A Long Way Off

(a poem-prayer, to be found where the father is)

A father's heart embraces

his son

still mid-run,

still a long way off.

A father's heart appeals to

the righteous one,

always right at home,

yet a long way off.

Elder son, night & day

compared to younger—

years worked,

waited (bided?), while

younger brother spent,

risked, squandered.

The conscientious and compliant,

now

complaining, thankless,

self-excluding,

missing the whole

daggum

party

(which he would have

found to be just as much

for his own

blasted

fun).

And the most

remarkable grace:

so wildly impulsive,

yet

desperately sincere—

this is

the son who finally

attains the lavishness of

his father's heart.

Oh God,

let me not be found in

self-righteous sulking,

worshiping my own

“vast” differences

from my younger sibling

(so many ways to

be a long way off).

May I be found in

celebratory proximity

to the just-arrived-home,

who still smells of animal

stall, bits of pig slop

still clinging to

their clothing. Unafraid

to get close,

unbothered when

a bit of pig slop

rubs off

on me.