Metaphysical Prayer
Come to me as nameless, Lord –
and I to Thee!
come to me – I care not – as
the Brahman, Krishna, Buddha,
Adonai, Christ, Mohammed, Reason –
clothed, adored, despised,
in any of the names and forms
by which men know Thee or profess to know,
in the name of Whom they fight each other,
and thus deny Thy very self –
or as a nameless stranger, none of these -
come to me nameless, Lord –
and I to Thee..
come as One clothed in majesty;
come as a ragged beggar at my gate;
come clothed in shining white as Love;
come as a tempter full of hate;
come in the dazzling beauty of the day,
come in the orchestra of sound,
come in the velvet silence of the night;
come to me in a crowded market-place,
come to me alone among the hills,
come to me as slow as years of torture,
come to me as quick as gunshot death –
come to me as the girl next door,
come to me as Magdalen or whore;
come to me as Satan – if Thou must -
come to me as years of reading, thinking, reasoning –
as the dust blown off an ancient book;
come to me as years of yearning patience,
hours each day of kneeling or cross-legged,
come to me as years of weary factory work,
or peeling vegetables all the day;
come to me as a long-awaited friend;
come to me blooded, fierce-eyed,
as enemy to be overcome;
come to me in anger; or in submissive patience;
come to me as tragedy, or comedy, or farce…
come to me disguised as one of these,
or as many; or as none;
or best of all, Lord,
come to me disguised as all of these…
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poem by Michael Shepherd
Added by Poetry Lover
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