by J.D. Isip

I have fears that I have failed,
like the grass, my spirit bends –
bending, failing, I get help
when I call on You again.
            In the good times and the bad,
            with the changing of a wind,
            when I’m weakest, I am glad
            I may call on You again.
Though I’ve conquered enemies,
and I’ve gathered many friends,
when they seem the same to me,
I must call on You again.

There are those who point and laugh
when I say that You’re my friend;
and when I have had enough
I must call on You again.
            In the good times and the bad,
            with the changing of a wind,
            when I’m weakest, I am glad
            I may call on You again.
Like a ship, I’m tossed about
in an ocean without end;
without luxury to doubt,
I must call on You again.

J.D. Isip’s full-length poetry collections include Kissing the Wound (Moon Tide Press, 2023) and Pocketing Feathers (Sadie Girl Press, 2015). His third collection, tentatively titled I Wasn’t Finished, will be released by Moon Tide Press at the end of 2024 or early 2025. He is a contributing editor for The Blue Mountain Review. J.D. teaches at Collin College in Plano, Texas, where he lives with his dogs, Ivy and Bucky.