From The Moment When Life Found Substance Poem by Gert Strydom

(after Solomon Ibn Gabirol)

From the moment when life
found substance in me
when cells of my mother and father combined
You have formed me in a special way,
You have loved me past that which I comprehend
and have known me in the way that I am,
have led me; have been there in every longing and care
and in the years of my rebellion, in every iniquity and sin
Your love has reached out, have known me
and all of my weaknesses and faults
are clear to Your gaze
and I have got to confess
that which brings parting,
every weakness and sin
of which You know all the reasons,
as you have loved me from the very begin.

[Reference: “Before I was Born” by Solomon Ibn Gabirol.]