“O Merciful One”
by Paul Murray

When without hope, without aim,
we find ourselves turning and turning
on the outermost rim
of the circumstances of our own lives ––

When our hearts are cold, our minds
no longer open to the conviction
of the unseen
or to the sources of that conviction ––

When words which were fiery
once, electrifying the mind and heart,
now seem but a mimicry of
flame, a dazzle of frozen sparks,

burn us with your fire of truth,
with your flame of love.