** Why** -
a modern psalm by Stephen Douglas
While travelling on a sunny day in Aotearoa.
The question ‘why’ became lines; later on,
more lines became a modern psalm.
Why -
are there many trouble spots,
when reasons seem plain;
(life, death, war, disparity, disease, famine.)
Hear me, LORD, when I ask -
be merciful to me,
and do not turn away.
Yet still - I ask why?
I hear
”Do not be shy to ask.”
For in the asking come replies,
and through them the hidden why
begins to align within.
Life is simple - yet complicated.
Some say we are born to die.
Others speak of a God above the sky
who knows the creative why.
Some say identity is the test -
deep within, where true self resides.
Yet still the ancient question why
remains; seek a reply.
Rich or poor, learned or unlearned -
none escape the asking.
Why, when it comes to war?
It’s like seeking peace while
no hand is trusted,
though outstretched?
For peace begins here:
“Forgive me as I have
forgiven others.”
Not words to recite - but
truth to be lived with an open heart.
------------OOOO----------
One asks because they want to know.
Why is life given to one while another dies?
Why do we fight our own kind?
Why do we dispar - stand unequal and despise?
Why do the able ignore the needy,
the poor, the less privileged?
Why do intelligent Beings behave unfairly?
Because humility is a cross,
on which one must die - to be raised anew!
A heart made new, a mind released
from the empty claim:
“I was nothing before I was born,
so I will be nothing when I die.”
No -
Let the why live, breathe, burn -
raising beyond self, beyond personal gain -
to become servant of all,
embracing all, no matter what divides
the begging why -
My heart has heard You say;
“Come, talk with Me.”
and my heart responds:
LORD -
I am coming.
copyright: stephen c douglas - kiwi.poet - March 2026 -
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