The Calling

A whisper disturbs my peace;

I glance up toward the shore…

This restless fire inside

blazes all the more.

I test my faith with a step,

then start to run along the beach.

Shells crush beneath my feet,

but I, the pain can’t reach.

I follow my heart’s map -

it’s the only thing I know.

Surely, it wouldn’t mislead me…

Someday, my dreams will show.

At the top of the hill,

I pause for a moment of rest -

but the failings of yesterday

motivate me to try my best.

The wind howls my name:

a distant, lonely bawl.

I see the cave nearby,

and drop to my knees in a crawl.

Silence pervades this tomb;

I’m left in solitude.

In here, the shambles of my life

have been left but stripped quite nude.

Tears roll down my cheeks;

there’s a hot, roiling tumult in my gut.

I cannot leave this pain behind -

my soul is caught in a timeless rut.

I buried them here so long ago,

yet still they cause me shame.

Forgiven but not forgotten,

I am owed every ounce of blame.

“Dear God,” I cry, “please forgive me.

I thought I gave them up,

yet I’ve used these sins like a cane.

Oh, please take them away

so I may live to serve You again.”