The Whole of the Matter

I’ve grown up on hot bricks,
The hearth of hell,
Through the searing flesh,
The rotting, sulfurous smell,
The gnashing, the twisting,
The weeping, the forgetting,
Torn under merciless hands
Bruised while begging
Not a soul willing to enter hell
To extend a tender hand,
To lead me out
Into a free and gentle land

But through it all
You’ve opened a window in the sky
And I have glimpsed heaven
And whether I live or die

Your Beauty is my ultimate aim.

For me, to live is Christ.
To die is gain.