I was certain that i knew You

At the tender age of twelve

You'd so often been described by those

Who said they knew You well

Dark and rugged in Your thirties

With a smile as bright as Your robe



Every teacher, every preacher

With the very best intent

Found new ways to hide the mystery

Replaced by common sense

And to know You was to keep You in my pocket

So easy to hold



I know I can't explain You

I would not even try to

And yet it's clear that You are here beside me

I marvel and i wonder

So near and somehow still so far

What makes You who You are?



It is easy to insist

On what is packaged and precise

And dismiss the clear suspicion

That You're bigger than we'd like

It is tempting to regard You as familiar

In so many ways



I've tried to draw these lines around You

A definition or an absolute

But i could not be satisfied with black or white

There is so much more

There is so much You