Michael shall stand
Let the arrows of the wicked
Return upon their own hands
The Great Prince, Chief of LORD Christ’s plan
Deflects snares of the wicked human

Prince of poverty,
Raised from the ghetto street
He Tangles their feet in the dust of defeat.
As Time of trouble unfolds during the night
Michael stands for the children of light.

Since war first burned across the stars.
Michael and his Angels
Fought the dragon clothed in fiery bars.
The serpent Lucifer, full of wrath,
Fell into a boiling baptism bath.

Now on Earth as Lucifer travels
In the valleys of the shadows.
Lingering on every corner is death
Holy Spirit always on my breath

Seek first Yahweh
Fear no evil. For God is with Ye

Consider the lilies and how they grow
They toil not neither do they spin
Yet I say to you not even
Glorious King Solomon was safe from sin.

Jesus’s righteousness is my robe.
I fasten myself with truth. I lace my feet with peace.
Above all I lift the shield of faith,
To deflect the poisonous darts of disgrace.
I wear salvation like a crown,
Sword Sharper than any sound

I am Prince Michael
Hail!!! Christ is my LORD & King
I’ll kneel to service and kiss my LORD’s
Ring.

I have retired from temptations of attention.
I’ve retired from the need to judge.
I’ve retired from feeling like I need that moment,
And I’ve retired from feeling too sad.

I have retired into a place of contemplation —
A place nearby, and where I sit.

I have retired from feeling guilty,
And I’ve retired from needing your yes.

I am retired.

I sorrow for your sorrow—
my hands cannot reach you,
my words cannot fix it.
I cannot shield you,
or chase the dark away.

I sorrow for your sorrow.
I break when you break—
but I am not beside you.
I can’t rescue the day.
I can’t say I’m sorry
in a language you’d understand.

Still—
I sorrow for your sorrow.
And in the stillness of my world,
I make space for your grief.

In my heart,
in my spirit,
I hang a lantern.
I shine what light I can
from across the miles—
and I sorrow with you,
until the sorrow can end.

We were the couple.
Every relationships goal.
Front page, headline news
Now we are painfully polite.
We are familiar strangers.

The fear evaporated
I became articulate,
apparently very, very funny.
A BMW Master Tech, making money.
The altitude and latitude of youth
made me feel free.

I drank & then became drunk.
Now at Tarzana Treatment,
in a top bunk.

Departure: self-help books
still I could not refrain.
Arrival: psychiatric help
I couldn’t abstain.

What once felt like comfort
turned turbulent, then insane.

I tried to diagnose
what I could not escape.
Alcohol always there,
waiting to ******,
wearing its cape.

Until I boarded Flight A.A.,
buckled up
bought a one way
to soberly fly away.