It’s a long weekend, Lord,
stretching the usual break
right out there through Tuesday…
For many, this is an extra,
a treat, an added calendrical twofer
but for others, Lord,
a long weekend’s just a prolongation
of what every weekend brings:
time off with little money,
no extras, no place to go;
more time alone for some
while others get together;
more time to think and overthink
what worries mind and heart;
more time for those who have no job
from which to have time off;
more time behind a prison’s wall
where time seems not to move;
the slow, and even slower now,
passing of the hours
for the sick who live with pain
and for those who grieve a loss;
for those who wish the time would come
for their time to be done;
and for those who find a holiday
more burden than a joy…
If that’s the long weekend for me:
an untimely extension,
an unwelcome prolongation
of too much time already on my hands;
then wind up my soul’s clock, Lord,
and fill my hours and minutes
with healing thoughts,
good things to do,
small joys to be discovered;
with the comfort of your Spirit
anointing every moment,
running through my day and night;
with the trust I need and pray for
to spend and live with grace
all the time that’s mine today…
But if the weekend is for me, Lord,
a longed for joy and respite
then nudge, stir and move me
to share and spend my time
with those whose long and empty days
might well be blessed and filled
with the time that’s mine to spare…
Amen.
