Let there be a release of the bonds that hold me captive.  Sweet freedom let it be found, may chains of earthly memories have the links fall loose of me.   The tears that run down my cheeks, the sorrow of rivers of sadness that need to be dammed forever closed.  Just one time will there be someone to guide and protect me.   It is all I ask.  Can it be too much I wonder?

Let me find love now that will never let the darkness encompass me.  Every waking moment let me feel the comfort that it brings.   When I walk let me feel it beside me so that when I stumble like an outstretched hand it is there to catch me from the fall.  Let the commitment cast away the loneliness that surrounds me.  Let it be a promise to me that is not broken.  It is all I ask.  Can it be too much I wonder?

Let me take shelter on ocean shores.  My problems  cast out on the waves so they are seen no more.  Let the waves stand up and dance wrapping their arms around me.  Feeling the force of all the churning and the pull to be drawn into the sea.  Let my soul be not forever sequestered and abandoned, my heart to beat a ceaseless forlorn rhythm.  It is all I ask.  Can it be too much I wonder?

Let my mind wander to a safe haven.  One with no inconsolable recollections of this lifetime.  Let all the past be gone forever erased by the passing of this storm that has raged and ravaged me.  Let there be a morning after the storm that wakes to a new horizon that is not scarred, scared and torn.  It is all I ask.  Can it be too much I wonder?

Let the music be mine to sing the song of love and laughter.  Let the day not be long in coming where hopes are no longer held out like offerings.  Let the sun warm my soul and guide me far from the curse of this journey.  Let the prison of a lifetime find the freedom to soar from its bonds.   It is all I ask.  Can it be too much I wonder?

                            Cheryl C. Helynck

                                       2000