UPON THE ALTARS

upon the altars of fame and knowledge I have danced 
and pranced naked,
denude of truth,
denude of Christ,
naked, ambitious, afraid of Him and His Truth

now, I praise God for everything brilliant and dark
leading me inch by micro-inch to this point of His Light

Building upon the sands of my own time
I have forgotten Him,
I have neglected Him and His Truth.

Crossroad upon crossroad,
scratching my scalp wondering,
puzzled as a drunk monkey stumbling down a rocky slope,
puzzled with the questions of smiling virgins
   offering their sacred trust

puzzled yet forgetting that
everytime I trust Our Lord to instruct me
He does: 
in His Word,
in my little journey,
all along each wordy and wordless way

Praise God for every dark, deadend corner where I have cried
and slept
then awakened more hopeful!

Praise God for the yet endless stories
approaching His Truth!

I have wasted much on the altars of vanity, foolishness,
lust and despair

But, Praise God, I feel the wickedness burst apart
as I crawl like a winged creature
from my Cicada shell
leaving it behind
clinging lifeless to the greening, growing
pine of earth

-Steve Sedberry
11:48 PM, 30 Aug 2001