Looking for a picture for a poem, is not the same task as writing a poem for a picture. This poem was not written for the picture, it is what I came across looking for an image to enhance the poem. But when I laid the story of the Good Samaritan alongside the poem it felt right. It expands the poem rather than merely illustrating it, or adding a little color. You may not think so — and that’s ok, but to me it creates another layer and another conversation.
Not My Way
The ‘not my way’ way is indirect –
a round about, turn about, walk about way,
intermittently paced, often too fast and too slow,
a, ‘can’t catch my breath, then
barely moving’ kind of way, but …This is the journey through
This is the mercy givenThe ‘not my way’ way is waiting –
and then more waiting, Green Eggs
and Ham kind of waiting: can you wait
here with a fox? Can you wait here
in a box? Will you wait now? Remember
your vow. Ruminate like … yetThis is the journey through
This is the mercy givenThe ‘not my way’ way is watching –
becoming intimately aware
of now and not yet
of who you are, and whose you are,
a slowly clearing reflection of perfection:
not seeing and then only dimly
and finally face to face …This is the journey through
This is the mercy given© 2016 – Laurel Archer
Photo – Pixabay.com