And if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things. 2 Samuel 12:8 (KJV)

Some say you are a miser,

that you dole out in pinches and specks,

that your storehouses are double-locked

and inventory checked by the grain.

But how would one explain my backyard ivy,

plush and wildly overtaking the fence?

And how to account for the allocation

of more birds here than my space deserves,

so many songs crowding this tiny parcel of world?

Because the leaves are waving at me

in unrationed lavish bunches,

I dare pray for some of that extravagance today,

for some of that profligate touch.

O to be awash in the spillage of your mercies,

in the flood of your such and such.

Last night I had the privilege to participate in a worship service at the Garden Chapel in San Quentin State Prison. After the service I was praying with one of the inmates, a wonderful joyful elderly man named Walter, who prayed over me asking God to pour His "such and such" into my life. I was so touched, I had to try and capture it in a poem! This is my attempt.

Photo credit: Cocoparisienne, Pixabay.com, CC public domain.