A Garden

When the sunlight pours through evergreen leaves,

When a cool breeze whispers gently through the trees,

When birdsong rings in a morning sky of blue,

When my feet land on soft grass covered with dew,

I think that I’m in Eden.

When my mother’s arms wrap me in a warm embrace,

When a child takes my hand with a smile on their face,

When my friend sits across from me at the table,

When I run and feel my heart beat in a body that is able,

I think that I’m in Eden.

But then I see salty tears on faces as they roll.

But then I see violence and how heavy is its toll.

But then I see hunger and the way it makes them ache.

But then I see loss and the way a heart can break.

I am east of Eden.

But then I hear them lie to the people with their trust.

But then I hear the blame, “It was them, not us.”

But then I hear the sirens rushing to the scene.

But then I hear the fight over what it all must mean.

I am east of Eden.

How, oh how, am I to live a life in this barren land?

Do I simply close my eyes? Cover my ears with my hands?

Will those fleeting Eden moments when life is full and bright,

Be enough to get me through the lonely black of night?

I can’t live with eyes shut tight. I can still hear all the sounds.

As much as I search I seem to find that old bliss is not around.

So who can show me how I am to flourish in the east?

Who can show me how to mourn, to laugh, to fast, to feast?

There’s only One that can, only One who knows what’s true.

Only One to trust because He’s known eastern sorrows, too.

He has been in Eden but He left it just for me,

And came to open the garden gates for all eternity.