I
When Levi lost his wife he also died.
And lived a brittle, yellow life that snapped
Beneath the strain. Each day he saw came wrapped
In shattered glass that sliced the wounds he'd hide.
Until one morning, dark and dim, he met
A stranger who lit new light in Levi's soul
And said, "In Gilead you'll be made whole
Their balm can heal heartache, pain, regret."
Though Gilead—a foreign town—lay far
It called to Levi as he bled each day
And soon he sold his house to find a way
To it, instead of leave his life a scar.
"To Gilead," he sang, and walked along,
"Where they can heal all that has been wrong."
II
As Levi's journey stretched for many weeks
The fire inside returned to just a glow
Then sputtered out—his pain began to grow
Until his sleep meant only fits and shrieks.
The towns he passed would lock themselves away.
His tired face and willing, frank despair
Made people think he was not worth their care
Which left the ground: his only place to stay.
Through nightly dreams and rocky beds forlorn
The need to walk, to search, to find remained
So Levi darkly moved and little gained
Besides the distance as he saw each morn.
"To Gilead," he sighed and walked along,
"Where they can heal all that has been wrong."
III
One day our Levi found some men at dawn
who slept with swords. To one who cracked an eye
He asked, "Is Gilead, the town, nearby?"
The man just laughed, "It was, but now it's gone."
"We fought and burned it down two days ago."
These words sent Levi running up a hill
To look and satisfy the fear-filled thrill
That now, at last, he had no place to go.
The distant smoke and fire left him cold
And froze the look of terror on his face.
Yet still he walked to see the empty place,
The broken carcass of his dream to hold.
"No Gilead," he cried and walked along,
"No one to heal all that has been wrong."
IV
As Levi viewed the silent streets and wept
He saw a face move quickly out of sight.
He followed it and found a place that night:
An alleyway where some survivors slept.
The group was dirty, injured, but alive
So Levi helped rebuild and chose to stay.
He heard their stories as they worked each day
And shared their pain as all began to thrive.
And in this sharing Levi's soul was warmed.
His own affliction turned into a rope
That bound him to a neighborhood of hope:
His grief was not forgotten but transformed.
"In Gilead," he sang and walked along,
"There they can heal all that has been wrong."