To What Degree? Poem by Lora Colon

How lonely must the night become,
How dark before we are shown the light?
Must it be the starving man's last crumb
That draws God's attention to his plight?

To what degree must the heart break -
'Til it's held by one thin fragile thread?
Can we shout a sleeping God awake?
Dare we go where angels fear to tread!

How many tears must stain the page
Of the distraught poet's saddest verse?
The answer evades the wisest sage,
Could it be God himself laid this curse?

But in vain we question our fate -
Superficial particles are we,
Destined for death, nervously we wait,
Born to suffer - but to what degree?

Is no man worthy of his birth?
From what Source sprang this complexity?
Begging for mercy has little worth,
Not even Death pledges amnesty

Might the darkness get darker still?
Does our suffering bridge eternity?
Is wrath part of God's undying will
To torment us....... but to what degree?