One fall afternoon

Blue Crinkle 9/26/2014

Crinkled blue foil

Streaming through the air

On a cool gray afternoon

Racing down the road. 

Snowflakes blowing sideways

Through the halo of a streetlight

Through my father’s office window

Thirty years ago. 

The bottom dropping out beneath us

As my car drives off an embankment

Falling in slow motion

On a hot Georgia night.

Disjointed thoughts flash in my brain

For purposes unknown

And unexamined

But is it better to write it down

Or better to forget? 

Time collapses to a pin point

And that is all it is

As I sleep in my skin

And walk in my dreams. 

The world teeters and wobbles

Into madness

And yet everything falls into place

In a mysterious synchronicity

All known in advance.

They can call it what they will

And they can ignore it if they want

But what is true is still true

And what is wrong

Is still wrong. 

Dream for me

That everything is connected

And that all these limitations

Will all disappear.

We will make the world over

In perfect colors

That no one has seen

And feast with each other

With nothing to lose

And everything to gain. 

Afterwards we laugh

Because we should have known, all along

But what is real

Will still be beautiful

Just as when

We first believed.

Sleep Walker

Sleep Stalker 9/26/2014

Water before sun

And earth before man

Another day around

Before we meet again. 

The ice berg

Pokes out the water

And we walk as men

But there is much more to see

Below the waterline. 

We are more

Than what we appear to be

And all we see

Is just a glimpse

Of all we will be. 

In my dreams

I almost, make it back

And almost make it up

As I travel backwards,

And forwards

Through space and time.

There is so much unfinished

And there is so much unreconciled

Yet life goes on 

In love and loss. 

I try to forget

But yet, I still remember

And no matter where I go

In my sleep, I return. 

I see people

That I used to know

And it is, as if

They are really there.

But then I wake up

And I come back

Across a distance

Insurmountable and frozen.

The gulf

Is deep and treacherous

But how many times

Did I

Not even try? 

What was true then

Is true now

And what was a lie

Will always be wrong.

The fire is started

And it cannot be put out

No matter what is said or done

The truth remains

Brighter than the sun. 

The door inside

Has been opened

And it cannot be shut

So I can only leave it open

To burn through. 

I hope these words

Find their home

And I hope that

All the others

Are happy and well.

May love shrink the distance

Between you and yours

And so also with me

Returning us all

As we were always

Meant to be. 

Diamond Eyes

Diamond Eyes 9/25/2014

It is sad

But also predictable

That you can see what will happen

From a million miles away.

As old as man

And as old as sin

That we often destroy

What is good

And pure.

Are we prepared

To stare at the end?

At the dead eyes of murder

And unfathomable hatred. 

It spasms everywhere

In an orgy of blood

Lurking in doorways

And watching your every move. 

It is in the office mate

Who covets beauty and money

And it is also in the murderer

Insecure and jealous.

I saw the pictures

And I see the end

Fake,  dumb, and predictable

Insincere and shallow.  

But isn’t that the world

Rotten on the inside

Like a corpse encrusted with diamonds

Suffocating the living  

With promises and lies. 

Hidden in plain sight

The deepest motives of man

Deeper than deep

And blacker than black.

Sometimes it hurts

But that is no surprise

As we have no choice

But to keep on going

Spinning sideways around the sun.

You might hear one thing

Or you might hear another

But words are only words

When they are designed to deceive.

Desperate people

Do desperate things

And they will say anything

To get what they want

Or keep what they have.

A wise man

Never lets down his guard

Careful not to become complacent

Anytime or anywhere.

This is the phony war

And this is age of deception

A peaceful eye of the storm

Before it strikes again. 

But he who

Plants his feet upon the rock

Will not be moved

Immortal and determined. 

Set your eyes

Dead level

And remember this  truth

That he who does what is right

Will never die.  

Vindication will come

Like a tsunami

And nothing shall stand before it

Except what is true. 

The Charnel House

The Charnel House 9/24/2014

If you can’t see an elephant

Then you are blind and dumb

But deep down each can see the truth

Unless they don’t have a soul.

We can talk all day

But it doesn’t mean a thing

If we are unwilling to speak the truth

And change what is wrong. 

Heads roll

And the fires burn

But you have to look inside

To see from where it comes. 

I have drawn the lines backwards

And all them find their mark

As one thing leads to another

Each worse than than the next. 

Some men lie for money

And some kill for fun

But deep down,

Some make monsters

To do it all for free.

One hand or the other

Each work in circles

Each leading the other

Off the same old cliff. 

One may be faster

But the destination is the same

As run over each other

On our way to the end. 

They say, that there is no evil

But I have seen it face to face

And there is no evil, without good

A choice and a God. 

The world is a charnel house

And the meat grinder churns

As we make our way through fences

On our way to the fire.

Come quickly

And save the sheep

Wandered far

And bleating.  

Gather us 

And save us from evil

Once lost 

But forever loved.  

Walking the Trench

Walking the Trench 9/24/2014

I dreamed of a harvest 

That never came to be

And was blindsided by a future

I could have never predicted.

When everything was lost

I thought that I would die

As the rug was pulled out

And all the lights turned off. 

Words cannot describe

What it felt like

As I stared into the black

Hopeless and alone. 

I had been leaning on others 

With all of my weight

As I stood on their shoulders

For every worry and decision.  

I was loved by many

But I failed to act in return

Day dreaming my way

Through numberless afternoons. 

When it hit

I had nowhere to stand

So I felt myself falling

For what it seemed,

Like forever. 

But it’s always easier to fall

Than it is to rise

As I learned to walk

All over again.  

Taking one step

And then losing two

As set back after set back

Filled my legs with lead.

We learn and we know

But still we react

And tilt at windmills

Just as dumb as we were

Foolish and ashamed. 

Time has passed

And I will never,

Know it all

As I have worn a ditch

Walking around this mountain. 

But thank God we know

And thank God I have learned

To be happy in the present

No matter what,

It may bring.  

We strive towards the goal

In want 

And in plenty 

To remain the same

Faithful and strong.  

Now we stand together
Hand in hand
And heart within heart
Learning and leaning
On the grace of God.