An Exercise in Hope

'Finish the psalm,'
they rant,
these shadows of the past

that still hang upon
the walls
of hope and circumstance;

these voices of my friends
that calling
left behind,

'Strap on your boots,
return to your roots,
and finish the psalm,'
they chide.

'Let the sunlight be
your guide,
keep the shadows as
your friends;

but when clouds abide
and you lose your stride
never keep the
darkness in.

Be a mirror for
the cosmos,
be it all gaseous, marvelous
and bright;

let the blast project
and the glory reflect,
then you, simply
paraphrase the light.

Let the future remain
a mystery
never let it lead
you on,

And to the Creator
ever address,
as you cry out in
your distress,

and as your back's
still bent
don't you ever forget

to pick up
your pen and
finish the psalm.'


© 2014 vagrant moon

Peter & John

______________

We smoked the screen
to make it
what it was to be

now to know it
in my memory

And at once I knew
I was not
magnificent

-Bon Iver


I broke the line
back broke my spine
it's not significant

Now thoughts cloudy
as the mire
scoliosis of the mind

But I am not
repentant
None of us is
innocent

Voice of God
mind of Christ:
What's it to you
if I take a life?

We walk beside
we stand in line
my brother in mind

I would rather
die in twos
than die as one

Essence of God
life of Christ:
The cornerstone.

Body fight
spirit strive
Follow Me!

Voice of God
mind of Christ:
What's it to you
if I keep him
alive?

Yet I am not
repentant
None of us is
innocent

--103111--

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--