What I Must Be

I found the Lord
On the Gadarene road:
He came over from Galilee

I watched from the hill
As I ate my lunch
And lounged in the shade of a tree

As Jesus went by
On his way to the town
The lunatic stopped him cold

You know the one:
A-raving and bare,
About whom the stories are told—

He wails alone
In the dead of night
And harasses trav’lers by day

His lair is dark
And his heart is black;
He scares all the humans away

But not this morn—
He said to the Lord
The most incredulous thing

“What have I to do
With the Son of God?
What have I to do with a King?”

I didn’t know then
But I do know now
That I am unworthy, unclean

For the spirit went out
Of that miserable soul,
Came out and left him, unseen

And found its way
Across the fields
And forced itself into me

Now I rush headlong
Down my Gerasene hill
To cast myself in the sea

You keep me safe
O Lord of hosts—
It is you alone who saves

I will be your swine:
I’ll die to drown
The demon beneath the waves