Embraced

After Romans 8:12-23

The child

in its suffering

is embraced

by the spirit,

becoming an heir,

full family rights,

joining in suffering

to reach the prize,

the glory promised,

the glory revealed

at the end.

Photograph by Daiga Ellaby via Unsplash. Used with permission.

The sounds of chains

After Romans 8:12-23

The chains leave stains

of dirt and rust upon the wrists

and ankles, and a soreness

of the weight carried, a weight

so heavy that it seems to have been

always there, a physical defect,

with its pain, discomfort, a binding

that chafes, has chafed.

In the distance we hear

the sounds of chains breaking,

cracking, the metal fracturing

open, until it reaches these wrists,

these ankles, and splits, dropping

aside. The stains of rust and dirt

remain until washed by the rain,

cooled by the wind rustling the trees,

the groaning displaced by a song.

Photograph by Joshua Hoehne via Unsplash. Used with permission.

Adopted child

After Romans 8:12-23

Abandoned, and left

alone, the crowd moving

on, the child looks and

stares, concern mounting

to desperation, mounting

to fear, until a hand

reaches out, touches

the child’s forehead,

the touch imparting

a spirit of place, of time,

a spirit transferring

ownership of belonging.

The child reaches 

to the hand 

of its new father.

Photograph by Joel Overbeck via Unsplash. Used with permission.