Poem March 18, 1996 Issue

Eternal freshness

Ellen Moore Thompson

Father, soften me up a bit;
I'm getting a little hard
around the edges.

Help me not to doubt,
help me not to despair.
Fill my thoughts up full
with a tender, loving prayer.

"Added years" don't mean
growing in gruffness;
rather, a growing in grace.
Experience shouldn't lead to distrust,
judgmentalism, a sweetness turned sour.
Experience teaches that our surest trust
is well placed if displaced from men
and grounded in God—
foundation for healing.