Poem

The wind howled past the lone figure of a man
Lost in thought of what can't be done and what can
Thoughts of the past and what happened there
thoughts of a future handled with more care

Blind to the view, the sun sinking low
Deaf to the wind crying it's mournful blow
Her face he sees in his head again
Smiling like it had right up to the very end

Now he lowers his head to his hands
Regret wrapping his heart in rusty bands
Seeing the destruction of a perfect life
In the tearful eyes of the perfect wife

Now he raises his eyes to the sky
In prayerful petition to His Father on high
"Lord let not these clumsy hands tear down
The happiness of the lives you put me around"

"Lord let not an unguarded tongue
Continue to replace the songs I should have sung
Let me not again lash out in bitterness
Against the one I love in all earnestness"

A touch on his should, his head whips around
A stab of shame, his eyes fall to the ground
A gentle voice soothing, a new hope's genesis
His gaze rises slowly to her eyes of forgiveness

Holding her now in his loving arms
A powerful protection against all that harms
Her head laid so familiarly upon his chest
Her forgivness shown total now in her rest

He lifts again his voice to his Lord
Offering praise sprung from hope restored
Giving thanks for the love so true
And for a heart now broken and made anew

--by Matthew Todd