Ashes Devotional Poem For Lent Ash Wednesday

Ashes

The fire blazed
and in the flames I gazed
upon the fuel - 
the false self feeding this renewal.
It is awareness that strikes the match
and dispatches the light
roaring into the darkness.
Though this heat is intense,
it only speaks of how immense
your glory and goodness truly are.
I fed myself to the flames
of your love,
resigned to the reality of
how fragile, how weak, how lost
I am without the gift of your grace.
It is only when we're burnt to ashes
that like the phoenix who hatches
beneath the layers of what was
do we get to experience the resurrection
of what is
and taste the sweetness 
of what is still to come.

Justin Farley

Soul Notes – Poems and Reflections

If you’re searching for meaning in a world that feels too busy, too loud, too dominated by endless scrolling, Soul Notes is a place to feel heard. A few times a month, I send reflections on nature, mental health, and spirituality. Words to carry with you.