Poem January 24, 2000 Issue

What I would like to do

Deborah Allen-Baber

What I would like to do is start again:
Be a more faithful servant,
Put first things first,
Render unto Caesar and to God the appropriate things,
Love myself enough to love my neighbor well.
What I would like to do is sing each day,
Pray each day the right way,
Yield to Him/Her,
Heal, not mull,
Sow, not eat,
Listen, not vent,
Give, not need or want or insist or fear.
If all I say is true,
If all that is indeed what I would like to do,
What stops me now?
I cannot start again, but I can start today.
I cannot redo a mortal scene, but I can walk the Way.
If all I say is true,
Then I will do what I would like to do
Serve God, be the Master's disciple, be my Leader's worker.
And if it is just words,
Then hush,
Continue being lazy, continue having tunnel vision,
Continue "rushing around smartly,"
Mary Baker Eddy, Miscellaneous Writings, p. 230 . Continue having treasures on earth.
Continue dreaming of what might have been mortally.
Yes, but . . .
Hush.
Listen to the angels.
For spiritually, all still can be and will be and is.
Today, now, as a thousand years, is the time
For all of God's great goodness to be my focus and expression,
My rejoicing and my lifework.