"You Alone Know"

Ron Panzer
July 29, 2016
Reproduced with Permission
Hospice Patients Alliance

I grieve for man's unspeakable cruelties of the past!

I grieve
for man's unspeakable cruelties of the past!

I grieve
for man's unspeakable cruelties of the
present!

I also grieve
for man's unspeakable cruelties yet to come!

How is it possible, they do not see?
How is it possible, they do not feel?
How is it possible, they do not know?

How amazing it is
that my heart beats yet,
Seeing that it beats bare,

With tears and pain
Alone and exposed
to the wind and rain,

Seeking an end,
Somehow, sometime,
Some way, an end.

Like a frost-bitten wanderer in the snow,
or a parched straggler in the desert sun,
nothing is left to cover this heart anymore!

Is this the price You demand?
Is this what Your Love means?
Is this what You felt in some small way?

Cry and sob as I can
My tears cannot equal my grief!

Cry and laugh as I can
My tears cannot equal my joy!

Cry as I can
My anger cannot stop the hate
the madness and destruction of man by man!

I cannot understand
Why some shake their fists at You.
You, who gave us the Law out of Love!

I can never understand
Why they blame You!
When the only blame is ours!

No, all of it just never ends,
As we who wait upon Your will,
Rest in Your loving arms!

You alone know our secret
You alone have walked this walk
You alone restore our now naked souls!

You alone know this grief
You alone know this joy
You alone know why.

Perhaps this is why
we light a candle.
why we pray.

Perhaps this is why
we remember
those who have come before.

Perhaps this is why
we welcome with joy
those who You intend to arrive!

Yet, again we ask,
Can a heart endure this grief?
Can a heart contain this joy?

"Yes," You whisper within,
"Come near!" But it hurts!
we protest.

Fierce and terrifying,
Fascinating and thrilling,
Your flames sear.

Yes, we understand
Your flames purify
Your arms hug and console us

Astonished, we look around,
We live still!
And we obey.

But what is left?
In the mirror,
What do we see?

Yes,
We thought to see our face,
But realize You want us to see You!

Finally,
we are invisible to the world,
You alone see us.

Finally,
You alone know us,
Beloved! Glorious Lord!

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