The Wilderness

The wilderness is a desert,

it is a forest.

It is a storm tossed sea,

it is a shipwreck on a rocky coast.

I am tangled by it's tendrils,

I am buffeted by it's waves,

I am chilled to the bone

I am parched by it's sun.

In the silence,

the cacophony,

solitary,

jostled in the crowd.

He stretches out his hands,

he offers me his life,

Can I be still,

waiting,

trusting

to receive without earning,

to live without struggling.

as hope,

blessed hope,

rises within me

like a millions suns

and a multitude of moons,

stars flung into space

that speak of this gift,

this love,

this life,

unmerited,

unconditional,

free.