This day in my life of Paradise

This day in paradise
Not quite what I'd think
When an overwhelming thirst
Finally gets a drink
A boy born in the mud
Life with dirt and flies
Peculiar absurdity
Normal to his eyes
A priceless shining girl
Sullied by elder sin
Dodging danger nightly
In cardboard and some tin
Worry painted brow
And spirit broken sight
Tears long past remembering
In some forgotten fight
Boy with grenades
And ours with toys
Destruction and last wishes
Dismissed with common noise
Wake from restful sleep
Raised my pillowed head
Bitching about the world
While my belly's nicely fed
With brightly colored shirts
And a freezer full of meat
I signal for a taxi
Admiring flowers on my street
And for a couple bucks
I stop and get some joe
Thinking, how come it's so hard?
So little did I know
Somewhere across the desert
Or on a shanty shore
Sits a young man thinking
How could I want for more?
would he understand
If perhaps I explained?
That I deserve these blessings
As what God has ordained
Or would I feel true pity
On knees with tear-stained face
In my shameful realization
Understanding the truth of grace
Would he trade places with me
For an hour or a day?
Or feel such sorrow for me
He'd lack the words to say
Could I last a moment
In his life that seems as hell
Or would I roll up fetal
Collapsed in primal yell?
It is best to count my blessings
Water, food and air
Not for the Grace of the Lord
These gifts would not be there

All rights reserved to James Martin Cox