7 and Counting (by Scott Strissel)

Creeping back to life
my lungs burn and I am consumed
with fear
taking aim at standing upright
I grasp for something…
anything.
The light above me flickers
the room spins
and again I am
falling downward
falling faster than a dying star.
Is this my final chapter?
My mortal coil shuffling off
to God only knows where.
Don’t get me wrong,
I do believe in heaven and…
the other place with hockey stick
to boot
Looking up,
I want to live…
I know in my heart I can do better
I can live a life I was destined for
Moving beyond plain and ordinary
take a back seat mediocrity
I want to be extraordinary
forget normal, there’s too much of that
anyway.
So, I breathe again,
my pulse steadies, the room finally
ceases its carnival ride
and I notch one more life
from the nine I once had…
seven and counting.
________________________

Scott Strissel is a writer and pastor who grew up as a missionary kid in apartheid South Africa. His perspectives on life, love, spiritual relationship with Christ are unique and deeply rooted in the Word of God. He writes a blog (http://pastorstrissel.livejournal.com) and has written two books through his pen name (Eli Scott) which are available on ebooks – Bits and Pieces and From Alabaster Jars of Clay.