(INNER TURMOIL)
‘The sun has a-risen,
Stunning (hah!) clothes to wear,
My hair needs a makeover,
I collapse in the chair.
The alarm’s still ringing,
Shrilling in my head,
An English exam today,
Why can’t I stay in bed?
No one understands,
What I have to go through,
Day after day and always,
A million things to do.
Mum’s yelling out,
And Dad’s on the move,
Why can’t they chill out,
And get with the groove?
Everyone fighting,
For breakfast, lunch and space,
What on earth is this all about,
This need to beat the human race?
No! I don’t know what,
I want to do when I grow up (some more),
I’m in a hurry, going to be late,
So I’m running out the door.
Why can’t they leave me alone,
Teachers, parents, friends?
I’m sure I’m trying my hardest,
Oh! Far out, I’ve forgotten my pens.
And as for that old English test,
The teachers all tell a different tale,
But it never finds its way onto the test,
I’m sure I’m going to fail.
My shoelaces need a-tying,
My shirt is all askew,
My shorts have slipped beyond the knees,
I’ll cry if I don’t laugh, so that is what I do!
And now there’s talk of war far off,
As if there’s not enough at home,
I feel so alone and lonely,
I think I’ll run away and roam.
I’m sure no-one will miss me;
But I had better think again!
I passed a church on the way to school,
Heard a distant voice – “help for pain.”
So I went inside the cool, dark church,
I sat at a pew and listened,
And the more the Pastor spoke,
The more my eyes cried and glistened.
I found what I had been looking for,
And I had definitely searched everywhere,
It wasn’t on the television, or in the music store,
It wasn’t in the mirror, or glossy magazine,
It wasn’t in the pantry,
Or in one of the shopping malls,
I’d always chilled out there … and …
I thought my friends would be all I wanted,
How wrong could I possibly be?
I nearly started smoking,
Drugs were next on the list,
No-one seemed to understand,
But now I know,
That I had indeed, been missed.
Because the Pastor explained to me,
For everything, just look,
Amongst all those ‘foreign’ words,
In God’s gift, the answer, His Book!
And now when things don’t go quite right,
And family life feels stressed,
I quietly try to re-direct them all,
So their minds do not get messed.
Thank you, thank you, Mum and Dad,
For making me walk to school,
For if I’d caught that little, old bus,
I would have turned out such a fool.’
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