Darkness surrounds you in your bed alone,
takes over your body, feelings, and soul.
You cringe in great pain and loudly you groan;
a wounded spirit that longs to be whole.
Abandoned in darkness as in a cave
without old Fingal’s music to relieve
the strains of roaring, crashing, white-topped wave
crushing your vessel; they won’t let you leave
for gentle pools in an ocean of calm
that pacifies the buffeted temper;
you cry for the One who anoints with balm
that soothes your total being’s distemper.
Appearing most absent, he is most near,
holds you to his bosom, a son most dear.
About the Author
Habib Steele, previously known as Bill Steele, is a retired Minister of the Word and Sacraments in the Christian Reformed Church. He served as a missionary with Christian Reformed World Missions in the Republic of Guinea, West Africa. He is a member of New Life CRC in Guelph, Ont.