Faith

Every breath
An opportunity
For wakefulness,
Every moment
An opportunity
For stillness,
For kindness,
For change.

Just for a while,
Just for a day or two,
An hour or two,
I was lost to you,
Turned my back on you.

Just for a while,
Just for a time or two,
A moment or two,
Life held
Too many threatening consequences,
Too many to bear.

And as the feeling heightened
And the darkness intensified
I saw a sight
So hellish
As to make me shudder,
As to make me cover my eyes:

Life without you.

Tomorrow,
Empty meaningless function
After empty meaningless function,
Every day,
Empty function after empty function
Tied to
Condition, existence,
Bound to mundanity,
So tightly, so tightly
As to make my wrists and ankles burn,
Make them bleed.

And in that moment of seeing,
And in that moment of knowing,
As I raised my hands
To protect my eyes,
And as I shook my head
In cold aversion
And disbelief
At the world I had glimpsed,
You came to me,
As if to hold my very being,
And you turned me around,
Turned me around,
And I was returned to you...

All in a moment or two.

Every breath
An opportunity
For wakefulness,
Every moment
An opportunity
For learning,
For deepening,
For gratitude.