Sunday, September 28, 2014

You Walked In

You walked in

Crumbling 
I guess that best describes 
The condition of my life
If anyone really looked

My friends
And they truly are my friends 
Missed it as they walked about
Around and through my life 

There was no malice
There was no neglect
There was no forethought
None of this was their intent 

It is merely
The busyness of every life
The care and concerns 
The day to day of living 

And still 
I crumbling stand
In the midst of it all
Feeling alone in the crowd

To say
You walked in 
Would be a misnomer 
Speaking technically

You were always there
From the beginning
Until now
You have been at my side 

You were there, waiting 
Although again
Speaking strictly technically
You weren't actually waiting 

You were walking
You were working
You were holding
You were supporting

Sometimes this load 
The one I decided to carry
Caused me to sway
Under the burden unexpected 

You kept me from falling
You provided invisible support
When my legs buckled
And my arms flailed 

To others, or mostly myself
It seemed amazing
I didn't crumble 
Looking back, it seemed miraculous 

I felt the obligation
Gaining weight 
Or I losing strength
Or fading in resolve

I can't give a timetable
Or tell you how long
I didn't count the steps
Or measure the distance 

From a decision
To a light affliction 
To a encumbrance 
To the crushing millstone
I carried that day

I cried out
By reason of my fear
The ground beneath my feet
Seemed as a troubled sea

"Lord, save me"
The words
Driving from my soul
Nearly drowned out by weariness 

You walked in
Your hand moved between 
My seeming inescapable burden
And my crumbling life

For the first time 
I felt a taste of freedom
Separated from my affliction 
The weight from my birth

There are no adequate words
None can convey the joy
Like trying to describe 
Taking your first breath

I sing now
Not the song of sorrow
But of a joy, unspeakable
Full of glory

I speak now
Not the words of death and dying
But the words of living and life
And that, more abundantly 

I walk now
Not the walk of the slave
But the walk, not by sight
In a newness of life

I live now
Not in the darkness of shame
But I live in the light
Marvelously created

In Him
I live now
I move
I have my being

Not one part of my life
Was not changed
When I cried out
When You walked in

You walked in

Ron Simpson, Jr. 
September 28, 2014