The Servant

Or... To serve or to be served.

Photo by Bournes senruoB on Unsplash

“To give real service, you must add something which cannot be bought or measured with money, and this is sincerity and integrity." Douglas Adams

The arrow
doesn't choose
the target,
the river
doesn't select
It's banks.

You:
the hollow reed
through which
the wind
makes music
for other ears.

Not for your comfort
the calling comes,
not for your glory
the burden
settles on your shoulders
like snow.

Chosen:
to be the conduit,
the bridge others cross
to reach the far shore
You'll never see.

Your talents
are not your own—
loaned tools
for work
that outlasts
the worker.

The gift
flows through you
to where it's needed,
leaves you empty
as the cup
That holds water
for the thirsty.

Purpose:
not self-fulfillment
but self-spending,
not personal triumph
but faithful
transmission.

The seed
dies into the ground
So the tree
can feed
the forest
that feeds
the world.

You are the means,
not the end—
the servant,
not the served.