promise of tomorrow

every morning feels like
Groundhog Day
a movie that never ends
i go about
my black and white existence
awaiting His return
and the banquet to follow

come with me
throw off your rags of yesterday
dance with me in the
light of eternity
before His throne
no more tears of boredom or sadness
for
heaven awaits us

cracked mirror

come children let's run fast fast away from the monsters into the light, void of fright, you'll find yourself and love what you see when you let me wipe away your tears and hold up a cracked mirror
ugly stains of past sorrows gone, replaced with laugh-lines
grow old in grace and truth, never be afraid to run from darkness into clear skies where rainbows shine bright and angels of light hold your hand, walk you through
this angry
world.

freedom?

caged birds
we peck at self-erected bars
feeble, flapping feeling
fat and forlorn
until his hand lifts the latch
lifts our bodies lifts our minds
uncaged birds
we desperately
fly in circles
free in a frantic kind of way
missing the bars
which somehow gave us
purpose
security

image

maker of man
be more unavoidable
in this world of neon lights and all-night jazz

maker of mercy
mold my heart to the hurting
be my vision, my song, my smile in this world of stone

maker of minds
glue my eyes to heaven
help me hate evil, pursue purity, in this world of liberal law

maker of me
make me convinced
i've been made in your image
in this world of people pretending to be you

brokenness

i am a fallen
vase
glass shattered on the floor
every piece crying out to be
fixed
glued together
equipped to hold
flowers
once more

heaven descending

i live for it
a moment
i cannot comprehend a revelation unfolded in the skies when you descend with your army of angels and relieve this world of poverty tears and pain
but how?
i cannot grasp such matters too lofty for me to know yet why do you let us proclaim declare die for something we do not understand?
god becoming flesh
god descending from the sky blowing trumpets
truth or lie?
i choose truth my life is staked i pray it's not a big mistake to trust in you to believe that you, a man,
are God,
to save us from our
mortal
unbelieving
selves

every knee will bow

i'm running, chasing you trying to flag you down with a message so pure so true that it blinds you makes you scream
at me hate me turn from me and throw away your life to a mass of little children stuffing themselves with chemicals and blowing themselves up in a world that
doesn't see, doesn't care, doesn't belong to the light that can cure, so pure it swallows me up and i hate it, hate being on the outside, hate having no one understand me and then
i remember. you did this too, walked in my shoes, and you'll do it again when the great Amen trumpets from the skies and the world surprised opens its eyes wakes from its slumber forced to face the light
and bow.

one more song

the moon
poked its golden head
through the window
the radio sleepily droned on
and he pleaded with a whisper
"one more song"

five years passing
the music's still playing
and he's still whispering
still begging the sun to stand
clear
of our love

and give us one more song

creed

some things will never satisfy
given their finiteness
some things will never justify
no matter their fairness
some things will not stabilify
in spite of common sense
some things i'll never deify
no matter their godliness
but my Lord i'll never deny
given my dependence
on nothing
else.

strange little friend

put down your joint
my point?
let the ashes fly to the sky in twisted circles and
disappear
put down your scowl
let your jowl relax into a smile so wide your insides
crack
into millions of tears
put down your shot-glass
of fear
come here, draw near let me feed you my dear
and hold you

i told you not to talk to strangers
should have warned you not to
become
one

sad tidings

our tree's a prim lady all dressed to a T
with garland and apples and white lights twinkly
the packages are wrapped, red gold and green
our fridge is fat-full with goodies to glean.
and off in the corner our nativity sits still
with wisemen and shepherds and holy angel
but where is the one we adore, celebrate?
who took baby Jesus? oh well it's too late
let's pretend he's here and open the gifts
he'll never know, that we never missed
the King.

pipes and porcelain

porcelain faced girl with a pipe standing on the end of a long dark road
looking
backwards
smoke twirling
upwards
she's falling
downwards
into her own
apathy foot
ensnared by a lie
she's fed herself for years
that she isn't
good enough to walk
towards
the
light

tomorrow

he clung to me like
a rose petal to water
whispered
"i don't want to lose you
to
tomorrow."

so we sat on our couch with its
broken springs and watched the snow
fall down in soft clumps of white
against a black sheet of night
until
finally

we had to fall asleep
hand in hand
cheek to cheek
desperate to
stay close

afraid of tomorrow's talons

visage vs. visceral

who do you think i am? a girl with dark smudges under her eyes and five babies asks another on the bus.
what about me? queries an old man with a pot belly and too many wrinkles.
another silently asks the same question, mute since birth, exploding with expression in her pink, round face.
i too wonder, who do you think i am? do piercings, clothes, hair-styles and manner of walk really depict my soul?
if not, who am i to determine who you are?

teardrops

they must be so cold all the people without homes blankets heaters food
with hearts of pure gold, some of them old, they're always being told
where to go
when no one really cares.
if i were God, i couldn't help but reach down
wipe the frowns
and the tears from those
beautiful
fragile faces
couldn't help but take away addiction greed poverty darkness
but then again darkness makes the light seem so brilliantly
bright.
perhaps i'd better stay in this human skin. let God do his job. no doubt
while we're sleeping
he slips out of his heavenly throne and
descends wiping teardrops
erasing sorrows.
i have to believe that.

Narnia

a lion's roar
shakes the heavens makes faith's door swing
open wide
a lion's eyes
pierce my soul make me whole-ly his
revived
little lucy soothes my sorrows gives me hope
for life's tomorrow's
where's my wardrobe? help me find this
peace of mind
they offer up in
Narnia.

let the little children come unto me

cradling humanity's children in our arms, we weep, our tears like rain washing dirty blood from their faces. Christ's sorrow fills us. call, and we'll be there (meanwhile we'll gasp and beg God for strength). sometimes words keep us going. promises unspoken but screaming through children's eyes as they watch the world falling apart. and as we sit there cradling these little ones Heaven's light streams through a crack in the war-torn veils of history and we hear Him usher us in. and as we run, rows of children follow, holding hands, singing hallelujah.

walking home

cold night
butter knife
slicing ice cream
is the wind in my jacket
slippery streets
slapping sliding under the
moon
wistfully wishing it were
springtime
warm lamp-glow
shadowed head in the
window
where you're
reading resting
wondering at my absence
soft snowflakes
melting on my nose
my cheeks are pink, aglow
coming home

absolutely wonderful

i was angry
laden with packages
hurt by the world.
he was waiting
and all i could do was cry.
i've got love wrapped up in this big box, you've just got to untie the ribbon,
he begged
handing me his heart
and all i could do was choke down sobs.
i've got a dance up my sleeve every time you want to leave
he took me on his feet and
all i could do was move with him.
i've got a lifetime of jokes, arms full of hugs and eyes full of
you
he pulled me close
and all i could do was forgive him
for doing absolutely
nothing
for being absolutely
wonderful.

little girls on a scary road

once upon a time it was
ribbons and pearls
boys with good manners
pink dresses and curls.

today it's all x-box, game-cubes and
gin
boys with no mannners
drugs to fit in.

where are the gentle ladies of old
who knew right from wrong,
whose hearts were pure gold?

daily life

let me hide away today
i don't want to play
just
stay
here under the blankets
where life's monsters cannot reach
me

beseech me, guardian
angel
take my hand make me
handle
life
one monster at a time

fighting foes
warring woes
relinquishing fear

until the stars appear
the man on the moon
whispers
'well done'
and i crawl
into bed
once more

at peace