night and start of dawn, image by Petra, on Pixabay
Memorare
Remember that the grindings of the fretful space
between the silent wars of work and work
lie naked to your author’s sky.
And where he plies his grace
the demons smirk
but die.
Remember that the lacerations that you had back then
are cleansed sometimes by maggots eating rot.
The jibes of childhood, pains of youth,
the brunts of evil men
are healed by naught
but truth.
Remember, in the darkness, lean towards the light
and tender all your age-bedeviled pains.
He suffers, hid within your aches,
and in the pitch of night
His mercy reigns
and wakes.
_______________________
Sean O'Neill was born in Scotland, but has lived
in the USA for the past 15 years and is a lay minister
of a church in Lansing, Michigan. He has had poetry published in a variety of journals including First Things, The Ottawa Literary Review, Living Bulwark, Reformed Journal, Clay Jar Review, and American Literary.
Sean has published 17 collections of poetry and is
the author of five novels and four non-fiction books, including the bestselling How To Write a Poem:
A Beginner's Guide. He runs the Kolbitars Poetry Group in Lansing, Michigan, USA.
Wow. Just wow.