When

When you find the going tough and nothing seems to gel,
When everything you ever hoped for crumbles into dust.
When friends you loved and in whom you put your trust,
Prove suddenly all too human and there seems no reason why.

When things that once seemed easy suddenly get hard,
When even the most routine task proves beyond your powers,
When jobs that once took minutes begin to take you hours,
And you feel the world’s against you without a reason why.

When you cannot trust a soul and don’t know where to turn,
When the freedom you once enjoyed seems like a prison cell,
When folks who always smiled at you and used to wish you well,
Become sullen and obstructive and there seems no reason why.

When you know that you are right but things prove otherwise,
When every time that you call heads, the coin turns up tails,
When faced with easy choices, your selection always fails
Despite the good advice you took. What is the reason why?

When you decide to buy a stock it seems it always falls,
When you borrow to finance a deal; interest rates go up,
When you think, ‘I’ve got a bargain’; you’ve been sold a ‘pup’.
This sudden change of fortune must have a reason why.

When you accept life is designed not just for number one,
When you are able to accept that nothing stays the same,
When instead of pushing self, you advance another’s claim,
You will begin to understand there is a reason why.

When you can learn to take the knocks and realise they help,
When you can look inside yourself and see how much you gain
When failure strikes; understanding nothing is in vain,
You will be so much closer then to that reason why.

When once you understand that life on earth is not complete,
When you know that consciousness goes on and on forever,
When you begin to look at life knowing nought can sever
You from eternity; clearer is that reason why.

When you start to realise that absolutes are fiction,
When you acknowledge that all things have a reason,
When you see and feel in truth the beauty in each season.
Then are you beginning to find the reason why.

When, accepting all that comes, you learn to praise and trust,
When you realise the importance of unconditional love,
When you know we all are part of that glorious Power above,
Then you’ll have your answer friend; that’s the reason why.

© Lionel Owen 2009