In Us

When difficult conversations come,

give us grace to avoid escalation.

Give us peace and serenity

to set aside our preconception,

built on a selective history

of presumption’s cracked foundation.

Give us clarity to focus not on what

we want to say next, but to hear

what’s really being said and

the words between the lines;

words not spoken, but buried

in too deep and scary a place to visit,

where layers of pain and betrayal

have been piled upon them.

Give us security in the knowledge

of who we are and who we’re not.

Give us more than us.

Give us you in us.

Photo by Todd Jenkins

© 2014 Todd Jenkins