Monday, March 25, 2013

Of Everything We Cannot Change



The weight of everything we cannot change
May press against the levee of the heart
And though we yearn to shift or rearrange
The filament of its woven rampart
We cannot touch past’s immutable stage
Its frozen landscapes to obliterate
Nor crumple like an error-splattered page
The flawed, fragmented pictures we create
But look, upon the east from God’s embrace
He renders to earth’s offspring new-dawn grace

The imperfections of another day
Will soon unfold their mortal mystery
Its path of burnished evidence will splay
Fresh-footprint miles in frames of history
For we cannot thwart Time’s persistent breath
From night to day and back to night once more
Its astral clock will not succumb to death
Until the declaration of the Lord
As on the cusp of earth’s four-season dust
We spill the follies of our love and lust

…and thus, we bear its subtle aftermath
For what we sow is what we stoop to reap
Yet, grace aligns itself against the path
Where joy and sorrow tune the tears we weep
And mercy washes guilty stains away
The weight of everything we cannot change
Will not be held against us on that Day
For none redemption’s flood can rearrange
Or reinstate the debt that Love forgave
To break the curse that bound us to the grave

The bulwark of His promises abide
We are not doomed in spite of our dross
Look; listen to the words before He died
Sealing eternal pardon; from the cross
Where His blood poured in Passion’s agonies
As life ebbed from the limbs of perfect love
And “it is finished” rent the galaxies
Now hope fixes our gaze on courts above
Where Time can never shift or rearrange
The joy of everything we cannot change

© Janet Martin

6 comments:

  1. I like that first line...exactly how I feel today, I'm sure the rest is good too I'll read later I hope...
    sorry about the sunrise scrape...:(

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  2. It's a great poem to ponder the week leading up to Easter. Grace is very powerful.

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  3. oh, and the scrape was my own fault...i jumped into the first pair of foot-wear I could find; heels;-(

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  4. Very nice, and my favorite part is this:

    As on the cusp of earth’s four-season dust
    We spill the follies of our love and lust

    …and thus, we bear its subtle aftermath
    For what we sow is what we stoop to reap
    Yet, grace aligns itself against the path
    Where joy and sorrow tune the tears we weep
    And mercy washes guilty stains away
    The weight of everything we cannot change
    Will not be held against us on that Day
    For none redemption’s flood can rearrange
    Or reinstate the debt that Love forgave
    To break the curse that bound us to the grave

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  5. Sue, thank-you for taking the time to read this, what turned out to be a rather lengthy poem! Thank-you.

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I hope you enjoyed your pause on this porch and thank-you for your visit!