WITH THIS TOUCH, I KNOW

 

 

WITH THIS TOUCH, I KNOW

We go in and out of the chambers of grace
and afflictions in the heart of things at our
own peril. These are houses we scarcely know 

but before long we think we have known,
and cried at every mention of how things were
in those days in those houses where we grew. 

We have known them all: the familiar songs,
the loves gone by, the pains forgiven, the hurts
that linger, and all that has touched us we now 

want to touch, maybe not with caressing hands
but certainly with steady and soulful embraces
that know how to let go when things must go. 

We have known them all already, we have touched
them all. With each touch we have learned to pray. 

—Albert B. Casuga