Filled Vessel Poem by Elizabeth Shield

My heart is a stoneware vessel,
That is filled right up to the brim
From an icy and rushing river
Of nameless fear that flows within

But Your Spirit is a steadfast flame
That burns quiet within my chest
Challenging the anxious waters
That never allow me to rest

Each day I take up my vessel
To decide with what it will fill
Blazing joy or chilling worry
I know what would be your will

Yet somehow I am distracted
Or tricked by my own wayward heart
And instead, I quench the Spirit
This river it tears me apart!

How I long to be in your presence
To be by your hearth in my soul
But I'm looking for love in dry cisterns
And ice-water swallows me whole

Please come and take my vessel
Drain it of ice and fear
Let your spirit be a fire within me
And help me, in my weakness, draw near

My heart is a stoneware vessel
That is filled so it overflows
With the joy of a loving father
Whose Spirit is fire in my soul