Parable

Parable
By R. Le Beaux

I never thought I’d see the face of God before I die
I never thought I’d find Him in the country
I spent a lot of prayer asking how much instead of why
And wondering what it really means to be free

But I saw Him in the autumn and I saw Him in the spring
And in the summer sun against my window
I saw Him painting flowers and I saw Him taking wing
And I heard Him in the winter make the wind blow

Springtime came so softly, like a whisper in my ear
And all the world was waking up around me
The morning frost had turned to dew, the snow had disappeared
The waking flowers smiling up to greet me

I heard the sound of footsteps on the fragrant summer breeze
I heard the sound of tears in summer showers
A thousand wild imaginings were singing in the trees
And as I strolled in silence through the flowers

I saw Him walking slowly in the warming summer sun
Chipmunks playing games upon His shoulders
Leaving stalks of goldenrod to sway in unison
And growing very slowly one year older

The autumn’s changing colors in the evening of the year
The sleepy forest waits for night to fall
As petals close and oak leaves fold and winter time grows near
The artist paints in brilliant hues on green cathedral walls

Soon the swirling dewdrops turn to alabaster tears
And clinging like a blanket to the hillside
Secure and warm the flowers sleep to wake another year
And as I sat in silence by their bedside

I saw Him put the earth to rest with one sweep of His hand
I saw the great Mandela at His side
And as the scene unfolded I began to understand
That all the world would soon be purified

And though my God cannot be found in prose of ages past
And though my chapel has no colored windows
His presence is as clear to me as dewdrops on the grass
And all my fears are stilled each time the wind blows

© 1975/ 2010 R. LeBeaux