The march of drumbeats in the air
Through these cobbled streets they stare
The light it hides and darkness creeps
Up through these walls and quiet streets.
Small children run and hide behind
Their mother’s skirts as soldiers bind
Their father’s hands, their brother’s arms
And lead them off to die.
One day that pounding beat it led
Upon our door, upon our step
They bound his feet and tied his hands
And led him off to die.
A shot rang out and one by one
A body fell and with a thud
Drove deep into the heart a fear
And from my eye there dropped a tear.
I looked at him and as he fell
I saw and felt what seemed to tell
From in his eyes a plea so deep
For me my soul to hold, to keep.
But in his blood another tune
Cried and screamed and ran down through
The cobbled streets to stain the ground
Of innocent men lost in the sound.
The sound of cries heard in the streets
The screams of dying men, to keep
Their lover’s arms, their children’s hands
Bound and woven, to hold fast and stand.
In a daze, not quite alive
I walked so slowly, and by my side
Misery, as a close friend might
Took my arm and took my fight.
So down upon that beach I walked
Walked to and fro and far apart
From worlds and skies and mornings bright
All I could see was his cold dead eyes.
The pounding in my head is strong
So strong I cannot hear the throng
Of voices streaming down the lane
Of wailing children sick with pain.
It’s all I hear, here as I walk
It pulls the air from in my lungs
Until I standing here undone
His slumping form, his empty eyes
Staring back from darkened skies.
The rivulets ran down my face
As this tired soul tossed from place to place
Upon the wind and on the waves
As greedy arms shunned to save.
The waves they pound and on the beach
Reach out to take my by the feet
They pull and grasp and draw me out
To drown my soul with this cold doubt.
It tossed and beat and swarmed until
Just a battered girl I felt-
At the mercy of the waves
Sucked into deepened, darkened caves.
Foaming waters, surfing sea
Roll, so deep, so dark, over me
And close above these tired eyes
Darkness so deep I could not but despise.
I sank beneath those stinging waves
And lost all love and hope and peace
I closed my eyes and gave up all
And slowly drifted into dark.
~
I cracked my eyes and at my feet
Swirling water, foamy sea
Lapped upon me, by my side
Seaweed dripped as if my guide.
The air it sparkled in the light
Of morning love, and joy, and sight
Of my small form curled up on the beach
Not quite dead, just full of sleep.
My lips were parted, pink and full
As the waves woke me with a pull
A gentle tug,a quiet sigh
To reunite my soul and I.
To wake and rise up off her beach
To rise from her bosom where I lay deep in sleep
Tossed to and fro by many waves
Flung here upon this foamy beach
The waves had quieted to a pulsing beat
Not roaring, nor pulling, simply lapping at my feet.
The dawn had awakened the gentler side
Of sea and surf and sand and tide
And God had stooped to give me breath
To breathe once more into this tired chest.
I picked up every limb and bone
And carried myself as the morning shone
Down the beach into the light
For God had saved me from the night.
I looked above, and over me
Flew seagulls, kind and soft and free
And I knew within my heart, deep down
That so I could be- I would not drown.
The waves they roll and at my feet
Lap so very soft and sweet
The clouds have passed, my troubles gone
And in my heart there rings a song.
A song of silent jubilee
For You, my King, have made me see
That life is just a passing dream
But You are forever- holy- King.
The waves they crashed and pulled me in
To suffocate my soul
They beat the rocks and dashed the beach
And tried to knock me off my feet.
But Jesus had His arm, you see,
Around my shoulders when my silent plea
Rose to meet the Father’s ears-
He bent to wipe my many tears.
His hand will encompass me,
And in His arms I will be-
Guarded and guided, safely kept
For all eternity.
