Subj : [CHRISTIA] new poetry, "I Replaced Myself" To : Practical Christian Life From : Mark Date : Sun Jun 14 2020 12:57:45 From: lamppoet@CENTURYTEL.NET (Mark) Sometimes I forget. "I Replaced Myself" ("He knew what all people are like. He did not need anyone to tell him about any person, because he knew what was in a person's heart." John 1:25") Tell me who I am, now, recite my name and my place; The days are no longer kind, the nights bring no relief, I stumble over my feet and my words, I repeat the twice, and they still sound foreign; mere bookmarks for things I once treasured in my mind. The world is far too large now, I'll never be now, the places I've never been. I replaced myself with another more times than anyone should. And now, towards the end, when I want to befriend myself, I am short on the few who knew I was harmless. I am less than I ever was, when I hoped to be a mentor of a few. I am old and still apologizing for not fitting in. I'm a jigsaw piece without a puzzle, a horizon blocked by the downtown mall. In this corner pain repeats its chorus and verse, tied to a silent hill, tangled without a player to hear the songs I wish I wrote; miles from lonely, and desolate between here and there. Tell me who I am, replace me where my joy resides, take me to success again; when the spoke well of me again. I am the loneliest man I know, and the only one in this foamy corner. My heart is a frozen knot, my tears the thaw of the thoughts I once considered true. My mind is lost now; cast off now. I've practiced forgetting, I've erased the names and places; but they invade with a vengeance the peace I hoped to make. I've displayed forgiveness, I've buried people and words; but they are live each morning and I die by degree. Change me, make me madly in love my final days. Move me, place me closer to the souls I know like mine. Take me, (and I mean home), I am tired and there are no more Successes left for me. Tired, mark p. lamppoet@centurytel.net Mark's Blog For subscription information, visit To leave the list, send the command UNSUB CHRISTIA to LISTSERV@LISTS.ASU.EDU --- NewsGate v1.0 gamma 2 * Origin: News Gate @ Net396 -Huntsville, AL - USA (1:396/4) .