
Peniel
Those who see the face of God
have to peer through veils of tears
clothed in obscurity;
or limp along a dusty road
and bear the bitter blessing of
a God who will not be tamed.
Those who see the face of God
stare into another’s eyes,
reflections of a darkened glass
fearful of deceitful past
wrestling late into the night
grasping the elusive word.
Those who see the face of God
must walk with pain all their days,
while angelic dreams descend
only once, and unrepeated
leaving them alone to doubt
everything they once believed.
Those who see the face of God
know what only others fear:
blessings and curses walk in pairs
along the same weary road —
opposing sides of a coin —
until the day their journey ends.
To support the poet’s benign coffee addiction: Coffee.

