Mystery

It is all a mystery.
Fifty eight years and
that is the lesson
you come out of it with.

That most of what you think
you know, isn’t.
That life is full of surprises.
That people hide their hearts

in fear, a fear they often lie about,
even to themselves.
It is a mystery,
and at best, you can unlock

you own,
peeling away the myths of a lifetime,
one thin layer at a time,
learning to absorb the truth

gently, learning
the fine art of forgiveness
first on yourself,
faultingly, fearfully,

discovering the child deep within
that still rules your heart,
playing hide and seek
with the truth.

It is a mystery.
that we spend so much of our lives
seeking God, yet at the same time
hiding from him,

our useless fig leaves
clear as glass
in a picture frame,
art more beautiful

than we will allow.

==========================

About this poem

The older I get, the more I learn and listen and absorb, the more I realize how much we protect ourselves and how little we are willing to share of our truest selves. It is work to share our hearts, fearful and frightening work. Our inner child, with it’s make believe ability to frame truths in stories, protects us, and prying the truth in our deepest places does not come easily.

And sharing that truth, putting it on display, comes even harder. If you have a person in your life with whom you can share your deepest heart, safely and unreservedly, where you can allow yourself to be….. vulnerable. Then you are in a special place in your life. Be thankful!

Tom

PS – the photograph was taken at the American Frontier Museum in Staunton, Virginia.