I Will Not Loose My Grip Poem by Gert Strydom

(after Gerard Manley Hopkins)

No, I will not flee,
while I struggle as a mortal man,
using all the power that I can,
while I am struggling to be free,

to be free, from sin, from my own iniquity
and yet its your familiar / unfamiliar face that I scan
while I am trying to comprehend why our fighting did began,
why someone Godly, divine chose me as an adversary?

The dust covers both of us,
while the sun is already rising
and my foot feels full of pain and odd,
but I will not loose my grip even if I must
and I am first begging for your blessing,
for your compassion, Oh my God, my God.

[Reference: “Carrion Comfort” by Gerard Manley Hopkins.]