Hurt so deep
Saber of emotion
Blade of pain
Cuts through the thin veneer
The skin we coat our lives with
Protecting us from the unwanted intruders
Of sickness, loneliness, emptiness
Fear
They walk in
Day after day, month, year
All hoping for a cup of cold water
To soothe their parched lips
The endless flow of need coming through the door
Tugs at my tired arm once again
Bidding me come, help
Hold
Some days are heavy
Room after room
Heart after heart
All with hands open and insides exposed
Bruised, bloodied, bludgeoned, buried in despair
Looking for slivers of hope
Looking for escape, relief
Rest
Power totally drained
Thoughts on hold
I try to put down the load
Shoulders still aching from the weight
The heaviness of hurt, the immensity of pain
Turn to face my own life now
Take a deep breath in
Sigh
A noble burden
Standing in the gap
When all other hopes have disappeared
That I should share suffering tears
That I should hold hopeless hands
I’m not that special or wise
Just me, tired, insecure
Weak
Too deep, too real
I wonder why I have been called
To be the one they come to when others fail
I had no teachers in this lesson
Aside from my own scars
Healed wounds, yet hurting still
My many mistakes
Failures
It is my hand they come to hold
I can only give thanks
For the honor given
The weight can crush
I daily ask for strength
To carry some more loads
To hold some more hands
To open that door
Again
