Applying Faith… Poem by Betty Jo Hilger

Her heart beats pitter pat; pitter pat
thump, thump; thump, thump…
Knocking in a chest crammed full, with dread
Against thin walls, which fortified, are struggling
Careworn and besieged, and overstressed
By tragedy

Ricocheting echo pounding in her mind
Bloody, surging, rushing to be heard
Disbelief becoming numb, listless, and withdrawn
Yet fighting for the urgency of time
To be attended

Questions and fatigue at war within her soul
Dying every time she stops to think
Life seems an avalanche of pain and worried soil
Burying all hope beneath her grief
Yet tears can’t fall

Beleaguered and beset, unable to find breath
She’s drowning in the roiling, slumping sleet
Knowing that the only chance to scale the fiery path
Is to give up, admitting her defeat
Into God’s hands