There are moments
Rare, fleeting, oh so very precious
When my being
Is suffused with Your Grace

Your Grace envelops me
Constricts me
Cuts off my very breath
Oh how sweet is that breathlessness

Like a tidal wave
Your Grace sweeps into my being
In that brief moment
I feel eternity
I feel You
You
Only You
I feel weightless
My sense of self suspended
Blissfully oblivious to all
But You

As with the surge of a tidal wave
The toxicity within me
Anxiety, fear, pettiness, selfishness
All that distances me from You
Is swept out
Like so much flotsam
I am cleansed
I am whole

Alas!
The moment of Grace passes
And I am left empty
Yearning
Waiting
Waiting
Waiting
To be swept up again

God Bless you America
I came to you
A lifetime ago
In my luggage,
Dreams, aspirations,
And a blank slate

Eyes open wide in wonder
I saw the rich colors of your palette
On a packed subway car
White, brown, black
And every shade in between
The world in a microcosm
The varying cadence
Of accents and languages
Some familiar, some unknown
A hymn to the richness of your diversity

America,
On the blank slate
In cursive you wrote
Each letter touching the next
The "other" is you
And you are the "other"

There were times,
America,
When soot from fires
Of bigotry and hate
Covered your words
Obscured your message

But the blessed breaths of Tolerance and Love
Gentle
But persistent
Blew out the flames
Blew the soot off the slate
So the message remained
Indelible and clear
The "other" is you
And you are the "other"

God Bless you America