This Old Man

by Dale Mahfood

Artist: Shoko Takayasu

When He returns
And young men shout joy
This old man—
This old man will weep.
On His appearance
When maidens dance this way
Old women—
Old women, like unto me, will shed tears.

How many years will we have waited?
How many chapters turned their pages?
How many times will we have uttered,
“Come, Lord Jesus, come”?
With hopes and frustrations
With doubts and scars
And times of straying,
Nearly foregoing,
Almost falling,
Held only by Your grip
And Your people’s cords of kindness

Like a dream we secretly doubt
Like a long distance romance, waiting without
—Waiting and trusting in what you said

Then, on an undefined day,
When weddings and vacations and murders and rapes are in progress—
Jesus will return
And those waiting will
shout
and weep
and dance
and mourn

And this old man—
This old man
Will finally be home.

4 responses to “This Old Man”

  1. Nicely stated, from one old man to another!

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  2. The picture of the old man reminds me of my dad, already in heaven 6-1/2 years. Thanks for the reminder. God is so good.

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  3. Beautiful poem. I love the way you’ve captured the longing in our hearts

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    1. Words Of The Lamb Avatar
      Words Of The Lamb

      Glad you like the poem, I know Dale would appreciate this 🙂

      Like

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