Sometimes Mercy

By Michael Stalcup

---

Sometimes mercy is a shipwreck,
dreams dashed on undesired shores,
stores swallowed up by the raging sea
as you scramble ashore with your very life,
 
unsure
what, if anything, remains,
where, if anywhere, you stand,
how, if possible, to go on,
 
only to find,
in time,
hidden treasure
on an island with no gold.

---

Michael Stalcup is a Thai American missionary living in Bangkok, Thailand. His poems have been published in Commonweal Magazine, Ekstasis Magazine, First Things, Presence, Sojourners Magazine, and elsewhere. He co-teaches Spirit & Scribe, a workshop helping writers to integrate spiritual formation and writing craft. You can find more of his work at michaelstalcup.com.

'Sometimes Mercy' first appeared in Firewords Magazine. It has been republished here with the author's permission.

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