He was expecting me, why did I not know this
Before me an impenetrable wall of loneliness
The crosses clear, I had to find my way there
I asked God in prayer to be taken from here
Imagination believed I was on the other side
kneeling in a cell next to a crying man inside
He had found Christ’s love in this extreme
This place despair, yet peace came in a dream
Sorrow and remorse were thick within the mist
His heart bleeding sadness needing forgiveness
When he reached out to me, I was surprised
I should have known God’s grace un-hides
I sat next to him to read in scripture of mercy
In between the versus I heard his life’s story
He had not killed, of that I was quite relieved
Wrongs were committed, righted if he believed
He had much time for reflection in this place
He had made a promise, love would replace
My friend well on the way to a different man
In the moment with him I came to understand
I knew why Christ took me this side of the stone
I had just met his wife and child, they too alone
For an instance they united separate but family
This hope would keep him strong I could see
In that thought I was back before the great wall
Full of many bars, each their own cross to call
I drew strength and learned from the daydream
That love has no boundaries, nothing to extreme
My journey had led me from a hidden darkness
I had found in the middle of hard work no less
Paintings now puzzle pieces of future destiny
A way through the wall, a way to my humanity
I have reluctantly accepted that in the middle of hard work and my own happiness I can be un-expectantly hit between the eyes with thoughts of other people’s feelings such as desperation, their pain or loneliness. My own life of such feelings seems so pale by comparison. All I can do is wait it out in the visit in this community of saints I believe in and pray everyone can find comfort in what they are going through. My hope is that He sees I am capable of mercy when in these moments I find the limits of my own humanity.
For further reflection: Psalm 146