I Stand by the Door (1)

I stand by the door.
I neither go too far in, nor stay too far out,
The door is the most important door in the world.
It is the door through which men walk when they find God.
There’s no use my going way inside, and staying there,
When so many are still outside and they, as much as I,
Crave to know where the door is.
And all that so many ever find
Is only the wall where a door ought to be.
They creep along the wall like blind men,
With outstretched, groping hands.
Feeling for a door, knowing there must be a door,
Yet they never find it…
So I stand by the door.

—Samuel Moor Shoemaker, I Stand by the Door [to be continued tomorrow]