After Ephesians 6:10-24
Living in a prison cell,
the older soldier seeks help,
not rescue or supplies, but
help of a different kind,
the help of the right words
placed in his mouth,
the help of courage
to speak boldly the truth
he carries, the truth he’s
carried since the light
in the road, the blindness
in the road, the scales
dropping from his eyes.
He carries it still,
even in this cell,
which is not to say
his spirit never falters;
he’s human, after all,
prone to doubts and fears.
But he knows what
feeds him, not the food
delivered by the jailer’s
hands, but the sustenance
delivered by the prayers
of the faithful. He is
an old soldier, veteran
of many battles veteran
of many wars, and he knows
what always takes
the battlefield.
