Before You Speak

Monday Missive 103

A Poem: Before You Speak

Before you speak,
Fear kills the thoughts,
Buried in your heart.
You wait for them to emerge,
But they never do.
They hide in the shadows
Of loneliness,
Of sorrow,
Of hurt;
Too personal to share,
Too raw to express.
They hang in the air,
Dangling their feet,
Just above our conversation
Waiting for courage
To step into the moment;
Waiting for opportunity,
Waiting for an opening,
That might be,
That could be;
But never is.
So, they leave
Through the quietness,
Beyond the silence,
Dying in their loneliness.

If only I was
Beyond my selfishness,
Beyond talking about me,
Beyond filling the space
With meaningless chatter.
If only I truly listened,
Your thoughts would
Emerge from the shadows,
And you would find freedom
To share.

A Prayer: Help Me Move Beyond

Father, this day help me
Move beyond my selfishness.
Help me
See beyond,
My needs and desires.
Help me
Center this day
Around you.
Help me
Listen to your heart;
That I might hear you,
That I might become more like you;
Help me
Listen to the hearts
Of those you bring into my path;
That I might reflect you;
That I might love them as you do.

A Passage: For Reflection

Share each other’s burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ. If you think you are too important to help someone, you are only fooling yourself. You are not that important.
— Galatians 6:2-3 NLT