IN THIS NEW TIME (POEM)

                           In This New Time

In this new time must come

to keepers of the word,

and to us all,

some yet unimagined alchemy

of the hard and the soft,

of the warrior and the nurse,

of Dad and Mom.

What we need is this:

the strength

to hammer stone apart

from every other stone

of that ancient wall we use

to keep us from ourselves,

and from one another;

the gentleness

to heal and help

the wounded bird of dormant sweetness

that we find, broken-winged

         and blinking,

huddled on the light-starved soil

behind that old stone wall.

But one fear

assails my mind

in this new time:

that I should

with clumsy word

crush the bird

but leave the wall                                                               Dean Metcalf

all standing.                                                                        P.O. Box 548

                                                                                           Joseph OR 97846