A Wretch Like Me

After the people
came the grace.
Slowly chipping away.
After the grace
came the light.
The light was in me
living, breathing.
But dark hates light.
The dark waits
in an alley,
like a lion hunting.
Like a whisper
but not in my ears,
in my skin.
Never as threatened
as then.
Sing loud to scare the lion
and sing to feed the light.

That freedom waits
that freedom to follow.
After the grace
after the light
and still in the life,
the breath in me.