The Goal

I am driven to succeed,
competing with others to be the best
Investing weeks, months, and years,
without the time for rest

I am making more money,
and climbing the ladder fast
But more hours are required,
for the goal is quite vast

Whether at work or at home,
my mind stays on the goal
Unaware that it’s located
deep in the blackest hole

Reaching and striving,
investing my all
No ocean to big,
no mountain too tall

Slowly my heart hardens,
as the anger begins to creep in
Contentment far out of reach,
my heart full of black sin

No compassion or love
while in this race to excel
Ignorant of the fact,
that my spiritual being is not well

And yet I press on,
relentlessly determined for more
The emptiness is growing,
disappointment at the core

In my heart there is no happiness,
no joy, or any peace
My eyes fixed on the world,
and the pain does not cease

Then deep in my soul,
where I’ve buried the truth
The Lord reminds me of the knowledge
that I learned in my youth

With the Lord, is the only place
where fulfillment can be found
In His presence, is the only place
where life’s chains are unbound

The peace is now returning,
as the blindness fades away
Sweet relief from the night,
as the darkness turns to day

And struggles that I wrestled,
while running the worldly race
With my focus now on God,
simply fall into place

With my eyes on the Light,
my new life changing goal
A purpose and ambition
that breaths life in my soul

The only goal that is worthy,
and now in my heart the most dear
“Well done thy good and faithful servant”
is what I want to hear

This poem won second place for the November 2006 poetry contest