Penance
I make my way down to the white
and holy ice. For renewal,
for healing. To find a second
chance after forgetting myself.
I move silently and am blessed
with a cool, clean, singing spirit.
I come to work on my spirit,
to wash its sins and make it white
as the snow that falls from God-blessed
skies. I come to earn renewal.
I labor to remind myself
that God watches us, each second.
I lift one floe, test a second
for its weight--to make my spirit
stronger I must challenge myself.
I grapple and hoist the thick white
slab. Arms lend my heart renewal,
Strong legs help a weak soul get blessed.
I trudge uphill, panting and blessed;
set it down and find a second
piece--frozen chunks of renewal.
While my body strains, my spirit
breathes Our Fathers, as in the white
silence I atone for myself.
I continue to push myself.
Ice block joins ice block, and a blessed
tower takes shape, sculpted in white,
declaring that for one second
I loathed my sins, and my spirit
earnestly sought for renewal.
My penance brings this renewal:
It helps me to forgive myself,
as God forgives. It keeps my spirit
in mind of the grace God has blessed
us with, each moment, each second.
Fear and hope glisten in ice-white.
Seeking renewal of spirit,
I put God first, myself second,
out among the ice, blessed and white.