From the Deep

The enshrouding blackness
engulfs my being.
Alone.
Afraid.
My mind is a whirlpool
ever inwards
towards an eternity of intolerable pain.

I used to reach out
a hand
into the black unknown
in hope.
But my soul was torn from me,
and I hoped no more.

It was like a pit.
Unfathomable depth.
Torturous groveling.
My tears the only sound
in the impenetrable darkness.

I remember that pit,
and the fear,
and the hopelessness
of an eternal agony of mind,
and the soulless wandering
in uncharted desert.

Now I find myself at this oasis,
this unlooked-for-harbour,
this refuge.
I did not deserve that gracious act
to pluck me from that all-powerful deep.

I had no hope,
but turning back along the path I came,
I see a gracious hand
and a loving smile.
I see a guiding light
and feel a protecting wing.

Nestling in your warmth,
my cold heart has thawed.
The blackness of my soul
has blossomed into a million blooms.

My tears have turned into jewels,
and my bitterness to honey.

But I remember the pit.
Keep me, O LORD,
Safe
in the refuge of your wings.

Elizabeth  (Ruth, Atkinson)