Refused Offer

 

 Refused Offer

Another man offered me his hand, 

but I withdrew my own.

Too afraid of that silent fear, 

I fell mercy to a cruel unknown.

I never felt his tenderness.

I never felt his touch.

I never heard his parting word,

"Brother, we need this so much."

Another man offered me his church, 

but society would not let us meet.

Too afraid of unknown ways, 

I could not cross the street.

I never saw his praying face.

I never saw how he mastered sin.

I never heard his parting word,

"Brother, won't you please come in?"

Another man offered me his life, 

but I found comfort in my own.

Too afraid to try a new way, 

I refused his strange unknown.

I never found the beauty of his world.

I never walked the halls of his place.

I never heard the wisdom in his parting word,

"Brother, our God knows no race."

~P.S. Colley~

c. 1989