Fathered

We had felt ourselves fatherless

for so long. Bereft of the security

of a wise hand, a holder of place 

for us, a steady arm

guiding our wobbly efforts

We had been fatherless, and

so had our fathers, betrayed

when they reached out

for crucial aid

We carried ourselves thus,

tentative, cringing from expected blows,

trying to take up less space,

to go unnoticed 

and so avoid expulsion

So astonishing to learn

Our Father has been with us all along

providing bright support around our heads,

plenty of ground to stand on,

plenty of headroom,

extending past to future

all along the presence of our days

As we walk, now royal,

in the exclamation

of our stature as beloved

sons and daughters of our Father,

welcomed home.

©Wendy Mulhern

December 29, 2016