A Poem for the Gerasene (Luke 8:26-39)

The ministry of loneliness
Is staying when you want to leave
When those around you don’t believe
But you’ve come out of darkness

The daily plague of Legion
No clothes, no sleep, no shelter
Life above the tombs no better
Than living underneath

The soul is strange the body bruised
No end, this darkness permeates
But then this man comes
Radiates
The promise, hope renewed

Legions flee in fear
Neighbors stand and stare
They hate the man that cared

The ministry of loneliness
Is staying when you want to leave
When those around you don’t believe
But you’ve come out of darkness

The daily plague of Legion
No clothes, no sleep, no shelter
Life above the tombs no better
Than living underneath

The soul is strange the body bruised
No end, this darkness permeates
But then this man comes
Radiates
The promise, hope renewed

Legions flee in fear
Neighbors stand and stare
They hate the man that cared
But I am here, I am here

I forgot my name
Until he came

They’re asking him to leave
But my life is his now
I cry, I beg, I bow
He says ‘don’t follow me

Instead, tell your good news
And give praises to God’
I agree and nod
How can I refuse?

But this is not what I would choose

The ministry of loneliness
Is staying when you want to leave
When those around you don’t believe
But you’ve come out of darkness