And so I give myself to pain.
I give myself to lilies, broken by the rain,
To weariness, to wasted fields of grain.
I face the twilight all alone,
And staring down the emptiness, I dare the sun
To set upon the dreams I choose to own.
And so I give myself to pain.
I wrestle through the darkness with the ropy rain,
And give my strength for tiny ears of grain.
Red blood, beneath a brooding sky,
Flows. Faith peels back the questions with an open “Why?”
And from the rubble, I raise my hands and try
Again. To give myself to pain;
Bathe ancient scars where Heaven’s grief falls down like rain:
Her tears, among these tares, bear precious grain.
Kyle Lehman is a teacher and poet who loves to watch things grow, like seeds, strange ideas, hay bales, and moon.
Photography by Kenneth Godoy