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I Shall Not Want

We were both seniors, but he was
some 21 years my senior. Ken was
A most dear friend who passed
away a couple of years ago. I
was spilling my heart out to
him one day as we drove
along in the vehicle.

As I continued to utter my
obvious frustrations over
things I most did not WANT,
Ken popped the most pointed
question when he asked me,
"But what do you WANT?"
It was clear as day what
I did not WANT; but what I
WANTED was foggy and misty.

For a moment, my soul seemed
to have stood still as I pondered
the fact that I did not recall anyone
ever asking me, 'what I really WANTED'.
Either they did not care or they could
not see in me any sense of deep personal
desire. I think that it was the latter. 

Ken had not only 'words' that ended in
a question mark. That poignant question
had a quality of tone and a heart of compassion
that registered from him to me like none that
I had experienced.

I have experienced multiple seasons in life.
Call me aimless, shiftless, and lazy if you will,
but I was compelled to look inside my soul
and conclude that I WANTED stillness, ease,
silence, poise, calm, peace, and a cessation
of dedicated activities and involvement.

I WANTED more of what Ken and I were about
on that particular day. The two of us were
part of a men's breakfast that came together
once a week for breakfast. Beyond the
breakfast, our entire affair was a morning
about anything in general and nothing in
particular. It was 'much ado about nothing'.
And in this season of my life, that was what
I really WANTED most.

121922PSCtest, Our Soul’s Wish List Poetry Contest.
Unseeking Seeker

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