Poem September 19, 1988 Issue

Pride ... seen and denied

Faith Walsh Heidtbrink

There it was again, that same old dart of pride ...
subtle, distracting, inward-looking,
self-inflating.

But this time I saw it
as it shot through thought,
and this time I knew I would give it no home,
no place to lodge or dwell ...
no power to be me.

For pride once seen is easier denied:
an enemy thwarted, a thief locked out.
Dismissed and rejected it does no harm;
it has no light, no life of its own.

And now, where pride would have grown,
taking credit for God's own work,
humility spades the soil
and gratitude blooms all the more.

Faith Walsh Heidtbrink

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Jesus' words and works show us the way
September 19, 1988
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