Worn & Weary, These Wings

 

Denial doesn’t bury all of your burdens

By shoveling deflection over the tracks

You cannot find the trust that you lost

Until you delve deeper into the cracks

 

Truth will rust if it’s too closely guarded

Lies will compound and scatter the dirt

Coverups serve in brokering false fronts

While still living with all manner of hurt

 

Those that offer their hands and hearts

Endure criticism, resentment, and scorn

It’s not easy when you’re being crushed

Under the heavy weight you have borne

 

Faith can flounder if it goes unrewarded

Haunted by past ghosts having returned

Bridges leading to healthier connections

Are chipped away, toppled, and burned

 

Painful voices in their screaming silence

Calling for saviors to come pull them out

The heart of hope upon a sacrificial altar

Stabbed by all the dark minions of doubt

 

Often escaping into hidden, dark corners

Composing excuses with apology notes

Collecting dust in damp, ancient volumes

Of well-intended but meaningless quotes

 

Behind closed curtains, a woeful lament

Where the space and light go to recede

A window cracks with irrational decisions

Driven to action by a fear-fostered need

 

Kindling the spirits of many a lost seeker

A yearning for respite in an idyllic scene

Away from the patterns of self-affliction

Taunted by what should never have been

 

A prayer for one angel to heed the pleas

And amend the terms of life’s bitter lease

Offering solace in times of great struggle

Bringing much needed comfort and peace

 

Comes a weary and battle-worn guardian

In tattered rags and old weathered slings

Delivering the strength and the courage

To give rise to these most precious wings

 

At the very heart of healing and progress

There is one tenet that shall remain true

The search for angels offering redemption

Ends when you find the one inside of you

 

s. paul   (Nov. 2023)