"The Wounded Healer" - A Poem

The Wounded Healer

I’ve got a cut that ain’t quite healed

I’ve got bruises still swollen - black and blue

I’ve got scars that you can’t see

But I’ll share them each with you


I’ve got a cut from whence power wields

You’ve got a bruise that matches me

I’ve got scars I didn’t ask for

We’re both limping from what we received


I ain’t got no snake oil to sell you

Only an open heart and ear

And if you’d care to sit a spell

I’ll sit with you - I’ll stay right here


Because a man once took his share of cuts

They bruised him black and blue

From his scars poured blood and water

He knows how you feel too


To hell with polished brass and boots

Don’t join the grand parade

Dip out of the ranks and come with me

There’s a new army being made


And not one of us keeps brisk pace - not a one

We step to our slowest afar and afield

Because there’s only one way you can serve with us

You’ve got to have cuts that ain’t quite healed


-By Nathan Lyke based on the book The Wounded Healer by Henri J. M. Nouwen

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