SALVATION

Today I'm walking in the winter woods
So weary from how worldly I've become
My path takes me beside a churning flood
Where once a tiny stream was want to run.

The swollen river rumbles with the thaw
'Neath ice encrusted twigs above the spray,
And undercuts the bank, where tree roots claw,
And sweeps the frost-rimmed leaf dam from its way. 

Though cycles, tides and seasons have their pull
Inexorably tugging at my life,
I'm now swept on like rivers, spring-thaw full, 
By His love, His truth, and by His sacrifice.

As if, in freedom, earth and lake rejoice
With the pops and groans of February ice.
One cannot stop the spring lake's new-found voice,
Nor stay the bud-burst these warm days entice.

And something in me reaches for the sun,
Finally the ice departs my soul.
A new work in my heart has now begun,
And, bursting forth, its questing shoots unfold.

I liken my salvation to the spring:
The turning point, redemption and rebirth.
This tender strength is such a vernal thing: 
A vibrant transformation in the earth.