Ode to the Holy Spirit

A breath of wind, a breeze of air
That filters through the open snare.
A Ray of light that penetrates,
That enters through the thorny gates.

Such is the Spirit of God to me,
This breath of life, of eternity!
A tree may be undone by the vine,
Creation is but created, not divine.
Encroaching vines do smile and fawn
To see their deadly power drawn
From great saplings grown so high,
Blot out the sun and fill the sky.
Yet when these saplings are all grown,
The vine takes hold, and death is shone
To be waiting, in line, inevitable.
Such is a dead tree, a net to a shoal.
Now dead it falls, look out bellow!
For it shall crush all that do show
To see the fall of the mighty tree;
So the vine takes, not one, but many.
Yet it proves to be its undoing,
This vine has lost it's once proud footing.
For dead tree's give no life, are dead,
And now both vine and tree are wed
To an early grave, shackled both die;
But in the clearing, new growth is nigh.
For the seed is planted neath the tree,
Is waiting for the rays of sunshine's glee.
And like the ray that waits for death to fall,
That bit of sunshine always on call,
So does the Holy Spirit waits for you,
To take the word, the seed, construe
For yourselves what you have received,
That it may pass over, and be believed.
Now the vine is lost with the mighty tree,
But the tree lives on in gentility.
So is the power of the Holy Spirit's hand,
For He reigns in God the father,
Christ Jesus is his brother,
Mother Mary is his mother,
He is the love of one another,
That reigns, triumphant, in the land.

Now come, Holy Spirit come!
My proud heart has fallen to the ground.
Christ Jesus my deafness has overcome,
No deafness is to be found.
In my heart I beg to see the light,
The rays of God's love made bright.
The soil of my heart has planted deep
What Christ stowed there in his feat.
By your grace transform this humble seed,
Into a home for birds in need.
Let me be for others a bough,
Upon which they may rest, for now.
Let them come to me through you,
That I may give them hope to do,
What you have asked of them in time,
In their hearts you have given rhyme,
And meaning to their suffering.
Now, dear Spirit, breathe on me the spring,
Breathe on me life itself anew,
My Faith in Christ increase I pray,
My hope in God the Father renew,
My love of neighbor increase this day.
And when I reach my peak,
Lift me higher, through me do speak,
Let me serve as an example to all,
Catch me, lest I tumble and fall.
Do not let your servant know decay,
But let me stand, that others gone astray,
May see a landmark by which they may find,
God's mercy on earth, be of this mind.
Glory to the Holy Spirit,
Whose gift is found in both Father and Son,
May I resound to those who hear it,
To prove the battle has been won!

                    Ode to the Holy Spirit, (c) Luke Bennette, July 2012