Oft in disquietude I sit
And for things lost I grieve and pine.
And in my grief I quite forget
The gracious things that still are mine.
***
I read about a girl and boy,
So full of dreams, so young, so fair.
Their smiles reflected peace and joy.
They did not seem to have a care.
Would that I could take their place
When I am tempted to complain.
They bore their burdens with much grace,
For she was blind and he was lame.
“Oh God, forgive me when I whine,”
The poet wrote, “the world is mine.”
One day I went into a room
Where lay a man upon a bed.
He was so ill, so weak and frail,
He could not even raise his head.
He said to me: “I once was strong,
And filled with hope and knew no pain.
But now my strength and health are gone;
I never shall be well again.”
Oh God, forgive me when I whine!
I have good health, the world is mine.
Out in a lovely park one day
I saw a man who sat alone.
A happy symphony of sounds
Rang ’round him, but he seemed withdrawn.
And, then, I knew: he had not heard,
He did not know that joy was near.
He lived within a soundless world
Where silence reigned; he could not hear.
Oh, God forgive me when I whine!
I have two ears, the world is mine.
I went inside a mental ward
Where men and women, young and old,
Knew not the night from morning’s light,
Nor summer’s heat from winter’s cold.
They were well fed, they were well housed,
Protected from the wind and rain;
But spent their days in mental haze,
Their minds were gone, they were insane.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine!
My mind is sound, the world is mine.
I watched a mother and a child,
They played beside a summer sea.
Their happy laughter filled the air;
They were so young, so glad and free.
The child ran through the ocean spray
And tumbled in the velvet sands,
And seemed as though he did not know
His happy mother had no hands.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine!
I have two hands, the world is mine.
I once stood in a prison block
Where hardened men filled every cell.
I felt their care, their dark despair,
The fears and tears, their deepest hell.
They knew no joy, they had no hope,
Their dearest dreams could never be.
The choice they made, and price they paid,
Could never change; they were not free.
Oh God, forgive me when I whine!
My life is free, the world is mine.
I sat beside a broken man,
A victim of life’s holocaust.
He said: “The world is lonely now,
All that I once possessed is lost.
My youth, my health, my work, my wealth,
My friends, my family: all are gone.
They passed before me into night,
And I must live and die alone.”
Oh God, forgive me when I whine!
I’m not alone, the world is mine.
***
With legs to take me where I’d go,
And eyes to see the sunset’s glow.
With health to do most anything,
And ears to hear the children sing.
With mind that soars to realms above,
And hands to serve the ones I love.
With freedom to go where I will,
And friends and family ’round me still.
Oh God, Eternal God of rest,
I am so blessed! I am so blessed!
With hopes that ever in me ring,
And joys that ever in me sing.
With memories of dear ones I’ve known,
And kindnesses I’ve not yet shown.
With comforts that I yet may lend,
And broken hearts I may help mend.
With things that I still hope to see,
And whispers which still come to me.
Oh God, Eternal God of rest,
I am so blessed! I am so blessed!
With golden bells I’ve not yet rung,
And lilting songs I’ve not yet sung.
With mountains I have not yet climbed,
And verses I have not yet rhymed.
With valleys I have not yet crossed,
And dreams which I have not yet lost.
With time to right the wrongs I’ve done,
And races I have not yet run.
Oh God, Eternal God of rest,
I am so blessed! I am so blessed!
With mornings I have not yet seen,
And sylvan fields and forests green.
With azure skies serene above,
And unloved ones I yet may love.
With verdant glades thru which to walk,
And kindred souls with whom to talk.
With rivers flowing toward the seas,
And soft, sweet drone of honeybees.
Oh God, Eternal God of rest,
I am so blessed! I am so blessed!
With sun, and moon, and twinkling stars,
And sand, and surf, and ocean bars,
With autumn flaming in the trees,
And softness in the evening breeze.
With dancing shadows on the hills,
And morning calls of whippoorwills.
With sparkling dew on fragile flowers,
And gentle peace and golden hours.
Oh God, Eternal God of rest,
I am so blessed! I am so blessed!
With babbling brooks by which to stroll,
And nature’s song deep in my soul.
With rustling grass where soft winds blow,
And trees bedecked with winter’s snow.
With battles that must yet be fought,
And triumphs which may yet be wrought.
With unknown friends I yet may know,
And warmth of open fires aglow.
Oh God, Eternal God of rest,
I am so blessed! I am so blessed!
With simple pleasures for my mind,
And buried treasures yet to find.
With greed and envy in me dead,
And higher ground still up ahead.
With toil and sweat in summer sun,
And place of rest when day is done.
With soft rain falling in the night,
And birds that sing in morning light,
Oh God, Eternal God of rest,
I am so blessed! I am so blessed!
With rainbows spanning lucent skies,
And tender love in trusting eyes.
With dear ones whom I can’t forget,
And knowledge that they need me yet.
With those who love me day by day,
And faith that lights the homeward way.
With virgin paths around each bend,
And glory waiting at the end.
Oh God, Eternal God of rest,
I am so blessed! I am so blessed!
Hal Upchurch, c. 1970