Yet
How should I live? As sojourner and yet
As citizen, as settled in yet not
Complacent, fully present yet prepared
To leave, as insider, contributor,
As neighbor, fellow gardener, and yet
As outsider and curiosity,
As strange and normal, weak and bold and wise
And foolish, refugee ambassador,
Cross-bearing yet rejoicing, hoping still,
As dying, resurrecting, speaking life
With breath that smells of death to some, while some,
The sleeper agents, wake to their true call,
As rooted yet uprooting, looking straight
Ahead yet watching where I step, as young
Yet old, as old yet young, as seeking change
And making change yet waiting for the end
When change will be complete, and not because
Of me, as sowing seeds expecting rain,
As story needing eucatastrophe.
“E’en so Lord Jesus quickly come,” while I,
Your clumsy acrobat, traverse the wire.
(Spring 2016)