Once there was a young hard man
Who wore a shiny badge
On a plaid shirt with pearl buttons
In sunset colors that he'd had

And everywhere the young man went
He did the good right thing
'Cause he was born with a sense of justice
Consequences made him think

His motives were impeccable
He controlled his life’s own fate
His manners were apparent
He'd rather die than be caught late

And for very, very, many years
He'd lived this strict hard way
But decided that he was the ONLY one
And his morals began to decay

One day he'd looked in the mirror
And he saw to his grim surprise
That there were deep lines on his forehead
And a sadness in his eyes

He asked the reflection looking back
“What's my whole life been worth for
If I stand for right over wrong each day
But the rest of humanity snores”?

So instead of just doing the good right thing
Like he'd always done before
He let bitterness creep in the way of it
Since his reasons were unsure

And intolerance, cruelty and mercilessness
Replaced the silver badge
And he worshiped himself like an idol as if
He knew more than the whole world had

He disfavored the people that needed his help
And "the least of these" he begrudged
He started to nurse his prejudices
And crowned himself as judge

Then seasons passed as quickly as
Snow melts up on the floor
And the next time that the mirror spoke
The sadness had grown some more

And then the day that we all dread most
Snuck up like lightning fast
He was lying in bed when the preacher came
Each breath he thought was his last

And fear began to startle him like
The slamming of a door
His eyes were streaming full of tears
And his heart ached to the core

The preacher said “The time has come
To lay your burdens down”
But the words stuck in the hard mans craw
Like bread that you can’t wash down

And the preacher knew so he took is hand
Saying, "Here's some encouraging news
For all of this time you ignored Lord God
He's been watching out for you".

And the hard man understood just then
That feeling in his chest
Yes while he was alive he could
Deny that God exists

But now a shame came crashing in
For the gentleness he'd lacked
With all of the people he'd been hard with
'Cause he couldn’t take it back

And right before he closed his eyes
To fade from out of time
A whisper soft came from his lips
"I should have made You mine".

Written by Sara Fielder © Aug 2013