Oct 5.99: Light For The Day - "In My Solitude"

"Turn to me, LORD, and be merciful to me,
because I am lonely and weak."
-- Psalm 25:16 (TEV)

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"In My Solitude"

I am alone
On the road I travel,
On the road you take me,
Drawing me on with a force
That exceeds all human demands.

I am alone
And I feel this solitude
Like a deeply open wound
In the depths of my being.
All those who surround me
Are only shadowy figures,
Vanishing furtively
At the sound of my appeal.
They flee and disappear
When I try to approach them.
And the time is coming
When I will settle into this solitude
And it will be my lone companion.

I do not know from where
This solitude comes to me.
Does it come from you?
Is it the only road
Where I will discover you
And find at last your truth?
Or does it come from others
who refuse to give me love
And thus drive me deeper down
Into the life of cold indifference?

Or does it come from me
Repulsing other human beings
As I try to draw them to me?

I walk, O LORD, in solitude
And the silence resounds in my ears
More loudly than the shouts of men.
I walk, O LORD, in solitude,
Plunging deeper into it
As I journey on to you,
My LORD and God.

-- Francois Chagneau

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"Answer me, O LORD, for thy steadfast love is good;
according to thy abundant mercy, turn to me."
-- Psalms 69:16 (RSV)