They Have Caught a Syllable

 They Have Caught a Syllable

—after “They Have Heard Thy Name”

(A prayer for agnostics and atheists)

Thou must have seen them
Struggling to keep their pace,
Not knowing they are blind,
Crippled, and alone.
They would come to Thee
If only they knew.  How can they know?
When they are blind and deaf?
Thy Name is everywhere,
But they cannot hear it.
Thy Name is in their hearts,
But they do not feel it.
O Divine Beloved,
Give Thyself to them anyway.
They are Thy wondering pilgrims
Though they know it not.
O Divine Beloved,
Grip their souls so tight
That they can no longer
Walk this hell
With their smug hatred
Of the Name they cannot hear,
Of the Name they cannot say.
O Divine Beloved,
They have caught a syllable,
They have caught a glimmer
Of Thy sacredness.
Give them more, give them more
So they will know that they
Can no longer go on without Thee.

In a slightly different version of this poem/prayer appearing in my collection Singing in Soul Silence:  Voice of Faith, I employed the modern use of second person singular.