Baptism: a Poem

As you enter

this dark river

leave life behind.

Release:

expectations, roles, successes

Surrender:

any capacity for doing

Discover:

only peace

in its meandering

eddies.

Bathe in love.

And when life beckons again:

ascend the bank

one painful step

after another.

No turning back.

Brave the uncertainties

of this unfamiliar

territory

with an open

countenance.

Accept, bless, forgive

and ultimately serve.

You’re cleansed now.