THE LEPER'S LIGHT
What stirs up a leper's inside?
A fight from which she cannot hide?
What creates this state of grief
From which she tries to find relief?
Does disease or physical pain
Cause her, daily, to go insane?
Or does it stem from something more
Than disfigurement and open sores?
Her task is to protect, defend
Her Soul-Light circling end to end.
Deflecting hurtful, harmful acts
From inside, outside, front and back.
Ideas, thoughts, words and deeds
Can act as deadly poisonous feed
To kill the leper's shining Light
And leave her in perpetual night.
She knows her sores are bad enough
Making life pretty tough.
But living in perpetual dark
Would slowly, surely break her heart.
People tried to feed her shame,
Embarrassment, and ugly names,
Guilt, doubt and false-made claims
To kill the Light and "win" the game.
With each defeat, her Light got strong
Like building a muscle for right and wrong,
The leper's Light broke through the dark
Making a beacon for fainting hearts.
And then they threw a deadly curve,
A vicious cut to weakened nerves.
Imagine the leper's total despair
When all pretended she wasn't there.
The leper's Soul-Light flickered and spit.
Some say it even dimmed a bit.
It took great strength for her to resist
Not feeling important enough to exist.
Deep down, she felt her muscle flex
When she recalled God's Great Text.
"Unto the least of these," she read,
And slowly, firmly raised her head.
"I am important to the Whole,
As important as any Soul.
Just because THEY cannot see
Does not take Light away from me.
The only way my Light goes out
Is if I believe what they throw about."
Her Soul-Light doubled its size that day
Because she refused to play their way.
Lord knows, there are no perfect Lights.
That never flicker or succumb to the night.
So when your Soul-Light feels insecure
Remember the leper's way to endure.
© Lynnette Schuepbach, January 3, 1993