Yes, even far from home,
In arid trial and flare,
In you is every joy,
In you our deepest care,
Yes, you are far from home,
So near with us to bear,
So graciously a help,
So with us in his lair.

Reuniting with the saints,
Those close to my worn heart,
To praise and sit under the weight,
Of truth and lightly leave unburdened,
With the knowledge of true friends.

Roaring lions valiant in a row,
Caught up in ritual combat on the green,
To fight from down behind and low,
Bellows puffing in a heated row,
They take a toll of time till every drop,
Of sweat beads down their rivals brow,
Which pleads the stifled foe to stop.
For the game is lost and won.

Sitting in the dust,
A bolt in hand,
Like gleaming lightning to the threaded hole it flies,
And I ratchet in an ordered rhyme,
With yellow compound coated thick,
I toil away on metal flesh,
What humble thing is this?
To work with hands so learned yet so soft,
To turn from hoovered floors and pretty screens,
Instead to dust and industrial grime,
And fasten something in the present.