Promises

Promises, like leaves, blow in the wind;

Numerous they are for sure.

I chased after Yours with such faith & zeal

Till my lungs could bear no more.

I sat on a rock watching others pass.

They seemed to not notice me there.

I waved & I smiled trying to catch my breath.

I thought You said, “Draw near.”

So, I picked myself up as a gentleman should

With the distance now in mind

Weighing me down like gravity

That Promise, harder to find.

The beast came upon me beguiling my thoughts.

“Is this all not a waste of time?

Live for the moment, nothing else;

Surely, you’ll find peace of mind.

In my anguish, I replied, “What else can I do?

What did I really attain?

These worn out lungs & a heavy mind

And this smile I must feign?”

The beast became a companion

And led me to his den;

Impressions on the walls surround

From others who have walked therein.

Fear evaded my fading eyes;

For my heart, I could not feel.

And, I said, “I find comfort here.”

To the abyss did I kneel.

And, I saw all the darkness

In the commoners & the kings;

And I witnessed their naïveté 

As they meddled in petty things.

I attempted to laugh a laugh;

Wound up wanting to cry a cry.

Upon my empty wretchedness,

No joy could I rely.

I closed my eyes and lifted my head;

Imagined myself in a river;

Prayed this numbness might be absolved

And by body began to shiver.

In the hour of my wintered soul,

You radiated within.

I was not dead; just merely dormant.

O You awakened me once again!

Your Promise is a Hope

And that carries me on.

When I’m on the brink of letting go,

You’re there by the break of dawn.