“Step”, she says,
“One more step.
Drown out the voices of
'Quit and forget”.
Press on, dear girl,
So as not to regret
A journey unfinished,
A hanging debt.
Hair of the sun and
Eyes like the night,
Of all that is common,
She had not a fright.
Her shoulders – strong, hands – worn.
A soul that has weathered much,
Much scorn.
Down the center of her being,
She was ripped,
She was torn
So it seemed,
Since the day she was born.
Soul of the flames,
Mind like the sea.
A friend to life's games
Is not at all, she.
Her path, seemingly even and wide
Lies rough, jagged, and narrow.
Challenges tug from side to side,
Tossing questions of every tomorrow.
One night, while walking along,
She gradually slowed her pace
Upon realizing part of herself
Was scathed during that race.
So it seemed, she wrapped her destiny
In high strung reams.
These challenges often caused to ponder.
One night while surveying the valley,
She heard not a single trace
Of that all-too familiar thunder.
Lifting her gaze, the young warrior Muttered in escalating passion,
“I find myself again in the stars,
For all below had me bound.
Where I often felt the cold iron bars,
Now traces of freedom can be found.
The stars, in their greatness cry, as does
The belligerence of this soul -
Silenced by lips in nothing except
A night sky as black as coal.”
Coursing through those words -
Deep suffering,
Through the gateway of the soul -
Liquid offering.
Unannounced and long-awaited,
They ran down, reviving her tired face.
And once more she accepted the night’s
Cold and somber embrace.
Commenced, she, her trek again
With a force upon the ground
That exceeded all men.
Each step quickened and soon
Became a run.
That run yielded not,
Until set the next sun.
Now halt,
Only to briefly rest.
Looking up, what caught her eye:
The final result of giving her best.
As surely as those spirits rose,
So came the sun from its
Seemingly endless doze.
Beaming upon a mountain so high,
Her banner finally allowed to fly.
As the rays redeemed that blissful face,
She forgot the dark of the mountain's base.
Disbelief slowly departing,
Defeat so surely parting.
With a force that exceeded all else known,
She drove her banner into the peak.
Far from previous sighs and groans,
Such was felt
As far as one could seek.
Every surrounding head turned
To admire the wonder above;
Every surrounding heart burned
With passion most only dream of…
To this day, her flag remains
By the grace of her beautiful Creator.
And next to it lie her chains -
Fallen at the hand of her Savior.
Ascensus, your path on earth remains
Constant forevermore.
As does the marks from those chains
That shook you to your core.
“Step”, she says,
“One more step.
Drown out the voices of
'Quit and forget”.
Press on, dear girl,
So as not to regret
A journey unfinished,
A hanging debt.”