On Purpose

Intent has magic and power.
To create. To exonerate.
To give force to forgiveness.
Or judgment. To reveal 

At a soul level, to strip
Bare, and to make one
Bolder with passion, nobler 
With purpose than imagined 

By friend or foe. To will
It to be. Birth, death, 
The basest of needs become
 Righteous in prayer, purity

Becomes pale, a mere
Imitator, fragile, innocence,
Devoid of the ideal. A shell
On the fierce shoal.

Ignorance is as far from
The courage of conviction
As is chance from purpose.
Law, grace, luck, all

Favor the one whose
Courage propels, even when
The prudent fall back, and
The wise urge caution.

Give me sturdy boots to
Wade through the muck, and 
Calloused, dirty hands.
And I can build me a life.

-- 05/12/2012