dare we? (acts 2:1-21)

hesitant enough
to whisper your name,
  much less tell others
  of your presence in our lives:
        dare we ask for
        tongues of boldness?

our hearts
fatigued by
  the malignancy of poverty,
  the terror of our times,
  the children wounded in our streets:
        dare we ask
        for a transplant
        of compassion?

souls numbed
  by broken lives
  and shattered dreams,
grace iceberged
  by the chill of our culture:
        dare we ask
        for just the smallest spark
        to engulf us?

dare we hope?

              come, Holy Spirit, come!

(c) Thom M. Shuman