On the mountaintop
Where all things are made new
We'll grow old and young

In the forest shade
Where Nature hides her treasure
Our songs will be sung

When the sunlight fades
Constellations fill the sky
We will find our truth

And when new day dawns
We will greet the morning light
Full of life and youth

     In the cool autumn sun
     We'll make two into one
     And we'll let loose our joy
     As our fears come undone

     We'll write a thousand hymns
     Knit a fabric of our dreams
     And live to see them all fulfilled
     And bursting at the seams

We bear the mark of mortality;
A tear in the fabric of our souls-
A void, left empty.
We long for fulfillment.

We seek to satisfy our emptiness at all times-
Constantly stuffing ourselves full of earthly notions of "good"-
Seeking acceptance,
We adhere to standards we set by ourselves
And loathe ourselves when we fail to meet them.
We crave the riches of the earth;
We strive, lifelong, for financial success,
Measured by the depth of pockets,
The weight of titles,
And the length of our Golden Years.

Yet in the essence of the Word
There is a greater call
A call to transcend;
To defy all bounds,
And to level the field;
To grasp the truth of mankind's reality:
        
         We are all the same.
         There is no greater man,
         Nor is there one less-
         Of dust we are formed,
         To dust we return;
         Both rich and poor
         Rot in their graves.

So, we should live in the same way.
Loose ourselves of convention's ropes,
Abandon the expectations of a fallen world,
Whose eyes lust after gold and jewels,
Which cannot prosper the soul.

Our Master has placed talents in our care;
We must not bury them in the ground,
Nor waste them in pursuit of riches.

Invest in the kingdom, all you artists:
Sing your songs with passion;
Write your poems with zeal;
Color your canvas with the Glory of God,
For His eyes and His ears are tuned in.

Invest in the kingdom, all you wise men:
Ponder the vast universe with wonder;
Calculate the sum of years with humility;
Extol the complexity of the Creator's design,
For His eyes and His ears are tuned in.

Invest in the kingdom, all you mighty ones:
Fight your battles with dignity;
Face your opposers with integrity;
But do not forget the mercy given unto you,
For the Just and Merciful One watches and listens.

And you, wealthy men and women,
You must divide your riches:
Give much to the poor, for their need is great.
What remains, give to God;
Offer it up with an open hand,
For every gift comes from above and is not yours to own,
But God's to use through you.

Do not let things drive you;
Do not let gold drag you down;
Let love be your captain,
And grace be your sails,
As you cast off into the stormy seas.

And you, poor men and women,
You must be humble:
Accept from others only what you need,
For God has provided.
Take no more, and always give thanks,
For God has been faithful and has provided,
That you may prosper by Him.

Let every man and woman-
Young and old;
Rich and poor-
Let every man and woman humble themselves;
Let them give thanks to God, who alone can give and take away,
Who brings healing to the sick and cares for the broken,
And who will judge all at the end of time,
According to their hearts, and actions thereof.
Let every man and woman praise God.

Blind are the eyes
That stare deep into their own reflection

Dead is the mind
That worships thoughts of its own creation

Even the angels are made for more.
Humanity is frailty we mustn't ignore.

Dripping black
A sea of thorns,
Or a sea of thrones?
I wasn't sure

Seated heads
That glistened gold
With blood
Of sacrifice impure

A Shadow leapt
To take its place
Behind a Silhouette
Obscure

A battle scene;
I knew at once
Which side
I would be fighting for

Clash of sword,
Screech of steel;
Thick ran the blood
Of fallen man

Then all at once,
An empty field;
I stood alone
With sword in hand

The earth took shape
A Thing appeared
The Silhouette
Formed from the sand

The Shadow leapt
To take its place
And cast its spell
Over the land

I raised my sword;
Three times I swung,
And at last blow,
The Shadow fled

The Silhouette
Remained in place,
But now
His sand was burning red

A Mighty Voice cried,
"It is done!"
The Silhouette
At once fell dead

Then all around
Rose from the ground
Each fallen man,
Jeweled crown on head

     The Mighty Voice
     Spoke once again:
     "Well done, beloved one,"
     Said He

     Into His arms
     He drew me, tight
     And we were wed
     For eternity

     A feast was held
     In angel courts
     We rejoiced
     In our final matrimony

     He clothed me
     In the brightest white;
     Evermore
     I am deeply, truly free

I have walked these fields
I have known this land
And though the years have changed the face
The memory still stands

Of a time when things were simpler
Of a time when hope was pure
Of a time when changing weather
Was all of which we were unsure

And I have seen the sun rise
Over fields of green and gold
Now that view is just a memory
And I know I'm getting old

Can it be that earth is failing?
Can it be that light has dimmed?
Can it be that we've abandoned
all the life that we once lived?

     Is it any wonder
     that our children can't get over
     just the smallest of infractions
     when the world falls all around them?

     For constancy is foreign
     in a land of no intentions
     where a lost appreciation
     for sacredness of life abounds.

I cannot pretend
To understand it all
For as often as I wonder
Equal am I inclined to fall

For I am of a generation
Which forgets itself began,
Wanders aimlessly through atmosphere
And defiles its fellow man

And over weakness, few have triumphed;
Through affliction, few have prevailed
And reverence for creation
Is an instinct we have failed

But our days are not yet over
For this one hope stands unmoved:
We are still formed of the same dust
Whose strength our ancestry has proved.

     Is there any remnant
     of the spirit deep within us
     that might once again remember
     the great faith we once achieved?

     There is far greater meaning
     found in one hopeful sentiment
     than in a thousand shouting voices
     denying all things once believed.

Divine
Soul like mine
Heavenly sign
Someday you will see

Rewind
Seek and find
Remembered line
Solves the mystery

Adverse
Could be worse
Let us rehearse
Unknown destiny

Behind
Evenmind
Lies bound and tied
What good there could be

Process
What a mess
Lover's redress
What small price to pay

Priceless
Worth much less
Should I digress
From standard of way

Logic
Does the trick
Come take your pick
Of moribund day

Pretense
Little sense
Words so immense
What more can I say?