At the union of two rivers,
Legacy wed kindness, giving
Rise to a serene stream of life,
Flowing through desert arroyos
Of human thirst, into the pool
of Bethesda—a second chance for souls
Enslaved to taskmasters
Of malady and hopelessness.
Beyond chasms of affliction,
Remedy appeased suffering,
And parched, blistered flesh
Received the healing balm
Of compassion.
Kevin Heaton
First published at outwardlink.net in March, 2011.
Kevin Heaton was born in Council Grove, Kansas, and grew up in Oklahoma. He currently lives and writes in South Carolina. His work has appeared in a number of publications including Guernica, Rattle, Slice Magazine, Beloit Poetry Journal, The Adroit Journal, and Verse Daily. He is a Best of the Net, Best New Poets, and a three-time Pushcart Prize nominee.
http://kevinheatonpoetry.webstarts.com/index.html
Edited by August Wright