If God Is Any Great Returning

If God is any great returning,

a listening to some new witness

bidding within,

any hard going back

to where in a rootless time

you quit,

as Bonhoeffer left life in New York

to return to his death in a Nazi jail,

so that now it’s your turn

at the bitter feast of eating crow,

saying I’m sorry

to every cynical hello

after your selfish goodbye;

If God is any great returning,

your soul’s yearning,

lobely and longing

for the path lost or deserted,

for cause dropped from infancy

as too childish, too hard, too frail,

too sure to fail to bother,

but now of your life,

your death;

If God is any great returning

and your burning soul

has spun your compass about

so that you are finally en route home

like the prodigal,

then go quickly

expecting to feast with the Father

even though your wining brother

may not yet dine with you

and in truth

awaits proof, even as he should,

that you are really home

for good.