden under fallen leaves.  Somehow
I managed to lasso Your neck.
 
Now the adventure has begun.
I can’t let go of the rope or rein You in,
 
a rough and tumble journey
but, O, the sights revealed!
 
I was lost when we met, more lost now –
but . . . You know where we’re going.
 
I’ve nothing to lose following You
and everything to gain!
 
O child of God, you’ve nothing to gain
and everything to lose!

                              (from A Jewel in the Dust, 2011)