Nothing to Worry About

In the arms of my mother I learned I was safe
From the terrors and sounds of the night,
For our bedtime routine silenced all the alarms
Of the dark that so filled me with fright...
Now, the story was read, and my prayers were said,
And all lights but my night-light put out;
I can yet hear her clear whisper next to my ear:
“Love, there’s nothing to worry about.”

Since then, many a teacher and mentor of mine
Has unsettled that confident calm,
For the criminals’ wake and the ripples of war
Flood their lessons and moisten my palm.
O the world, on its face, seemed to me a safe place
‘Til my intellect started to sprout...
But those feral forays seemed, as yet, far away--
There was nothing to worry about.

Well, the warnings keep coming and cannot be stilled
Of the plagues and the hazards awaiting
All the careless and brash who don’t bother to wash,
And the damsels and dudes who are dating.
Scabies, cancer and flu are out gunning for you,
Not to mention heart flutters and gout!
But I’ve lived my life clean (at least, what can be seen),
So, there’s nothing to worry about.

Yes, I’ve made it this far now with nary a scar
And my family fixed and well-fed;
What we’ve saved in the bank armors us like a tank,
Fortified for whatever’s ahead.
Candidates just like me are in office, you see,
So with them, I have plenty of clout...
Long this nation has stood now, so why not for good?
We’ve got nothing to worry about.

Now my mother has gone to a home far beyond
And mortality looms in my eyes...
All her words, just like gold in my mem’ry, unfold
To remind me of life’s greatest prize:
“If I die ere I wake, may my soul the Lord take”
Was the plea meant to shield me from doubt;
But if I had no claim on that kind Savior’s name,
I’d have plenty to worry about!

Many times she would read of our desperate need
For forgiveness and favor with God;
Of His wrath, and the love that sent Christ from above
To be born and up Calvary plod...
There the God-man would die, and for rebels like I,
Earn the favor we can’t die without;
Jesus, You are life’s goal! Take my heart and my soul;
Give me nothing to worry about.


MNA 11.6.14