Wounded

Quick now, here, now, always —

A condition of complete simplicity

(Costing not less than everything)

And all shall be well

and All manner of thing shall be well

When the tongues of flames are in-folded

Into the crowned knot of fire

And the fire and the rose are one.

— T.S. Eliot, Little Gidding

You see this deep wound from sad news 

surface, a loved one, a friend, a family 

in crisis, the weight of crushing pain

manifests in tears and waves of uncertainty

as they struggle to understand profound

loss, guilt, anger, confusion, the battle

of tough love and protection. 

They are the walking wounded,

for a time, as God leads them through

a thatched patch, their skin scratched

by thorn-filled briar, but their hearts

bloom like roses, a fragrance 

of what will be once the path

is cleared through tender care,

deep breaths, and faithful steps —

one foot forward, and then the next.

—C.L. Fisher, July 2020

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