This Is David

From his mama's own mouth, this story came Her travail to carry him, a long trail Of tears, loneliness, suffering and shame A hunger for which hope made no avail And then the hemorrhaging, her vital blood Like common mud, tearing his world apart Your life and her life in that tragic flood The sudden silence of his beating heart Sirens, Hospital, still he died, once, twice The doctors testified, for they helpless stood Perplexed, frustrated with every device God alone that day turned evil to good ... Made his purpose seen in life's providence Restored hope by frail wisp of evidence. ii A pimple of flesh, great folds of white sheet The child like raisin in its crumpled spot Seemed more alien than a baby sweet With shriveled skin, and head a global pot O the tense days, miserable and lone The furtive prayers of a mother's heart "As bad as can be, Lord, make him my own," The nervous scanning of the daily chart. The little blimp became a form, a frame A sense of gladness, a kindle of dream A moon's memory that gave spring a name A fresher hope from lost of true esteem. She called him "David," went to work again Lifting the load of pain, bearing the stain. iii And there in that dark environment he Like stubborn cactus in dry sand made root Sucking up the elements, the salt sea And violence, the meaningless of truth War and poverty needs no moral code Survival survival was a luxury for him. Harsh, and cruel is desire where abode Drought an, d scarcity, their horizon dim. We burn trees for coal, cannot make storm Wealth provides small control, the poor has none No shelter from life's threats nor men's harm Nothing is secure, no, not with a gun. But jackals make them, the frightened keep them Like buzzards over our sweet Bethlehem. iv O David, you should have left that day. You Should have held your rudder firm 'gainst that breeze But too little strength was left in sinew, To heavy the armor that bowed your knees And deaf the heart that heard the voice before And answered at eleven. Hope endures Through even darken deserts, light has a door To love no human sad ever ignores. God saved your life twice on the day of birth And did three more times when you turned your back To sealed your purpose in your spell on earth. From the brink of hell, God's love brings you back To be his Paul, his missionary bright His little tiger flaming through the night.