A Chance to Live

I made a mistake,

And I knew better.

They are angry.

I see it in their faces.

I hear it in their words.

From them, I'm ostracized.

Few friends, if any remain.

How could I have been so unwise?

I feel so humiliated,

And find little comfort from my new friend:

Loneliness.

Voices, they are everywhere,

Shouting, accusing,

Reminding me in a continuous cycle,

My guilt and shame.

All I can see is darkness.

I grope around for something to grasp,

But I can't.

Despair has taken it all:

The hope I can only dream of.

I know my life is doomed,

And my days, they're counted.

Brought before the mightiest of all,

A spectacle of ultimate shame.

I look down upon the powdery dust,

Knowing and feeling my unworthiness.

That I did not deserve to share the dust,

Upon which His finger traced.

I dared not look upon Him,

Only heard him.

And only dared to look up,

As I heard one by one,

The accusers leave.

What was happening?

I watched in awe as step-by-step,

My darkness began to dissipate,

For as each one left,

My chance for life brightened.

Was hope returning?

Calmly, He looked upon me,

Knowing my wrong.

But from those eyes, a different look;

They lacked hatred,

And bore no coldness.

Even though He, of all,

Had that right to condemn me.

But he didn't.

And what bewilderment that caused!

For though I was brought to die,

I departed with the chance to live!

Commentary:

I was in church this week, and for some reason the bible story of the woman being brought before Jesus after being caught in an act of adultery, and it occurred to me that this could be anyone. I'm not saying that everyone is guilty of being unfaithful, but in more of a symbolic manner. For in a way, aren't we all being adulterers to God by breaking His commandments? That was an interesting insight to me anyway, and I thought it to be the perfect for my subject for Christmas this year.

For those of you who don't know, I had a tradition of writing a Christmas poem every year and sharing it with others. These poems tend to be primarily religious focused on Christ and subjects of inspiration. Sometimes, if I've caught the poetry writing bug, I'll write something else a little more generalized for the season (usually nature related). It's all fun, and I love it when I can sink in a little and think about things in preparation for these.

So here's my contribution for the moment. I've been enjoying these, so who knows? Maybe another is on its way.

Enjoy your holiday season!