For Carol
By Conor Hodges - Sanford, Florida, USA - 1 March 2017
Our first lurching step toward salvation
is realizing we are ill.
Then, grasping that scarred hand's urgent invitation,
we hold fast with all our will.
Our souls are tempered like Roman steel
forged in baptismal flame.
And our fears were crushed beneath a Virgin's heel,
smothering our shame.
So while the world's screaming arrows
may pierce our daily routines.
And our tears, like so many sparrows,
fall forgotten and unseen.
Still our hope gushes like wine into a glass
and doubt crumbles like bread beneath our tongues.
We know that whatever ails us will soon pass
and our hearts, in Christ, remain forever young.