Inspired by and dedicated to a dear, dear friend – Larry Kaufmann C.Ss.R.
Looking through a forest darkly,
Glad of the green glade close by,
I search for you, my soul’s haven;
I peer, and sense my heart sigh.
As the forest reaches upwards,
Casting shadows as it rises high,
So my life is dappled, mottled;
As I seek the One I yet deny.
Lord of the forest, calling me,
Onward, onward, to Assisi;
Weary step on weary step,
Stumbling, path seldom easy.
Harder still the inward path,
Facing the fears that seize me;
Past the gnarled boughs and thorns,
Deep beneath life’s canopy.
A figure ahead, barely glimpsed;
Friend or foe, fellow pilgrim?
Drawing near or far – hard to tell,
Real or mirage through the dim?
Walk together on this journey,
Step in step, God’s anawim;
Supporting one another now,
Chorusing a joyful hymn.
Shafts of light reaching down;
Warm revelations caress;
No matter how dark or lonely,
I can feel Your tenderness.
Hungry for the journey’s end,
To reach that sacred terminus;
Yet valuing this present step,
Amid the gorgeous leafyness.
A distance gone, a way to go;
The beauty of this present spot;
Linger a moment and savour,
This life is good, is it not?
To be a pilgrim is to hold
Past and present as a pivot,
Future vistas as yet unseen,
No sneak previews for life’s plot.
Live the journey, love the journey;
Feel the vigour of each stride;
Being and becoming human;
Trusting in the One who died.
Sin, an ever present ache,
Symptom of a chronic pride,
Cannot mire us in despair:
Love’s call will not be denied.