now when it arises
anger resentment regret fear
i feel a tinge of excitement too
down in the swamp in the mud
in the darkest steaming depths
if i stay face to face with it
i find at last what my belief withheld
not yet fully seen but a sense
an openness to some bright dawning thing
that formerly could not be imagined
it is a love filled and glorious possibility

©John Greenleaf-Maple – text and art