He flew, child of stardust
                  in the image of gods
          a being that inspired
                  the Greeks to bring him to earth.
    Springing from the blood of Medusa
beheaded by Persius, the horse of
                    the wind blew as a feathery, incarnate zephyr
      to Bellerophon who attemted capture
                                  what was never
                                      meant to be tamed.

Bellerophon sought to
                  fly with the ethereal beauty...
    like the wax-winged
          Icarus who soared toward
                            Apollo's chariot - The SUN

More arrogant than even
                                Icarus, misguided fool,
            Bellerophon launched himself
                              on Pegasus' back toward
                                                the very STARS!

Like Icarus, he fell.

            Zeus made his wing'd stallion
                  a constellation in the firmament.

Now we make Pegasus a topiary.
                          what, do you suppose will
                                                Zeus do to US?

She rolled onto the stage
In spandex laced with studs
Electric guitars squealing
The same ol' worn out crud.

The drumbeats and the bongos
That thudding telltale beat
She knew she wasn't nothin'
But a screamin' piece of meat.

[Chorus]
The Music Man got holda her
Gripped her wild mane
With dreams of mansions on the hill
Dreams of wealth & fame.

There's so much more insida me!
So much more to art!
Got a Stratocaster body
And a plain ol' mandolin heart.

Then the music changed around
To a funky Kind of Blue
Her bassist & guitar men
Sported their tattoos.

She did not start out this way
No, she started small
In a little bluegrass band
Sayin' "come on back, y'all..."

[Chorus]

At the backstage party
She showed up but didn't stay
She was all smiles & wiles
Then just faded away.

She got in her Maserati
She left all alone
She said goodbye to no one...
She turned her wheels toward Home.

**Bridge:
She wanted to get lost in it
Forget her humble start
But the Hollywood music machines
Only tear apart
Now she longed for MORE than meals
Eaten a la carte
She broke the Stratocaster
Played her plain ol' mandolin heart.

I am not able to get the system to publish a lot of my writing. It seems other people aren't having that problem. Perhaps they DONATE MORE? I am not able to donate much because I'm on Social Security disability and I have a fixed income. Recently I donated more than I could afford. I'm still having this problem. I have many friends on Facebook. Perhaps they would like to know about this problem and find other poetry sites rather than hello poetry. I don't want to do this, because I used to like this site a lot and there are some excellent poets here. I have tried twice to inbox you, Elliott. You have not responded. Perhaps you're trying to force me off the site. You are not succeeding. Instead I shall take this to a higher authority. God. I pray for you. That your heart will be changed. That you will be blessed with everything I want for myself. But I will take this to Facebook also. I don't want my friends to be hurt by a site that does this to people. Thank you for reading.

SoulSurvivor
Catherine Jarvis
1/24/2021

ONE BODY

The Lord of all the Heavens
Chose you as His own
The universe was made by Him
And you are His alone.

Yes, you are Christ's body
We ALL are, in fact
But when some are treated badly
Does the body stay intact?

The hair covers up the eye
It thinks itself more grand
The nose turns up above the mouth
The ear won't understand!

The eye looks at the hand
And because it's looking down
It moves the eyebrows to a scowl
And stares there with a frown!

The hand thinks that it's all that
Because it has great thumbs
The teeth would not even be around
If it weren't for the gums!

The legs are very shapely
So they take on airs
The back is straight, but it's not fate
It's due to derrieres!!

The feet take on the very weight
Of all the rest of it
We couldn't go without big toes!
The little one should fit!

Are we all one body?
Well, Jesus is our head.
He is there, so have a care
He wants LOVE instead!

How could your leg move
Without a bone?
Bone move without a muscle?
Maybe you don't see it cuz
You're lost in all the bustle!

Taking care of your own self
Perhaps your face is Janus.
Janus means you're two-faced.
That means you're an ****!

Does that reference shock you?
It really should, you see.
When you talk about my sis
You're talking about ME!

The Corinthians were like that
The Apostle Paul was sad.
They were very worldly
It also made him mad!

We need to grow up, people!
Babies need great care,
But we'd best not part mustaches
To put a bottle there!!

We are all one body
If we want to thrive and grow
We should not poke out an eye
Or cut off a toe!

Folks, let's love each other!
Where Christ Is We Live
If someone has offended
Why don't we forgive?

We are all one body
Please take my advice!
We are all one body...

And it belongs to Christ!

Catherine Jarvis
11/13/2020

1 Corinthians 12

Spiritual Gifts
1Now, dear brothers and sisters,a regarding your question about the special abilities the Spirit gives us. I don’t want you to misunderstand this. 2You know that when you were still pagans, you were led astray and swept along in worshiping speechless idols. 3So I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God will curse Jesus, and no one can say Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit.

4There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. 5There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. 6God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

7A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. 8To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise adviceb; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge.c 9The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. 10He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages,d while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. 11It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.

One Body with Many Parts
12The human body has many parts, but the many parts make up one whole body. So it is with the body of Christ. 13Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles,e some are slaves, and some are free. But we have all been baptized into one body by one Spirit, and we all share the same Spirit.f

14Yes, the body has many different parts, not just one part. 15If the foot says, “I am not a part of the body because I am not a hand,” that does not make it any less a part of the body. 16And if the ear says, “I am not part of the body because I am not an eye,” would that make it any less a part of the body? 17If the whole body were an eye, how would you hear? Or if your whole body were an ear, how would you smell anything?

18But our bodies have many parts, and God has put each part just where he wants it. 19How strange a body would be if it had only one part! 20Yes, there are many parts, but only one body. 21The eye can never say to the hand, “I don’t need you.” The head can’t say to the feet, “I don’t need you.”

22In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. 23And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, 24while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. 25This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. 26If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad.

27All of you together are Christ’s body, and each of you is a part of it. 28Here are some of the parts God has appointed for the church:

first are apostles,

second are prophets,

third are teachers,

then those who do miracles,

those who have the gift of healing,

those who can help others,

those who have the gift of leadership,

those who speak in unknown languages.

29Are we all apostles? Are we all prophets? Are we all teachers? Do we all have the power to do miracles? 30Do we all have the gift of healing? Do we all have the ability to speak in unknown languages? Do we all have the ability to interpret unknown languages? Of course not! 31So you should earnestly desire the most helpful gifts.

But now let me show you a way of life that is best of all

Could we with ink the ocean fill,
  And were the skies of parchment made;
Were every stalk on earth a quill,
  And every man a scribe by trade;
To write the love of God above
  Would drain the ocean dry;
Nor could the scroll contain the whole,
  Though stretched from sky to sky.

"The Love of God"
This is the last stanza of the old hymn. It was said to be written on the wall of an asylum. But the author is unknown.

NITE-VISION ~ The HELEN of TROY

How could human language describe perfection? There were no faculties nor imaginations that could describe Namé as she made her entrance onto that yacht. All eyes snapped open and even some of the most cynical had a moment when they bulged. There were double takes everywhere. Gasps of something akin to awe... She was simply stunning.

She was wearing a dress that was cut from the fabric that she was famous for. NITE-VISION. The fiber-optics shot through a velvet you could sink your arm into. It was a background color of deep purple & indigo. The scintillating sheen every color of the aurora borialis.

The dress itself was a simple cut. The figure within it, however, was anything but simple. Curve upon curve, line for line she was the most lithely lush female, statuesque yet strangely approachable. This was FLESH. Not a marble form to be cordoned off.

If the masculine eyes could be torn off her lower body, rise above her neck which was like the curve of an egret, they would dwell on her face. And they would never leave.

She was angelic. Yes. She was. Yet she had ascertain mein which was almost like a waif. A street urchin. Her jawline was almost a perfect oval. Almost. There was an angular quality to it too. The Planes of her face could have been sculpted by an Egyptian. Or Greek. Or a Japanese mask maker. There was absolutely no way to describe it. Her cantilevered cheekbones were delicate as glass, but seemed to have, in their depths, an Armitage of pure tungsten.

Her hair was a color the painter Titan would envy. It could never be captured by his palette. Gold. Platinum. And Hollow fire. It was swept up on the side and you held by a perfect Indigo, lavender and Ivory comb. It was in the shape of an orchid. No one had seen her hair. Not fully. It was always held up with braids and strands on the top of her head. Tonight it was fully down. The comb the only thing that graced it. It was like a river going through the Black Hills. And all the colors of it's Pink gold.

But her eyes were the most arresting feature of her face. Fringed by lashes that were dark brown golden fire, as every bit as  long as her mother's. The irises were dark indigo shot with cerulean blue. But towards the pupil they were light lilac. If eyes were the windows to the soul, this was a soul that was not simply human, nor even angelic. Namé was a force of nature.

But the reason for the four men in dark suits with steam shovel Jaws became quite obvious on close inspection to the lady's midsection. Yep. She was wearing it. Just as she said she would. The most dazzling pearl to grace woman...

The HELEN of TROY

As a child I sat & searched
For rubies in the sand
I looked for blood red garnets
From the dirt within my hand.

I would look for hours
For a treasure trove of lies
I thought I'd be a millionaire
I wasn't all that wise.

Then I found a nugget
Of pyrite buried there
It was really Fool's Gold
But I didn't care.

Childhood is fleeting
So don't break it to your babe
That her cup of "rubies"
Won't buy a pauper's grave.

She'll dream herself a castle
In some foreign land
But the waves of growing up
Take the rubies in the sand.

SoulSurvivor
Catherine Jarvis
1/22/2020