<html><head><meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><div dir="auto" style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; line-break: after-white-space;" class=""><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">Purple Dust</span></span></p><div class=""><span class=""><span class=""> </span></span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">Sometimes I pray <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">not knowing if prayers <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">are anything more <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">than a sigh <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">carried by the wind <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">into nothing<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><div class=""><span class=""><span class=""> </span></span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">before my life is over<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">will some omniscient narrator<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">whose eyes see light and dark <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">in their original colors<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">reveal the mysteries of life -<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">before, now and after <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><div class=""><span class=""><span class=""> </span></span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">I have felt an untold presence, <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">but don’t believe it’s real<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">I have gathered at the river, <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">but never witnessed angels dancing<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">worshiped at the mountain <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">never reaching higher ground<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><div class=""><span class=""><span class=""> </span></span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">so done am I <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">twisting in ambivalence -<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">my own tapestry <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">of rainbow-colored silk<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">drifting unspooled<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">in a blur of purple dust<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class=""> <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">so tired am I <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">travelling back and forth <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">on tumbledown terrain<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">across a bridge of my own mistakes<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">looking for the River Jordan <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">with its promise of deliverance <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><div class=""><span class=""><span class=""> </span></span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">can it be enough<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">to cultivate a heart that beats <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">in rhythm with a universal pulse<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">and keep a steady grip <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">on the edge of this ancient rock <o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class="">until with wonder I let it go<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><div class=""><span class=""><span class=""> </span></span><br class="webkit-block-placeholder"></div><p class="MsoNormal"><span class=""><span class=""><span class="Apple-tab-span" style="white-space:pre"> </span>- Jo Ann Smith<o:p class=""></o:p></span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><br class=""></p><div class=""><b class=""><s class=""><span class="" style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "Times New Roman", serif;"><br class=""></span></s></b></div></div></body></html>