‘A Passerby’ a poem by Sue Pickering

Image credit: Katrina Tulip

A Passerby

I’m just a passerby.
Fading is the ego’s clamour to be noticed,
the hope of having my contribution to the world
etched in stone or somehow writ large in
the minds of those I leave behind.

Mortality has crashed into my life
with his sudden, unbelievable death,
and I’m confronted by the reality
that there are exciting plans
I may not see come to fruition,
and little ones yet unborn
for whom I may be only a fading photograph
in a hallway, a name in a whakapapa.

The ideas to explore, the books yet to write
may remain just that: potential, not product.
The big hope that what I am offering will
make a sweeping difference
is, like the mist, melting.
Instead, creeping sweetly into the light,
is the truth of my littleness,
the truth of my passing through,
the truth that I am cherished even so.

And there is a certain peacefulness,
even relief in this knowing.
I do not have to strive or struggle
to make things happen,
but hand over each day
what is and what shall be,
to be held by the one who made me
and to whom I shall return.

All is well, and all manner of things shall be well.

By Sue Pickering (3rd August 2017 )

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Sue Pickering is a spiritual director, writer and Anglican priest. She lives in Kirikiriroa Hamilton with her husband and dog. Settling into retirement village life is in itself a lesson in humility!

This poem was featured in the December 2024 issue of Refresh.

Refresh is Spiritual Growth Ministries journal of contemplative spirituality in Aotearoa, New Zealand. You can view the current issue of Refresh or browse the archives in the Refresh section of this website.