Turfed from the nest to fend unaided now,

Stark paradox of independent love.

My neonatal grasp will not allow

Its anxious grip let go authority above.

Relax I must. The reflex fanned withdrawal,

Of automatic motion in m iy mind,

For consciously I go to face it all:

The best, the worst, friend, foe, lame, halt and blind.

Reluctantly I leave the cradle's care,

The fellowship created to disperse

Abroad to prove the love we claim, and there

Mature to even more dependent depths.

June 1968

After House Seven sitting room prayers, post-commissioning.