Prayer of thanks

Last year I thought I would drown
Swallowed up by rumour, suspicion and lies
Afraid that I would lose friends I never had
And be rejected by a family who never cared

Still that was last year and I’ve moved on
Swift as an eagle in flight, with the battle scars
of maximums after contending in torrid fight

This is a new era, a new dispensation
A new year I’m a whole new creation
It’s a new day and I’m embracing it
Like a new lover, I’m embracing her

I’ve come through the worst they could do
My reputation in taters but hey what’s new
Yes there were some disappointments
But I never lost my faith

Glad I never put my trust in my neighbours
As mans heart is full of wickedness and deceit
So they love you when you are doing well
But really there waiting for you to slip
Envious of what you got, even though to get
It you had to work long hours all week

So keep on pointing the finger
And whisper your campaigns
Until you run out of things to speak
And stare your most hostile stare and spit till
Your spittle runs out, but never will my ink

I will write about you for my amusement
And quietly will I think, I’m carrying my cross
Even through your smear campaigns
And your poisoned thoughts even whilst you sleep

I embrace the shame the scorn and contempt
As I know my crimes are no more serious
Than yours
It’s just that you made it your business
To spread destruction and conjecture
And you even began to think

That I would crumble and lose hope when
This little city turned its back on me
And you hoped that I would sink

But I’m stronger than ever
No matter what you think
So I still carry my cross even though
You have stigmatised it to the hilt
I’m black and I'm proud, I'm mentally challenged
But I survive

The main difference between you and me
Is that my crimes are exposed and displayed
As black as the clouds which cover your minds
And yours are cowering in glass towers covered
With thorns and lies

So I will take up my cross daily and declare
My freedom as I ride, on the winds
Of revelation whilst you squirm
Behind masks of pride

So go on criticise smeary me as much as you like
I have the victory, because my sins are past and resolved
And through it all Jesus was right there by my side.