My farewell to you:
the people await your ministry.
You came with a desire to save the world,
to support pilgrims
who walk rough paths of faith,
whose feet, and hearts, are bruised.
Three years of study have changed
you.
You leave with less certainty:
concrete images built in youth
have crumbled,
boundary walls
of belief are breeched.
God is less defined,
the agony of philosophers wrestling
with the nature of the universe,
the mystery of consciousness,
questions of the soul -
suffering –
is now yours as well.
or is the word ‘agnostic’
a better fit?
The mystery of what we touch
and taste and study
penetrates and widens every crack.
For that is how Truth operates –
the Spirit, the caress
and embrace of Sophia –
the feminine wisdom of God –
will give you strength.
