Sunday, January 24, 2010

The Power of We

by Noah Matthews
Copyright 2010


It amazes me still.
My dependence on We.
My fear of We.
My quest to escape We and my need for We.

Yet We can hurt like nothing else.
A harsh word from We is worse than one hundred paper cuts.
An afternoon free of We is bliss.
An evening without We is a journey into sadness.
I daydream of a life without We and have nightmares of losing it.

Bitter sweet, is We.

We is family who have never had a kind word and who misrepresent you, twisting the truth into a thousand ugly lies.
We is the "friend" who has nothing to say to you but who lights up like the Crystal Cathedral at Christmas when another friend walks into the room.
We is the Pastor who calls only to ask for help, but never just because he wants to spend an hour with you.
We is the God who created perfection in Eden and now looks down at you day after day after day after day, seeing something twisted and ugly, not His perfect Adam.
We is a father who is but a vapor, a memory, a face nearly forgotten and a voice you can't recall.
We is me - a shell of misshapen clay spread haphazardly by thick thumbs over a frame that has rusted to dust and left a hollow center filled with regret.

It doesn't have a pretty ending, or so it seems. This thing. My dance with the Power of We.


4 comments:

  1. Noah, It's me: Don! (The face at the top!)

    I enjoyed the poem. I think you capture the angst, the complexities, and the longings. (Also some of the hurts.)

    In answer to your question on my blog, Have you ever felt like this?

    Yes.

    I used to feel it a lot, but now it's rare.

    I think the transforming epiphany came when I realized that people aren't God. (Actually, I figured out that girls aren't God.) Songs like "You've got a friend" perpetuate a myth that ultimate satisfaction can be found in a friend/soul mate/family/spouse, etc. I discovered that only God can fill the God-shaped vacuum within my soul. And from time to time He reminds me of that.

    But after that, He sends along "others" to share the journey.

    There are other people of depth to match yours. But they are inadequate. You need Someone deeper than you.

    Seekers find. Don't give up. Keep looking. (Hint: Look up!)

    Hope this helps.

    Don

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  2. Well done my friend. You wrote it exactly how it is and I truly relate. Keep in touch. Rick

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