Poems from the Past: You're Always There

What I Was Writing Then: Originally published in Eugene, OR | December 1979.

This poem was one of the first poems I ever wrote.

I remember writing it with my home in the Carolina Lowcountry in mind soon after I completed my initial enlistment with the Navy and moved to Eugene, OR in 1979.

This was a period of intense introspection and searching for meaning in life.

Little did I know then how spiritually prophetic this one would turn out to be, as a few months later Jesus revealed that He too, is always there.

Waiting …

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Photo by Evgeni Tcherkasski on Unsplash

YOU’RE ALWAYS THERE

Like soft wind singing,

Your voice seems to say,

My son, Listen to me,

You’ll come home one day.

As a boat takes shelter from the stormy sea,

You’ll find safe harbor and know,

That all my children come home to me.

—

I was young and restless,

Now it seems so long ago,

My head was dancing with places of old,

With things undone, with stories untold.

You knew, you knew,

And you still let me go.

—

Endless dreams and fantasies,

Like streaming rays of sunshine,

Warming the Autumn air,

Have taken me to the ends of the Earth,

And as a rainbow just out of reach,

You’re always there.

—

Like soft wind singing,

Your voice seems to say,

My son, listen to me,

You’ll come home one day.

As a boat takes shelter from the stormy sea,

You’ll find safe harbor and know,

That all my children come home to me.

—

You wait,

Calmly watching,

Like a storm on the verge of rage,

Watching,

As I cry another tear,

Smile another smile,

Start another page.

—

In my heart,

You’ll never change.

And I know I’ll never rest,

‘Till once again,

I feel your touch,

Your sweet and gentle caress.

—

Like soft wind singing,

Your voice seems to say,

My son, listen to me,

You’ll come home one day.

As a boat takes shelter from the stormy sea,

You’ll find safe harbor and know

That all my children come home to me.

—

You’re always there.