No Shells

Snails have shells so that they can hide,
from nasty creatures, turned inside.
Armadillos fold up into a ball,
fooling enemies, one and all.
Clams and oysters open just to snap
protecting tenderness where it's at.
So many of God's creatures just surviving,
but for human beings there is no hiding.
There' s a message in this fact of life,
we aren't supposed to hide from strife.
And yet, too many build their shells,
with walls and bars, creating hells.
Layers and layers of barriers there,
so none can enter, none can care.
Keeping out the joys of existence,
making all keep their distance.
Denser and thicker the walls for all
the bigger they are, the harder to fall.
If God had meant for us to hide,
we'd have shells to crawl inside.
If only people knew for pain to cease,
their only hope for love is in release.

Taking Off The Mask

Aha, I thought, now, I'll find me,
   and discover  within, the mystery.
I looked into a mirror to view
   who was that, looking at you?
Carefully, each step was taken
   no undue mistakes to be maken.
From the left, pulling away that mask,
   to discover the truth that I had asked.
Years of toiling at this hardest chore,
   peeled away, only to uncover....more!
Under that mask, tattered and torn,
   another was there, laughing with scorn!
Crying with tears at my simplicity,
   then a new challenge to  discover me.
Layers and layers, each tossing aside,
   till I thought, surely no more could hide!
Each one represented a new facet in stone,
   some needed polishing, some left alone.
Shifting my attitude, so important here,
   now looking forward to see what was there.
Each face, though different, from others before,
   got lighter and easier as I trusted more.
This lesson, the hardest, I came to see, that
   God's face is in each, I pretended to be.