You are Al-Kareem

Sometimes my heart feels empty

Sacrifice asks more than I can give

Forgiveness seems impossible

As the anger stews within

I can’t God

I can’t God

is my only prayer

The stony heart cannot expand

As I present this cold, barren place to God

The “I” begins to fall away in the embrace of love

And my prayer slowly shifts into a question:

Can’t God?

Of course, I cannot

But God can

And so the stone begins to crack

And compassion seeps out

It begins as a slow trickle

My stubbornness and tiredness

Don’t melt away easily

But slowly, the “can’t” flows away with the “I”

And all that remains is “God”

And that becomes my prayer

God

God

Love, mercy, patience, joy

Flow freely now

Like an abundant river flowing from the source

That knows no end, that knows no “can’t”

For you are Al-Kareem

The generous one

And I open to your stream

And let it flow in me