MyHeartsDesire

Carmel means garden. I often wondered where in this garden I might fit. I usually thought of myself as a simple blade of grass, joined with all the other simple blades of grass that made a beautiful background for the great lilies and roses and the little violets of our Order. But that image never felt quite right. Then one day, thinking about the potter and the clay (Jer 18:6) lead to thoughts of earth or humus and the great virtue of humility so loved by our saints. And this gave me my place in the garden, a lump of clay. That has become my meditation and the impetus for this poem.

I asked to be made
a little lump of clay,
To be ignored and unnoticed
by any who came my way.
To be thought of as useless –
or not thought of at all,
To have no reason for being
until His tragic fall.

He staggered to the ground
beneath that heavy load,
A man of sorrows
lying prostrate in the road.
No cushion for His head
no protection from the ground,
No comfort or mercy
from any to be found.

But hidden underneath Him
where no human eye could see
I comforted and caressed Him
the God who fell on me.
In darkness and in hope
long had I waited
To give all my love
to this God who was hated.

Too soon the soldiers came
and forced Him on His way
To face the tragic end
of that most tragic day.
And I again alone, unnoticed
but with a treasured memory
Of the day I gave a kiss
to my God who needed me.