I sometimes wonder if I have lost my love
For men along my street
For folks across my town and land,
If my concern for them has vanished
In an agony of self concern.
Men seem so far away
So cold to what it seems to me
God wants us all to be.
Joe loves his farm, and Jack his car,
And Bill his store and little else.
And church is just an after thought
A custom sweet and old.
To talk of God, to study, ask or pray
To serve the church or sacrifice one’s cash
These things seem strangers far too much.
Yet men are real, with hope and fear like mine,
And human problems are the same.
If I can see that men need help,
If they can see me as a friend who cares,
Maybe I have a task to do.
Maybe God will open doors of hope through me,
Bringing light to other lives.
And hope to fainting hearts.
And me a channel for His love!
(December 1967)