THE PIT

A man fell into a pit and couldn’t get himself out of it.

Respectable people came and said: “We don’t associate with pit-dwellers”;

An empathist came and said: “I really feel for you in that pit”;

A sociobiologist came and said: “You were born in that pit”;

A psychiatrist came and said: “It can be very destructive to remove people from pits they were born into”;

A psychologist came and said: “Accept your pit, that way you’ll be happy”;

A gay activist came and said: “Fight your your right to stay int he pit”;

A politician came and said: “Discrimination against pits is illegal”;

A researcher came along and said: “What an interesting pit”;

A religious fundamentalist came and said: “You deserve your pit”;

A religious liberal came and said: “Your pit is God’s beautiful gift to you”;

A charismatic came and said: “Just confess you’re not in the pit”;

His mother came and said: “It’s your father’s fault you’re in that pit”;

His father came and said: “It’s your mother’s fault you’re in that pit”;

His wife came and said: “It’s all my fault you’re still in that pit”;

But Jesus, seeing the man, loved him, and reaching into the pit,

put His arms around him and pulled him out.

*** *** ***

AN ADDICT’S POEM

I keep my mask with me everywhere I go

In case I need to wear it, so ME doesn’t show. 

I’m so afraid to show you ME, afraid of what you’ll do

You might laugh at ME, or say mean things

Or I might lose you. 

I’d like to take my mask off, to let you look at ME

I want you to try to understand

And please love what you see.

So if you’ll be patient and close your eyes

I’ll pull it off really slow

Please understand how much it hurts

To let the real ME show.

Now my mask is taken off.   I feel naked!  bare!  so cold!

If you can still love all you see,

You’re my friend, pure as gold. 

I want to save my mask and hold it in my hand

I need to keep it handy if someone doesn’t understand

Please protect ME, my new friend, thank you for loving ME true,

But please let me keep my mask with me, until I love ME too.

(Taken from ‘Craving For Love’ by Briar Whitehead.)