I walked along the promenade, the day had just begun,
The shadows of the night had passed, before the rising sun,
Awakened from its eastern crib, in glorious gold array,
It cast its crimson mantle o'er the full length of the bay.
The sparkling waters glistened, like a golden diadem,
Or a rich embroidered tapestry adorned with priceless gems.
A golden path stretched out across the vastness of the sea,
To be lost in far horizons - perhaps - infinity.
The gulls whirled overhead, with their shrill and piercing cry,
In a world that knows no boundaries, the vastness of the skies.
The sea was calm and peaceful, like a sweetly slumbering child,
The rise and swell of its changing tide, so gentle and so mild.
So many people passed me, as I briskly walked along,
With my mind at rest and my heart at peace and on my lips a song.
Some were young and some were old, some were dark, some fair,
With faces all aglow as they breathed the fresh salt air.
How wonderful, I thought, God's providence so rich and freely given,
Transforming life's grey canvas, into that akin to Heaven.
Then suddenly I remembered, that into this world of strife,
A God of love came down, to walk the promenade of life.
Mingling with the passing crowds - some hopeful - some in despair,
Content to walk as we had walked, life's busy thoroughfare.
A path awash with the changing tides of human circumstance,
A path ordained, completely free, from the vagaries of chance,
For He planned it all, the path He took, along the shores of time,
To bring to all men everywhere, the breath of life divine.
He stilled life's storms, He calmed life's seas, great winds obeyed His voice
And where're He walked caused human hearts to hope and to rejoice.
At greater cost than any man can ever understand,
As one of us, He lived and died and rose in purpose grand.
Life's promenade re-echoes still, to the sound of pierced feet,
As Gold walks along with extended hands, each passer-by to greet.
Emerging from the shadows of a past eternity,
To walk life's changing shoreline, with men and women, like you and me.
W H Spry (Newbiggin-by-the-Sea)
