by Jeffrey Mackie

When I was younger,
I wanted to be a mystic
My youthful ego yearned, for such a vocation
To be a sought-after voice
As if wisdom fell from the sky

I didn’t know then
For every public moment,
There were hours of loneliness
I didn’t know
You might have to feed others
When you are starving
Heal the broken
When you are wounded
That you still must pray
When you have no words

I thought I could, like St Francis
Love the world
While turning from its temptations
Live in communal poverty
And continue to sing

Now, some wisdom has come
I have learned that all Christians
Are called upon,

To feed others when we are starving
Offer healing when we are wounded
And pray when we have no words.

Jeffrey Mackie is an internationally published and translated poet living in Dawson City, Yukon. He is an Anglican priest in the Yukon.