[With a nod to Yogi Bear, Yogi Berra, and Gladly the Cross-Eyed Bear]

Whose yoke
Do I bear?

In which Kingdom
I share?

How to decide
Where I care?

The world makes demands
On all that I’ve planned
My dreams and my fears
Both drive me to tears

Desires of my heart
They tear me apart
Too many to count
The stresses still mount

I strive up the hill
Yet long to be still
So faithful in work
Yet duties I shirk

This body of death
Steals my last breath

Whose yoke
Do I bear?

Dear Christ:
Are you there?

Is there a place
Where Law becomes Grace?

Is there a hope
Beyond end-of-rope?

Is there a cross
That makes glory from loss?

Is Christ’s “easy yoke”
More than a sick joke?

Which cross
Will I bear?

What shame
Must I dare?

Am I willing to fail
What the world dost travail?
Be scorned as a fool
For flaunting the rule?

Face the despair
Of all that I care
Be nailed to a tree
By sinners like me

My cross
I must bear
If His yoke
I would share

For only in Thee
As I lose all of me
Will I ever see
What it means to be free

“If you are tired from carrying heavy burdens, come to me and I will give you rest. Take the yoke I give you. Put it on your shoulders and learn from me. I am gentle and humble, and you will find rest. This yoke is easy to bear, and this burden is light.”

Matthew‬ ‭11:28-30‬ ‭CEV‬‬