General (Vol. 1)
Forgiveness
- Where was I when the inn door slammed,
When the soldiers slaughtered the babes in arms?
In the king's palace with the drunk and damned,
Consoling the murderers with my charms.
- Where was I when He called on me
To give all I had to the sick and poor?
In the guile and ice of a library
Searching for a scruple in the property law.
- Where was I when the donkey brayed
As a shower of foliage rained in his path?
Arranging the arrangements for a king betrayed
By a noisy crowd with my quiet laugh.
- Where was I when He broke the bread
And the wine was drunk and the promise given?
Reeling and choking and out of my head
All full and empty, mystified and driven.
- Where was I when the sky went black
And He called His last from the senseless cross?
Watching the dice lurching forward and back,
Grasping the money and resenting the loss.
- Where was I when the stone was rolled
And the earth was shaken by no touch of feet?
Beginning to think I could not be consoled
For my low desires and my high conceit.
- Where am I now that the storm has passed
And the Spirit's fire has consumed my grief?
In the arms of my redeeming Lord at last,
With the murderous king and the repenting thief.