Ash Wednesday

Sally posted this one on her blog last year, but I thought this time I'd save it for myself.

ASH WEDNESDAY

Shuffling forward to be marked anew,
Dry as dust, I do not have to wait
Or feel the ash to know my ashen state.
I know full well the earth that is my due.
Forty days and more a cross to hew
To follow after Him and imitate
That sacrifice that saves me from my fate.
O, give me patience to await the dew.

Here within the hush that fills this place
Along with hundreds more all marked the same
A thousand faces smudged with black design,
A thousand souls now resting in this grace,
And now a greater grace calls forth the lame
To stumble forward once more, now to dine.

JTC