Before I was broken on the wheel
of life
I was armor coated,
defended against things,
rigid in my certainty and will,
yet an uncertain child within.

Since, in your kindness
O finger of god,
this profile of a personality
was cracked open
during your starless pitch nights of my soul,
revealing darkness dull in darkness,
the rich purple mists of your love
have swirled about you revealing
a gentle man walking forward within,
barefoot with the strength of a hundred knights,
and around me regained
spontaneity!

Ian Trousdell

http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/hard-times-before-i-was-broken/