I See You

I see you,
but I can’t see past
the torrential flood
of emotive garbage
muddying my heart,
clogging the pathways
to my mind and my hands.

So I press on into the fog
of doing justice,
loving mercy,
and walking humbly
in an enormity of hurt and pain,
drowned out by the tap of heels,
squealing wheels,
sirens roaring,
the masses storing up
treasures on earth
or on their bodies –
around their necks,
on their backs.

One penny, two pennies,
three dimes, four quarters,
five dollars,
ten seconds of my time –
would it make a difference?
Would it raise your brow?
Would it dispel your frown –
if only for a moment?

It seems too little to turn your life around,
too little to move you from the
spat-out bubble gum
and ash-covered ground.

And if I contribute and fill your cup,
what about the next?
What about the outstretched hand?

I cannot stand my paralyzed ambition –
a stalemate so that
I see you and keep walking,
feeling somewhat holy for my inner wrestlings,
proud of my compassion,
and so disappointed by another transgression,
going against – nay flat out rebelling
from God’s Spirit compelling me
to turn around that instant:
one step, two seconds,
three words
or four.

Maybe a silent handful of change
could be enough to restore
hope in goodness that not only dwells
in skies and sky scrapers,
in beautiful places
and on smiling, pleasant, cover girl faces,
but also on steamy sewer grates,
in hidden alleys,
on empty plates,
in tired tears and belabored fears.

Goodness lives and moves and breathes,
and He sees you too.

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~ by merylherr on October 14, 2010.