When He Called My Name

When he called my name
I was drunk with incense, oils,
and the volume of loss,
my heart searching everywhere
for the warmth of a body
gone cold.

When he called my name
I imagined illusion
and the way the mind plays tricks
like a hand grasping for something stable
to prevent a fall, the quizzical game
with no quick answer to questions.

When he called my name
it took everything the teacher had taught me
to conquer my fear of all that I did not know,
to dismiss my doubt, look at the risen man,
and to answer in the voice I was trained
to lift up.

When he called my name
I cast off my blindness
and walked for the first time
into the brilliance of God.