invitation to the near shore
from across the ocean i've returned home
weary and hurt by terrible storm
with heart still beating and hope much alive
needing yet a while to rest and heal
 
where that dark night dissolved all direction
now I see beckoning friends holding candles
where the loud storm broke my hearing
now from my quiet place I hear your welcoming
 
within my melancholy are safe soft shades of grey
beyond me stark sunlit scenes overwhelm the senses 
in my heart where you would come is still dark storm
yet there also arrives the loving light of your candle
 
wait a while for me on the near shore
soon to celebrate life as we well remember
empathy for a friend learning to say yes again, but not all at once and not to everything he holds dear.
 1journey.net      may 2006 elias