Uprooted, we grasped
And, gasping, caught not
Breath, nor did our feet
Find hold, but, falling
Blindly, we mined and dug
Desperately into darkness, nearby
Hearts of others, and tried
Any firmament felt within reach.
Forgetting memories
Of roots, we clung
To weary branches
And, breaking, we broke
Those found, while, finding,
We forgot those promised,
Yet left, in the ground. Worlds
Away, we climbed
Foreign limbs, and foolishly
Assumed false newness
Until
Flying, our minds returned
To true embraces, strained but not
Left, only having
Been stretched, holding
In hearts mementos
To give, while keeping
Secret wounds where familiar
Faces, suddenly strange
Had begun to take
Root. Will we
Mistakenly blame oceans
Who were tossed
In the waves, when safely
We could have but floated
Ashore, or made use
Of invisible wings and taken
Claim to strength
Not our own but afforded
Us through other, unseen
Roots, unpulled and untorn?
Lord, have mercy
On this shaken faith. Grant
Restoration to this graft, and bless
This tender branch and its fruit,
Though fallen, undropped. Receive
My return in to full union
With You.
Written 4-9-08
Biola University Library
La Mirada, CA