“Do your best to come before winter" (2 Tim 4:21)—it is not a misuse of Scripture if I let that be said to me.
-Dietrich Bonhoeffer, New York; June 26, 1939.
do your best to come to me before winter
it cannot wait
(by which i mean you cannot wait
or perhaps i cannot wait)
in December waves will surge
from beneath the sea
and ships be lost in cold waters
hard ground will offer no forage
and animals will patrol the forest
in packs
trains will not be available
so come to me before
the snowfall
[by which i mean i will need you then]
when all turns to ice
already i see them frozen in place
glazed sculptures who have mouths
but cannot speak
no blood runs through them
you will need to share the trials
of the people (if you want to put it that way
i understand)
but I will need you to keep me warm
to bring forth sounds from my throat
that cry words made flesh
so please
come to me before winter
(by which i mean come now)