The Face That Never Turned Away

Inspired by Rav Laitman's lesson • Original poem

I walked through darkness, burdened with pain, 

I cursed the losses, the sorrow, the rain. 

I searched for a reason, someone to blame, 

And thought that the Creator had turned from my name.

I cried in the silence, I begged for a sign, 

Why does this suffering have to be mine? 

But buried beneath what my heart couldn't see, 

The One who was hidden was guiding me.

His face never turned, His love never died, 

It was I who had turned to the opposite side. 

For the Light never changes, the truth stays the same, 

It's the vessel within me that carries the blame.

The pleasure can blind me, the suffering too, 

Both can conceal what is righteous and true. 

For what good is pleasure if love disappears, 

And what good is sorrow if lost in my tears?

The friends are my shelter when darkness draws near, 

They strengthen my purpose and conquer my fear. 

The love that I planted when daylight was bright, 

Returns through the friends in the dead of the night.

Don't give me a fortune, don't promise me gold, 

Give me the strength when my heart becomes cold. 

To rise above pleasure, above all the pain, 

And give to the One who has nothing to gain.

Let every correction awaken my heart, 

Let love of the friends become where I start. 

For faith isn't blindness or words that I say, 

It's feeling the One who was there all the way.

So bring me the darkness, or bring me the sun, 

My work is to cleave to the Only One. 

Not for the pleasure, not fearing the pain, 

But to bring Him contentment, again and again.

And when all the shadows have fallen away, 

I'll see that His face never turned for a day. 

The Creator was giving, His goodness was true, 

The turning was mine, and the correction was too.