Life

1. Life

To survive is not to live.

That much is clear.

Is it life if you go day to day

without thinking, never going beyond

what is necessary?

Books are my life, superheroes

my obsession. Words, continuous

from one page to the next;

Red and blue, primary colors,

capes fluttering in the wind.

Can I survive without?

Yes.

Can I live without?

Maybe.

Family- an understanding

of my strange ways,

companions at the end of the day,

people who have my back no matter what.

Survival- yes.

I’ve survived death before.

Life- probably not.

Probably, maybe-

maddening indefinites,

consolations and warnings:

“Just in case.”

Strip my skin, peel

back the layers-

what do you find?

“But as for me and my house,

We will serve the Lord.

      We do not fear, but trust in Him;

We are not be anxious,

For it is by grace we are saved.”

Cliché, perhaps. But truth in definition.

Forget the salvation, the life that came

from the blood, the death of Christ.

Forget the belief that frees us

from the wages of sin.

Look instead to the most basic truth.

In worry, in anger, in self-doubt and

sadness, I turn to Him.

I falter much, but He is there; I wander

some, and He searches for me.

I cannot live without prayer, without hope,

without love.

And what is He but all of these?

An answer, a light in the dark,

a hand that keeps me.

I am never without

unless by choice;

I am never forgotten,

only wandering in far countries.

No island may keep me from Him;

No ocean is too vast, too deep

for Him to cross.

Daily, He is with me;

Eternally, He has known me.

Life- no.

Survival- never.