Short Stories by Phoenix Hocking

Feeding the White Dog
By
Phoenix MaryGrace Hocking

Two dogs war inside my breast
One shrieks anguish, the other breathes rest.
One dog black, the other dog white,
Which of them will win the fight?

The black dog snarls in fleshly anger,
The white dog gently sighs, “Surrender.”
Two dogs war within my breast,
One called “Spirit,” the other named “Flesh.”

The dog I feed is the one who will rise,
While the other starves, and shrinks, and dies.
What will I feed this dog of mine?
How do you feed a dog Divine?

Spirit demands a daily diet
Of prayer, and service, and lots of quiet,
A daily bath in the Word of God,
Is what is needed for my white dog.

Spirit settles at my feet at night,
Rises, too, with the morning light.
Flesh rises too, but Spirit is stronger,
And I long for the day when Flesh rises no longer.

Two dogs strive for my heart to win,
Spirit or Flesh? God or Sin?
My soul and spirit are both agreed,
The dog who wins is the dog I feed.

Copyright Phoenix Hocking 2004