The Cottage on the Hill

Struggle

Through the wind so sharp and cold
With my head held low
Along the winding track I tread
Through autumn leaves that blow

The path is steep and muddy now,
The icy rain so chill;
I shield my face against the storm,
I gasp - so steep the hill.

The wind is howling through the trees,
The branches creak and sway;
I hear the rooks scream and screech -
Their fear and wrath display.

‘Tis darker now and bitter cold,
It starts to pour again;
And through the mist I dimly see
The cottage in the rain.

Along the path I trudge, so scared,
And reach the cottage gate;
Memories past now flood my mind,
Events that sealed my fate.

Many years have passed me by,
Once a youth naïve -
In trouble then, in trouble now,
And for my past I grieve.

My life was spent in years now past,
In matters quite depraved;
In gaol I’ve been and homeless then -
To crime, I was enslaved.

Encounter

The door is swinging back and forth -
Inside is cold and damp;
And up the creaking stairs I climb -
Holding high my lamp.

Outside his room, in fear and dread,
My mind is numb and blank;
I pause - so tense - but in I step,
Inside – so foul, so dank.

I see my father on his bed -
Through shadows dark and bleak;
Up he stares, he sees me there,
He looks both pale and weak.

I’m here to right my many wrongs,
From long, so long ago;
My father weak, bereft, distressed,
I’m sad to see him so

Reconciliation

“My son!” he chokes – “‘Tis you! ‘Tis you!”
A feeble rasp, so frail;
Many years of mem’ries dour -
Now do my mind impale.

So calm is he and tranquil too,
My father smiles at me;
He wheezes, coughs then breathes his last,
At rest, but yet so free.

Now by his bed I stand ashamed,
For him - his life deprived;
Now by his bed I stand absolved,
For me - my life revived.

Enlightenment

Many years have passed since then,
A preacher now - so proud;
As by the cottage gate I stand,
A place that God endowed!

A smile of welcome now I give,
To all who gather here;
My beloved congregation
for…….

The Chapel on the Hill