Edge of Suffering

He stands at the edge of suffering embedded in thought…

Friends don’t understand him,

almost like they speak different languages,

sitting amid struggle trying to make ends meet,

broken, depleted of energy to keep fighting,

stands at the edge of suffering tempted…..

 

What makes him think he was qualified

to tackle pinnacles of progress,

have a tireless drive for success,

to join the ones that have stretched the confines

of their space for a little taste of heaven?

 

”Don’t…do…it!”

 

A fear induced voice shakes out a plea for him to rethink his stance,

too afraid to join him on the edge of suffering,

so they beg for him to come down from a distance.

 

”Think about your family!”

 

A plea for him to regain perspective met with a cold glance,

’cause that’s exactly what is guiding his thoughts….

best if he leaped because if he didn’t,

he wouldn’t have any self-respect left,

And he’ rather die than to live in cowardice.

 

The brisk wind sends a shiver down his spine,

a tear strikes his shoe,

conflicted about the course of his life,

bites his lip to defy the army of moisture,

to subdue his stress.

 

A crowd forms under his eyes,

flashing lights transform into a runway for his flight,

no choice but to swan dive off the edge of suffering,

to live abundantly, or die trying.

 

Gone are days fighting for relevance,

depending upon people for a position of importance,

gone is the laying on his bed waiting to be fed,

his measure based upon someone else’s assistance.

 

He’s better than this…

Yet he stands on the edge of suffering,

reluctant to jump,

like who he was is something worth protecting.

 

”What do you have to lose?”

 

A gentle voice asks, and he knows it’s the Lord,

now discovering to discomfort was God disrupting the nest,

to make him want this more than anything in the world.

 

He smiles, then soars, off the edge of suffering,

diving into his destiny: true success!

The beauty about that poem is that it is the opposite, that leaping off of the edge is us leaping into the purposes of God, leaping into obedience to our calling, leaping into our destiny, and leaping into abundant life. The people trying to talk us down are the people who are too afraid of our faith to leap too, people who would rather us not leap so they can remain complacent in mediocrity. It is a poem of faith, one of encouragement, but it requires a deeper look.

Marshall Jones is a 40 year old man on a lifelong journey of bearing fruit for the Kingdom of God. The author of "A Raven's Meal" (RoseDog Books), a poetry collection, he aspires to target the grey areas, and the people who are terribly misunderstood by society. Believing that everyone deserves a voice, he not only shares his testimony, but he also tries to use his gifting to share other people's experiences as well. He writes from the prison system that has housed his body for 18 years, but also from the place that has been the catalyst to his freedom. Click on the YouTube Link below for his Book. or go to https://www.redthreadpoets.com/published-works/