The Penitent Poem by Edward Rhodes

Turn away from the dreary shame of youth
From forgetting in fantasies dreamt to songs
From the hard indifference of a dull heart
Turn from the sordid stroke of self-pity
From doubt and rebellion, angry, unsure
From the silent emptiness of unbelief
Turn in the memory of a wet grave
In the weeping vigil of a lonely night
In the tears and the clean sorrow of grief
Turn away in the weakness of your words
In the empty hands of a beggar’s prayer
In seeking a face behind the dark walls
Turn to the day, to the new beginnings
To joy and friendship, open, unafraid
To hope and humility and a broken heart
Turn to the true, to the real, to the now
To love, relentless in his forgiving
To the holy, the imminent and alive