The saddest

Most telling aspect of my life

Is how the world has responded to my work

Thus far

How only a handful of people

Have encouraged me to continue

On this lonesome journey I like to call

My chosen profession

And in the meantime

God’s Word haunts the side of me

That continues to eclipse my uncertainty

As to whether or not I am truly and successfully

A writer

Like the three line

Inadvertent rhyme I just wrote

But didn’t notice until it was written

Or the left-handed pat on the back fact that

Since the day I first put pen to paper

The world has completely ignored

Frowned upon

Besmirched

And refused to publish

More than ninety-nine percent of my work

Thus far

And what they did publish

Had more to do with spelling out their own mindset

Than the one that inspired me

To become a writer in the first place

That’s when I found out that

If I didn’t write how and what

 The powers that be wanted me to

I could forget about being published

Celebrated

Recognized and lionized

Let alone paid

“Alas for you when the world speaks well of you!

This is the way their ancestors treated the false

prophets.” (Jesus Christ thru Luke + 6:26)

“If you belonged to the world, the world would

love you as its own; but because you do not

belong to the world, because my choice

withdrew you from the world, therefore

the world hates you.”

(Jesus Christ thru John + 15:18)

John Christopher

July 6 2005