Poetry Friday

The Calling
by Robert S. Henderson


I have been called
by that which has always known me better
than I have known myself
if I do not respond to the call
most likely
I will end up somewhere I am not at home
I will be a stranger to my own skin
I will feel I know more than I do
I will not know how wounded I am
I will not know the unseen presence
that has always supported me

but if I do respond to the call
I will need to surrender to my life's meaning

I will find that
enemies are often friends in disguise
bringing out what is inside me will save me from that which can destroy me
the night dreams are connections to what I need to know
the places of hurt are also places of blessing
the right people appear in my life at the right time
the money I have is all the money I need now
in darkness there is a candle
my body is an expression of who I am
asking for help is a sign of strength not weakness
in silence I will find a friend who has always known me
my faith will often be found after I decide to take the first step
my courage will come like the early morning's dawn

My calling will bring me
to a place where God has always been
to an urgency where never again will I delay to live
to music that will take me to my soul
to poetry that will become daily food
to risks that will take me to my heart

To follow my call
I will need to know how to go apart from the crowd
and follow a path others may never understand
I will need to commit myself to my life
settling only when I find it's meaning and purpose
saying yes to my passion
bearing the aloneness of my own authority
and in time finding others who are walking in the same direction.