The Stranger

"THE STRANGER" by Wayne Olson

What if the encounter was not what you thought

As you struggle to make sense of it day after day

Forcing a meaning, square pegs in round holes

One never meant to be epic, just utterly timely?

Secretly relieved it was not to be long-lasting

Not destined to be a happily-ever-after tale

Magic yes, but a Hallmark story gone noir

Just remember the stranger sent to be there

The one who arrived at a critical moment

For an intensely personal, unknown reason

Meant only to change your life’s trajectory

Ever so slightly with a tug, or a simple nudge

To bump your weary mind or drowning heart

One well-placed deflection by a Divine Hand

A prodding perfectly timed by a timeless God

Vigilantly guiding you because you are His

Perhaps to finally see what had been veiled

To at last come to understand a new Truth

Or to finally recognize what had been a lie

Sensing a knowing in the stranger’s smile

One that brought an inexplicable calmness

A trusted familiarity in it you could not dismiss

On the day that left you changed forever.

***

I started writing in my late teens.  I took to writing short stories at first, then poetry later and love the ability to say much with few words.  I have always been on the introverted side, very comfortable in my own space, so writing suited my need for expression. I have had a very rich spiritual life since childhood which is very much part of my nature, so much of what I have gleaned from those experiences finds its way into my writings.  Poems are my ship’s “logbook” on this voyage thru life.