STATEMENT OF FAITH
The prayers are finished
and I am furious
at the joy I have missed
at the hiddenness of good things.
They send slight signals
through the weary weather
and layers of the day,
and my arms feel for glorious sky.
Blessings erupt in my mouth
and songs sing in my inner chambers.
I will celebrate somehow.
I will put myself on the line.
I will offer my shoulder to the burden.
I will walk in one direction
and when at rest lie cradled in its vision.
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I will wail my longings loudly.
I will recite triumphant stories.
I will hope until something happens.
I will sing into the sorrowful void.
I will take the dark and quivering chance of love.
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I will keep my palms open.
I will believe in the last, good word.
I will plow through earth and blood
and, finally, expose the glistening veins of truth.
I will be afraid for all the right reasons
and allow good anger to change me.
I will remember every place in which
the light has kissed me.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ © 1996 Vinita Hampton Wright. All rights reserved
And every shard of grace or pleasure
will be a weapon in my pocket.
And the brightness of my believing
will pierce the eye of the evil one.
I will learn the names of God
and pronounce them aloud in every place.
Their tones will crumble heavy mountains
and clear the tangled paths
and open worlds to twinkle in the blackness.
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And the saints shall wave at me an exuberant affirmation
that flutters ghostlike across the chasm.
And my accusers will run out of words
because my hope and my hunger outlived them.
And I will plant my hands upon the coat hem of God
and be battered by the dragging
but the end will find me there.
I will not stop.
I will not stop looking
for the fulfillment of promises.
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And the power will come down
and it will not destroy me
because I saw it coming.
And the love will emerge
and I will recognize it.
And the peace will arrive
and it will find its home in me.
—Vinita Hampton Wright, 1996
