Triad

I walk away
   So insufficient
so many times
      Falling on my face again
when to your arms I should run
you take my far-fetched ideas
       Take me
       my hands and hopes and dreams
       use me
       turn my thoughts to you
       claim me
       steal me from all who would distract
Pull me
       Let none take me
out of the grasp
       none claim me
of this world
       but those for whom I am given
    of my
And humble me
    mind
       genuinely
    of all but you
Turning me back again
What do you want
     to your face
    from me?
     Your glory
    Your glory
     to You
    in me
     …my Lover
    take me

Psalm 121
I will lift up mine eyes
    unto the hills
from whence cometh my help
My help cometh from the LORD,
    which made heaven and earth.
He will not suffer thy foot
    to be moved:
He that keepeth thee will not slumber.
Behold, He that keepeth Israel
    shall neither slumber nor sleep.
The LORD is thy keeper:
    the LORD is thy shade
    upon thy right hand.
The sun shall not smite thee by day
    nor the moon by night.
The LORD shall preserve thee from
    all evil:
He shall preserve thy soul.
The LORD shall preserve thy
    going out
and thy coming in
from this time forth
and forevermore.

I see now why I didn't see you before
   why i didn't know
      didn't care
you were just a pretty face
   in many ways you
      still are
sometimes you go so deep
   it amazes me
but sometimes you need
   to grow up
Some things are so basic

Reflection on "The Kiss"
Fist clenched
   at his side
...not quite tight
   fingers curled
as control
   must win
Passion rages
      in his mouth
   in hers
but he will not
   touch her
she will not
   touch him
They are chaste
   passion
      and
   innocence
   intertwined
for a moment
   on this street
in Paris.

last night
    you were so tired
    sore broken
        in the place of dragons
    and i could not comfort you

Simple things
treasured for their smallness
for their thought
for the power that
lies in their creation

zippers furl
   and class is almost out

Taken
Pain she was in
      now gone
   replaced with new
      temporary
   I hope
Fear she was in
      now gone
   replaced with hope
      permanent
   I pray
You weave her life
      and body
   into one grand expression
      to glorify you
   take her

guilty I come to you
      on my belly again
      crawl before you
      struggling to repent
      saying, “I’m sorry”
      but taking it back
      because I don’t
      mean it

how does my heart
       get so hard before you
       that I wouldn’t care
       How can I make
       another
             my god?

Do I trust you enough
       to give over to you
       all my life and heart?
       You built it
              guarded it
              died for it
              died for me…
       You hold me in the palm
           of your hand
       and I try to scramble
       out between your fingers
       freefalling to a chasm
       you never let me reach

Pick me up
       hold me Jesus
       comfort me to you
       cradle me
       to your heart

Love me, God
       though I am weak
       I want to know you
       seek your face
       more than all others

guilty I come to you
       crawling once again
       on the palm of your hand
       belly down face to the ground
       I am sorry, God
       so sorry!
       … and this time i mean it
       it pours from my heart
       I cannot live without you
             do not want to
             I miss you
             tremble for you
             weep within my soul
             as I break before you
             unable to heal myself
             unable to comfort myself
             unable to come to you

So I lay before you
             guilty
       cradled in the palm of nail-scarred hands.

Angels Weep
(Baptism)

Angels weep in heaven today
A child’s soul is taken
And committed without her knowledge
Into a relationship she may never seek
Thinking the work is done

Beyond Description

I search for words to describe you
But they do not come
I force them out but they mock me
Turning you into something you are not

you lay beyond definition
If one remains objective.
How do I wrap you in a weave of words
Without revealing my heart?

Already you have become a part of me.

A song rises in me
a tune I do not know
a song that is not familiar
a melody of notes in
harmony yet dissonant
in a pleasing way
A song of confusion
and uncertainty
     and excitement
  of the vaguely known

Church Lights

Yellow on white
Reflecting light and
Shadows cast
Upon the past
Made new.

“A” is for Apathy

You sit there
Mocking me
For how I let you
Cut me down
How I gave myself
Over to your
Betrayal
You sit there
Mocking me
By how little you know
How little you care
For what we had.
You don’t know
How much you mean
to me
The times I told you
You never listened
Never believed
Never accepted
And now our friendship
Dies
Because you don’t know
Because you refuse to know.
And because you don’t care.

Bethany

Tiny dancer
Soul sings to You
Twisting, turning
Bursting forth
Unable to contain
Her smile of joy
At your unending
     love

On Faith
I don’t understand you, God
It doesn’t make sense
   how Jesus is you
I know it’s true
I don’t doubt, really.
I just don’t understand.

The focus is me…
   Always me…
When the focus is you
Sometimes its clearer.
Sometimes its not.
You confuse me.

So far outside my finite
   human mind
So much bigger and
   all consuming
But how do we know you’re even there?
I know the arguments
I can recite the facts
You’re the one I don’t understand
   can’t recite
   can’t box up
   into an easy little package


[Zephaniah 3:17 – “The Lord thy God in the midst of thee is mighty, He will save, He will rejoice over thee with joy, he will rest in his love, He will joy over thee with singing.”]

poems sit within my room
surrounded by pages and
covers of my books
revealing my heart
to no one but
those who know where
to look, how
to see
into my soul

Beyond You

I cannot love you
Indeed I must not
But somehow that gets rather confused
When I am with you
Or without

I should not be jealous
Indeed I must not
But somehow that gets rather confused
When she is with you
I without

So what is this emotion
This pull far beyond
What is this insanity
That threatens on all sides to consume me
Beyond you.

Brittany

Lavender and lime
Flowers in the sun
Pool parties, make-up
Boys and teddy bears
Girl turning woman
In the blink of an eye
Soft heart seeks You
Crumbles at others’ pain
Wanting to comfort
And take from them
Anything that would hurt.
Bubbling with joy…
No holding back
She lives the fullness
     of You.

Confrontation (The Waiting)

Hold your breath
Take your chances
Lay it all on the line.
These words could cost you
Everything
Or they could bring
It back again
There’s no way of knowing
Until it’s gone
And received
What the repercussions are.
Fears race past rational
Thoughts, feeling,
Then anger and
The quest for justice
For right and truth
to prevail
and in the midst of it all
you feel sick.
Because you don’t want
To lose a friend
But if he’s not really there now,
What’s the point?
What’s there to lose?

Appearances

Never have I seen you without doing a double take
Or wanting to.
Never have I seen you without admiring
The outer.
Never have I known you to be admirable on the
Inside.
Too bad.
You would have been nice to know.