I have not yet
come to grips
that the best rehearsal
I’ve had for life
was, as a six year old,
playing
“hide and go seek.”
Sometimes I hid,
sometime I sought,
often I would not
find, but the game
required that
I keep seeking.
Success, love, family,
renown, certainty,
security, surety,
God.
Each hidden
With greater,
or lesser,
skill, waiting
for me to open
the closet door,
or peer behind
the tree.
But when seeking
there,
success or love,
certainty, surety, or
God,
such
would dart out
from a different
there, and rush
to home base,
touching it, shouting,
“olly, olly, oxen,
free, free, free.”
A phrase I still don’t
understand, and in which
I’m uninterested in
googling, although
I hope I understand
love, family, certainty
hope, security, surety.
God eludes me.
When six, the game
had its own thrill, now
long past six,
the game continues,
but with less thrill.
May I be
presumptuous
and speak for God?
This gift from Him is
our game of life, and
for Him,
A game with us?
Olly, olly, oxen,
Free, free, free.
