Penance
I make my way down to the white
and holy ice. For renewal,
for healing. To find a second
chance after forgetting myself.
I move silently and am blessed
with a cool, clean, singing spirit.
I come to work on my spirit,
to wash its sins and make it white
as the snow that falls from God-blessed
skies. I come to earn renewal.
that God watches us, each second.
I lift one floe, test a second
for its weight--to make my spirit
stronger I must challenge myself.
I grapple and hoist the thick white
slab. Arms lend my heart renewal,
Strong legs help a weak soul get blessed.
I trudge uphill, panting and blessed;
set it down and find a second
piece--frozen chunks of renewal.
While my body strains, my spirit
breathes Our Fathers, as in the white
silence I atone for myself.
I continue to push myself.
Ice block joins ice block, and a blessed
tower takes shape, sculpted in white,
declaring that for one second
I loathed my sins, and my spirit
earnestly sought for renewal.
My penance brings this renewal:
as God forgives. It keeps my spirit
in mind of the grace God has blessed
us with, each moment, each second.
Fear and hope glisten in ice-white.
Seeking renewal of spirit,
I put God first, myself second,
out among the ice, blessed and white.