The Rose Garden

__________________

Courage doesn't always roar.
Sometimes courage is the quiet voice
At the end of the day saying,
'I will try again tomorrow.'

- Mary Anne Radmacher


Try again
Tomorrow,
Wrestle with despair
And win.

Sin shall not
Be master,
Shall not provoke you
To do things you cannot do.

The little lion can scratch,
But he cannot kill.

The thorn in your flesh
Will yield a rose garden
Come morning,
Will smell of
Sweet sunlight
And dragon’s breath.

Let the enemy’s sword
Break upon the chainmail
Of your chest
Like an arrogant ocean on
A steadfast shore.

Come no further,

Says the Light.

Consume no more.


--121710--

Yesterday's Friend

___________________

Yesterday’s friend,

Now I know how you

Felt, how the years of silence

Must have pierced

Your heart like a

Needle going through

The eye of the camel.

If the rich man cannot

Enter heaven by limousine

How can the beggar

Simply walk right in?

Are there still prayers

To pray? Is life itself the

Indulgence one must pay?

I don’t know why you

Tossed in your sleep

Those many dark nights.

Where did you seek the change?

It is hard to live with ghosts,

To make deals with the devil,

To bury the only life you have

To only have it raise up

To strangle your ghost on the

Last day.

--120310--

The Past Will Have the Last Word

_____________________________________

History repeats itself.
– unknown


And this is how it ends,
How it began last winter.

The sun sang his final
Song before dipping down

Out of sight. Will we
See him again? Will

Our brows again be
Kissed with his holy

Blood? Fall has been
Here before, has tip-

Toed away from Summer
on ruffled leaves, has

signaled Winter to start
her annual dirge. Fall

has fooled us all again
into crowning Compromise

king for another term,
into meeting in the middle

and giving none of our
possessions to the poor.


--100810--

Something New

_______________

Where can you run to escape from yourself?
Where you gonna go? Where you gonna go?
Salvation is here.

-Jon Foreman


This is where I stood
This time
Last year.

This is where the rain
Fell.
Where the vultures
Gathered death
Like food.

Where Darkness gripped
My hand
Like a fond lover,

Only to whore itself
Out to a hopeless
Humanity.

I was not fooled.
Only lost.
Only wandering.
Only on a vacation

From Joy.
From Purpose.
From Life.

Would these three
Ever find me?
I could not tell.

But today,
As I look back
Over the glaring precipice

Us four dance
On the grave of whores,
Those who promised
life
But only delivered
Disease.

Only longing.

I dare you
To
Move,

Sang the Light.

I dare you to
Become
Who
You
Are.


--100710--

Unless it Falls

Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.

-Jesus

Today

Hope wears black

and carries a casket

of thorns.

I did not wish it to be this way.

How things change

so soon.

How Winter swallows up

Autumn

on the last night

of Summer.

I hold a plane ticket

in my hands.

Eighteen million are homeless

at my former destination.

Now 18,000 of my

cousin’s days are dead.

It all happened overnight.

I can still hear

my uncle’s voice

on the phone those

ten years ago.

I was just a kid

trying to find my way

in this world,

just a man

trying to make sense

of silence.

I see him standing

in the corner

of next week.

He too wears black,

like Hope.

--082910--

The Returning

__________________

I spoke too soon.

Tonight,

The sunken moon

Kissed me

With starlight

Before I could

Cry into the

Lonely

Pillow.

Tonight,

Darkness knows

Bounds,

Like the ocean’s

Mighty waves.

“Come no further!”

Crashing into the

Light

In my brother’s

Heavy eyes,

It broke its

Bloody knuckles

On tomorrow’s

Steadfast gaze.

“I would have

Despaired

Unless

I had believed

I would see

The goodness of the LORD

In the land of the

Living.”

Take heart;

I am

Returning.

--051810--

The Lifesaver

The life in winter

Which froze fragile bones

Is now hot like ash.

The flames caught wind

Of you pouring gasoline

On your past,

So they kissed your

Black boots

With hot hell.

Now you dance

In the garden’s

Man-made purgatory,

Shaking the dust

Of this world

Off your feet

As you learn to

Live and love

Again.

--051210--

I’m an alien in the garden

Walking tall, thin and proud.

Not all are lost who wander;

Not all the lost are found.

I make my home in Evergreen,

Colors from long ago,

This pale afternoon sending water

Upon an ever thirsty soul.

When I arrive I’ll write you

From wherever it is I go.

Until then,

I wear the sky as my robing

And the earth as my home.

--051110 and 051210--

Snow Fountain (Weeping Higan Cherry)

I've recently started intentionally drawing in natural settings (mainly in a botanical garden) and writing poems to go along with the drawings about once a week. Enjoy the journey!

Snow Fountain,

Green winter

Has come and bowed

You down like ash.

Why are you weeping?

Or are you simply resting

In the arms of the older

Tree, playing dress-up

With his hand-me-down

Clothes? You who are

Cradled in wind and waves,

Do you still feel alone

In the shade, not knowing

Ancient light crouches

Behind you?

--050810--

Even the Very Wise

_______________________

“Many that live deserve death. And some that die deserve life. Can you give it to them...? Do not be too eager to deal out death in judgment. Even the very wise cannot see all ends.”

– Gandalf the Gray

Soul,

What do you think

You deserve?

And why?

If your skin

Was pricked

Would you cry?

Tell me,

Why did Jesus

Die

Before what many

Would call

His time?

Did not Gollum

Have his part

To play?

Did the ring

of power

have its way?

Remember,

Everyone who is born

Has their price to pay.

There will be

An answer.

There will be

A time

For everything

Under the

Sun.

--021010--

These Three Remain

________________

If I speak,

Would you listen?

Would ears

Lie prostrate

In worship

On the highways

Of my tongue?

This town is

Hearty,

But peaceful

Compared to the scattered

War zones,

The tiny hospitals

And shacks

Tucked away in the

Dusty brown

Hills

Of tomorrow.

Yet,

Blood.

My boots kiss

The invisible residue

Down

Monument Avenue.

There is history

Here.

The same struggle.

The same

War

That never

Ends.

That never

Will.

Not in this

Life.

Peace,

Prosperity,

Power. *

These three remain.

But the greatest

Of these

Is

None.

__________________________

*Regards to author Ted Dekker for the three P’s.

--040910--

To Marry a Whore

___________________

- for Hosea

I.

Return to me.

You who wears darkness

Like a wedding gown,

Who calls dust and

Ashes sweet friends.

Exchange your wasteland

For Eden,

Your thirst for Plenty,

Your wars for Peace.

Dance like David

as the tent of

YHWH returned

From the enemies of God

With rolling heads

To pave the weary way.

The nations did not know.

They did not turn.

It is not so

With you.

II.

You have been

Bought with the spoils

Of the universe, with

The wine of heaven.

I sold myself

On our wedding day.

Sold my anger,

My fairness, my wrath.

What do you hold

In your hands

That I did not

Give you?

Even your very name

Is borrowed.

Not even life

Can you claim.

III.

You were led

Into darkness

To see Light.

This is why you are here.

Do not trade a complex

Question

For a simple answer.

Neither stop the asking.

Only remember:

life is a

Rolling shadow

With fire behind

And an ecstacy

Unnamed

Ahead.

--Fall 2009--

Eternity's Tongue

_________________

Sorrow is the mortal’s

Food,

But only for a time.

Then he shall fast.

The ravens

Will feed him with

Sweet death

By the bitter

Brook.

It will drop

Like a worm,

Dissolve like

Sugar water

Upon

Eternity's tongue.

--032510 & 040510--

Still the Snow

_________________

Maybe I stay awake to write.

Maybe I write to stay awake.

Whatever it is

I hear the darkness

Tickle the belly of

The morning

Hoping

He’ll cry Mercy!

Mercy!

Why the dark

Every night?

Why the cold bed

And feet?

Still,

The snow

Reminds of God’s purity,

Of His unfailing devotion

To keeping us alive

Until

The night is

Complete.

--020810--

You Know Who You Are

_____________________________

- For my fellow Josephs


Eleven stars bowing down,
Sun and moon knelt before us.

There’s a sparkle in our crowns,
Our skin, transparent, porous.

Our brothers have betrayed us,
Traded our lives for pennies.

Piled high in rusty cages,
We knew no milk, no honey.

Lose not hope, slaves of Egypt;
Turn toward the sacred Morning.

His hands will unbind, free us.
God Himself will crown us kings.


--020310--

Breathing the Apocalips

_____________________________

We knew the trees would betray us.
We knew the Night would sing his song.

Oh, how Death has snuck up on us!
As quiet as a banging drum.

The land weeps slow and silent tears.
All hearts beating steady and strong.

Every pulse taps the melody,
As quiet as a banging drum.

Our blind eyes saw the cavalries,
Heard their voices shout, loud and long.

How we felt the deep blue tremble,
As gentle as a banging drum.

My, my, how our hearts disown us!
How they lust for youth and young, like

Whores screaming Infidelity!
As quiet as a banging drum.


--020210--

Khalaas!

__________

I draw lines in this white sand.

Mark my words with magic marker.

I'm not a man that I should change.

Not a god that I shouldn't need

to die.

Khalaas!*

I am already dead,

yet alive again.

__________

*Khalaas is an Arabic word meaning "enough, complete, it is finished."

--020210--

I Used to Love it Here

Went walking today.
Saw a ghost of a man
fishing beside the frozen
lake.

This wilderness is
cold, is aged, is
Winter at its finest.

I try to break the
bars, but the steel
won't give, my mind
neither bends.

And you know
what the tragedy is?
I used to love it here.

--020210--

Charis

________

For Ernyn

All these feelings

I can’t name

All this discontent

Too many folks

I could blame

But my back’s still bent

Far too much force

In this wrecking ball

How I long to stand

But I just fall

Oh, how I’m glad

To proclaim

Grace is not nameless

How love is not

Contingent

Upon performance

How God’s embrace

Has a face

Forever pointing

Toward

Us.

--012710--

Crawling In the Dark

Ever wondered where the title for this blog came from?

Click here for the answer.

Eternity Now

_______________

Heaven,

Your body

Holds no tears.

Earth,

This is

Our reality,

Now.

Eternity

Reaches

Down

With hot coals,

Touches

The tip

Of the tongue

Then

Angels carry

Away

The ashes.

Life

Never

Ends.

As it is

In

Heaven

So shall it be

On earth.

--091209--

When Darkness Falls

____________________

When darkness

Falls,

Cry not

UNHOLY!

But,

Please come early,

Blessed Morning,

With your

Wading wings.

Pluck me

From this

Dark ocean

Named

Night.

--011510--

War Poem

___________________

Hang not thy head, soldier;

you have yet to collect

the grand fortunes of war.

Make your courage bolder,

standing firm and erect

'til you've settled the score.

Unleash no sad remorse

nor profound regret; let

celestial joy take its course,

leaving chance to the better's bet.

--010710--

HIS Banner Over Us

____________________

Where do you

belong?

Do you worship

the moon

to steal

the sun?

Do you swallow

the sea

to float?

These walls bury

me in the past

as they carry me

into tomorrow's

tomorrow

with hands

trembling.

These lines wrap

around my neck

like a gallows wire

and hang

my head

on the universe.

These borders,

these two seas

are only

visions,

only clouds,

only walls

we walk through

like ghosts.

Freedom

here

is

freedom

there.

The same heads

roll.

The same plunder

escapes

in the arms

of the saints.

The same blood

buries

our broken

streets

as the

newborn creation

raises

its soprano

to sing:

His

banner

over

us

is

love.

--010210--

New Year's Evolution

______________________

He who thinks

in years

wears the rusty

chains of time.

She who obsesses

over decisions

dies in the cradle

of the present.

Tomorrow wears rags,

makes promises

she cannot keep,

waxes politically

singing,

Change!

Change! Change!

while only delivering

nature's classic refrain:

There is nothing new

under the sun.

--010110--

While Others Lie Waiting

_________________________

"It's been a long December

and there's reason to believe

maybe this year will be

better than the last."

- Adam Duritz

Darkest new morning

of premature dawn

welcomes the desert

in its arms

while others lie

waiting for the light

of the sun

I've been here before

Had regrets before

Have looked back as

my shame turned

this flesh to stone

This night I

am picking up the pieces

as I circle toward

the morning,

as I slay the past

the rastaman told me

not to forget

I have a foot

in both worlds,

wearing two faces

on the same head:

to fight

and

to forget

I steal away

the plunder

before the first

head rolls

This is my hope

my song

The life given me

by

Father

--010110--