Lifeblood

Lifeblood                                                                                           
 
One day the Friend will just up and walk away.
You’ll have no choice but to follow –
 
by then He’ll be your lifeblood.  You’ll be taken by surprise.
He’s indulged you so long; so many lifetimes,
 
determining one day – enough is enough;
time to unravel the swaddling clothes. 
 
You’ve led Him, your loyal companion,
into and through the darkest, shabbiest places;
 
the petty, the mean, the absurd, the perverse,
while He’s kept a steady eye on you,
 
offering a Word now and then amidst
your constant bluster and self-justification.
 
One day the Friend will just up and wander away,
you having reached a certain ripeness
 
and you’ll  be forced to leave the familiar,
your loved ones and companions
 
who will not understand nor accompany
you and the Friend into the desert
 
beneath God’s great, scattered handful of stars
to begin the long, solitary except for Him
 
trek home, His way, by His authority,
the sovereignty of His inviolable divine plan.
 
O child of God, He has told you from the very first:
I am your one true Friend.