Once in a Bush So Long Ago

Once in a bush so long ago
A fire burned away
And yet the bush remained aglow
To suffer no decay;
While in its midst an angel shone
Far brighter than a flame
It made itself to Moses known
To call him twice by name:

"Oh Moses, Moses come and see
But first take off your shoes.
You stand on ground whose sanctity
Is not for earthly use."
Then Moses fell upon his face
At Godliness revealed
In this most humble of all ways
When he was in a field.

Yet here am I where nothing seems
To turn my steps aside
Nor dazzles me with shining beams
For vision is denied.
If in the depth of that exile
Of Egypt God was near
Then even at this time meanwhile
Now He has to be here.

For darkness shows another face
That hides away behind
The surface in ten-thousand ways
One has to seek to find;
Through suffering the absence of
What we are looking for
God's presence may just be enough
For us: yet to see more.