Transparent

Here I have found a kindred soul,
A fellow-wounded heart,
Brought back to life in healing,
Finally found while seeking,
Aware that home is not a place
Nor church a better God
Than when we see the holy face
Inside, where He belongs.

Here I have known a higher love,
A way of living life
Without the mask of common ground
Or seeming to do right,
Aware that truth can set us free
But only if we let it be
The guiding light within our hearts
That leads us to transparency.

One for My Lifelong Friend

You speak with your hands,

While I with a pen -

Our words carry with them

The heart of expression…

Longings and questions,

A need to create

The soul’s definition.

You reach out to share,

I reach in to know,

Our striving connects us

With the universal…

Songs, truths, beliefs

Uplifting us towards

The soul’s definition.

We look to our hearts,

And balance the mind

With spirit and passion

We both seek to find…

The real and transcendent

Are one in the same;

The soul’s definition.

 

Finding Me

I looked outside to find myself...

Am I strong like the trees,
Able to bend with the wind
Yet without breaking down,
Firmly rooted in solid ground,
And changing with the seasons of time?

Am I wide like the sky,
Providing a covering
Yet taken for granted,
Protecting life from what's outside
The planet of my existence?

Am I exquisite like blooms,
Opening gradually
To reveal warm colors,
Smiling in thanks for the sunshine
And dying that I might live again?

Or am I calm like the waves,
Ebbing and flowing in sync
With the pull of nature,
Constant in mild variation,
Responding to pressure from the deep?

I looked outside to find myself...

Traveling

My deep, down heart
Is looking up today, instead;
The color of its energy
Has changed to yellow from 'stop' red,
And now the warning issued me?
To hear its beating breath,
Moving at the speed of life
Defined by what it says :)

My true, blue heart
Is waiting for the green light's 'go',
Taking care to be aware
Of what it does and doesn't know
About the art of traveling
Around and into other souls
Who see the heart's direction
As the truth that leads us home.

Ethereal

I dream of beauty
As if it were not the wind
Stirring the shadows
Nor the blossom bright,
Inviting the eye's admiration,
Neither the gentle waters
Reminding the pebbled shore
Of rhythm in motion.

I dream of beauty
As if it were not forgotten,
Unencumbered souls
In union unguarded,
Ethereal light caressing
The  spirit's surface,
Awaking the conscience external
To origins pure.

Unstoppable

Over time, like mountains high,
Changes come
Within the climb
Towards the sun,
As seeking light, we grow.

Over time, that vast expanse,
We come to know,
Unmoved by chance,
The purpose shown,
A love that’s far beyond.

Over time, a river’s flow,
The truth returns
As we let go
To drift along
The winding path, but wiser.

Over time, unstoppable,
To feel and be alive,
We move and breathe,
In spirals wide,
Never to reach the end.

ALL AT ONCE

All at once
The pressure shatters
The fragile glass
Hardened by heat
And time contained
In rigid framework
Unexpanding,
Forced to remain still
And keep out storms,
Letting nothing in,
A barred window
Seeking to reflect
The light external
And hide the darkness
Behind and inside.

All at once
The broken pieces
Collect and cut,
Many seasons
Of inclement weather
Resisted, yet felt,
Now become endless,
Penetrating rain
That washes out
The pane’s façade
‘Til, flooded and heavy,
It knows no support
And thus collapses,
Unable to serve
Its purpose clear.

IN THIS MOMENT

In this moment
You are all there is...
Expressed as awareness
Of life In color
And natural motion,
Surrounding and bursting forth
In celebration of being,
Implications aside
And fear unfactored
Into this equation
That has its solution
In the purest energy;
White light blinding
In transcendence of darkness
And unhindered creativity -
God and Love as One.

Unsolved...

The kitchen floor
Is cold, hard,
And soon to be wet
As it all comes back
And surrounds
With clear evidence
The grieving soul -
On the walls,
In the very air,
Stalking me
Like a ghost
In search of rest
I cannot give.

The unmade bed
Is empty now,
And lied in enough,
But there is no sleep
For the weary heart
As the mind tosses -
Back and forth,
Swirling in circles
Decisions and reasons
To question again...
Like equations
Without solution
They don't sit well.

The quiet of night
Is no relief
For deafened ears
Tired of the tirade...
Should not, must,
And way back when
Compete for attention
Like noisy children,
Drowning out peace
As need for comfort
Grows in the life
Turned Upside-down,
Trying to be true.

PARTING

I’m the loser
Of this game…
Nevermore to win again,
For I’ll be haunted
By this loss
At every step,
Each path I cross.

Forever gone,
What could have been,
And now left in its place…
An empty house,
A sad refrain,
And memories
So soon to fade. 

Defeated, I
Will step aside
And on the sidelines wait,
Watching those who
Know the rules
Enjoy a better fate…
Than parting ways.

 

How Strange the Season

How strange the season
Neither warm nor cold,
Minus the hope of planting
And absent the joy of harvest,
Empty in its striving,
Constant motion lacking direction
As the winds of change whisper
In a language unknown,
Hinting at better weather
While disturbing stillness,
Working to lift and carry
The weightless worries of surface thoughts
Like paper clouds seeking dispersal.

Neither the sun nor the moon
Understand this spell,
Their orbits, predictable,
Comfort the blackness of space
That chills and surrounds,
Celestial forces pulling others closer
With attraction sustained,
Never without like kind,
Always grand in scale and beauty,
Unquestioned in purpose,
Unbroken in function,
Neither alive nor lifeless
Like puppets in the hands of God.

Odd, the compulsion
To feel our existence,
Eyes searching for color
Find the black and white of reason
As arms reach out for union
Not to be gained at length,
And words convey only knowledge
To ears in tune with wonder,
Aching to hear the song of hearts
Ablaze amidst the gray ashes
Of a garden devastated by death,
Keen for the promise of its green,
Inviting hope like birth and laughter.

The Heroine

The heroine in this story
Isn't much of one, you see,
For never did she save a life,
Or keep rich company,
No servants did attend her bed
Or princes bend their knee
To she who quietly made her way
To where her heart was free.

Our heroine never killed a foe
Nor rescued one in need,
Her shoes were never made of glass
Nor were her gardens green,
She never cast a spell of love
Or rode a handsome steed,
But spent the years in waiting
For her heart to be set free.

And though her tale is told to none,
Her deeds pass by, unseen,
No one writes about her world
Nor wonders where she's been,
And never will her face appear
Upon a movie screen,
No less important is her heart,
A star that now shines free.

Heart Song

A heart that sings
Is a heart that dreams
And looks to the future with hope,
With faith in the unseen
As substance alive
With the light and the purpose of love.

A heart that can fly
Is a heart that can rise
Above the malaise of the world,
In spirit to worship
The maker of heaven
Who blows like the wind through our souls.

A heart that can grow
Is a heart of flesh
That's after expression of truth,
Forever transparent
In wanting the best
For the other hearts tied to its strings...

Wanting

I want to see you on the water

Coming forth to rescue me,
Reaching out your saving hand
To pull me from the rising waves.

I want to feel your arms around me,

Hear you say that all is right,
Rest within your strength and mercy
‘Til I’m swallowed by your light.

I want to live with only you, Lord,

Where my faith works miracles,
Forgetting all that lies behind me,
Pressing on toward heaven’s goal.

Lost Long Before

I lost you long before I fell
From structures made of men
To underneath the forgotten,
Begging for morsels not my own,
Floundering in the shallow depths of need.

I lost you to my own desire,
While searching eyes grew dim
And all I had was stolen -
Never mine, the echoed cries
That fueled the arson's dying fire.

I lost you in a vain attempt
To have and hold again,
As if tired, used up refrains
A different song would make,
Even played for ears in tune with mine.

Go Back Inside

‘Go back inside’,
The silent voice said,
‘For no one can see you
Out here nonetheless;
You’re better off hiding
Where safety is sure
Than standing out naked
Where you can be hurt.’

‘Go back inside’,
It chastised again,
‘Can you not feel the cold
Of a world wrapped in sin?
Out here the exposure
On your tender frame
You’ll never get used to,
Nor win at its game.’

‘Get back inside’,
The voice nearly yelled,
‘You do not belong here,
Among the debris
Of all that is broken
And hearts that don’t speak
To the ideals you live for -
Come, inside there’s peace.”

Everything Speaks

The trees have a message,

“Stand tall and firm,
Be green and alive
From your roots far below,
Reaching out farther
The more that you grow.”

The sky has a message,

“Look up and breathe,
Be aware of all life
As the winds blow, unseen,
Refreshing and stirring,
Delivering, free.”

The birds have a message,

"Listen, then sing!
Call out for joy in the day!
Soar upon wings
That delight in uprising,
And rest on the branches that sway.”

The earth has a message,

“Remember, you’re small
Compared with the One who
Imagined us all!
Be conscious of infinite
Space, chance, and time -
Keep this perspective always in mind.”

The rocks have a message,

“Stay grounded and strong,
Let the waters rain over your form,
Be still and unchanging
In adverse conditions,
Remaining unmoved through each storm.
 

Everything speaks!

The meaning is one,
For the messenger reveals all truth
In forms filled with beauty
Beseeching, ‘take notice!’
For therein is love’s finest proof.

 

 

I WALK WITH GOD

I walk with God.

Sometimes others follow,

Other times I am alone.

Occasionally, the path ahead is clear,

But usually it is obscured.

It is enough to be beside Him.

 

I walk with God.

At times I’m unwavering,

Other times I hesitate.

Then it appears that we

Travel in circles for a while

Beforeprogressing with direction.

 

I walk with God,

Though sometimes He carries me.

Infrequently, we talk.

Mostly we communicate silently.

There are times when I stumble,

But He keeps me from falling.

 

I walk with God.

Following Him requires devotion

To His way of wandering,

At times it is difficult

To stay close enough to see Him.

Sometimes I watch His back,

Other times I hold His hand.

 

I walk with God.

When He shows me things

Along the way, I am in awe.

When I perceive my own smallness

Next to Him, I am humbled.

 

I walk with God.

Sometimes we stand still

And I have to wait for Him to move.

At times I feel I can’t go on,

And He patiently waits for me.

 

I walk with God.

My road with Him

Is different than any other’s,

Yet sometimes they intersect.

Then I understand what it means

To share a walk with God.