"To Love:"

"To love and be rejected;

To spend every effort to help and be turned down;


To be in a situation of having to compete to be heard and be silent;

To have the answers and not be able to convey them;



To lose, knowing you can win, rather than being political;

To go to the end of the line when you were there first;



To tell the truth and it be made a lie;

To try to be saintly and be made out to be a devil;



To be on the inside and to be cast outside;

To be with many and to know you are really alone;



To give yourself unreservedly to others and be a victim of their envy;

To dedicate your life to a purpose and that purpose turn against you;



To be innocent and be accused;

To be stripped of all authority, earthly power, and position and be nothing;



...is to have one’s heart lacerated with humility to the greatest depth

and receive at the greatest heights God’s blessing of...walking Jesus’ path;

...To Love."


Finding this poem today made me reflect on the last 7 years, from being a son to my father, to having a son to father.

I dedicate this poem to my son Ethan. I can only hope that one day you will know, learn & live the TRUTH...

Love, your Dad,

Quinton Carlin

Jan 2nd, 2011