The Marvelous Light

The spark has died out.
My heart is an empty hole. 
Let me die, let me die, 
yet still lives on my soul. 

I have been abandoned, 
lost at sea. 
The roaring waves – I can bear it no longer.
Let death take me. 

Even as the lily blooms, 
I’m lost at sea in pain.
The thunder booms, 
Let me die, I shall say again.

But what’s that? 
In the midst of the dark 
is a light, the dawn,
then the spark.

Deep inside 
is a roaring blaze. 
The light comes nearer, 
clearing away the haze.

A voice says,
”Do not be afraid,
for in your hardest days 
I will be your aid.”

There are tears in my eyes.
I was once bound
with misery and fear,
but I have been found.

The spark is now ablaze, 
my heart is forever whole.
Let me praise Him, let me praise Him, 
says the deepest part of my soul.

– J. H. Nicholls, age 9