EXPRESSIVE MINDS

Year in, year out,  there is Lent For forty days you prepare Forty days of fasting Forty days of praying Forty days of almsgiving Then what? Forty days of fasting So you fast from food And your stomach is empty But your heart is full of abominations Forty days of praying So you pray, but the Gentiles' prayers And your words unacceptable to the Lord But your demeanor,  a Pharisee at heart Forty days of almsgiving So you give but out of compulsion And not compassion for the poor and needy But that your giving may be seen by all Should that be the case? Make your Lent count!

                        When you try to stand, but cannot feel your feet And you make the move, but your legs fail you When you try to speak, but cannot find your voice And you cry out loudest, but cannot be heard Turn to hope! Hope does not fail - hope conquers When you perceive light at the end of the tunnel But darkness is all you see around you And your inner will threatens to surrender But the reward of perseverance blooms Turn to hope! Hope does not give up - hope assures When impossibility offers you a wide embrace And promises a better future than resolution But introduces you to dejection and self-pity And the opportunity for negotiation seems unreachable Turn to hope! Hope is not dead - hope is alive