Bow Down Before the Lord: A Poem for Lent

Break, break, my heart
Do not sing this song again
The melody of complaisance

Every time you feel Him gone
You weep and regret
You turn back and plead
With righteous tears
Making promises you cannot keep
Never again
I’ll always be true
And hours pass and you breathe
With gratitude
Relaxing again into assurance

But assurance is too sure for you
And treason here is by mere accident
Too quickly you dismiss
O treacherous soul
Too quickly you forget

Tell me, O my soul
Why do you fail Whom you love
At every turn
After all this time
You still turn away
Not of malice, no
Just distraction
Disinterest
Isn’t that worse?

Bow down before the LORD
They say during Lent
Bow down, my soul
And learn repentance
Is not the same as apology
And forgiveness is not permission
To repeat old patterns of harm

Bow down before the LORD
And learn submission,
Thou old, adversarial soul
It is not enough to speak God King
It must be enacted
God must be crowned
In every moment
By every movement

Ah, but who are you to crown the LORD,
Pathetic, sinful soul?
Let Him crown Himself–
But bow down before the LORD
And do not forget Who has made you

Humble yourself, my soul
I know how much you hate it
How you bristle at restraints
You have not put on yourself
But do you not love Him?
Then humble yourself
And stop this cycle
O my soul
Bless the LORD instead
Kneel and sing praise
And pray for the grace not to turn away
Again

It is far more than you deserve
But–mystery of mysteries!–
It is so much less
Than you have been promised