The warmth inside me smiles
As I greet the cashier
Her face lights up
Relaxes
Appreciates
As I say
How is your day going?

The happiness inside me smiles
And a fast food clerk
Smiles back
And laughs
As we joke together
About noisy office girls
Chattering over Christmas presents

The desire in me smiles
As the barista bends over
Her shirt unbuttoned below her apron
What would you like sir? she asks
An awkward silence, as if deciding
A grandé decaf I reply
Lying, with a smile

How irrational are my fears
Of losing love
Of being alone
When all around me
Are choices
Truth and beauty
New starts
And brighter
Tomorrows
The snow falls softly
On the darkened city
The streetlights twinkling
Like beacons
As I walk home
Thinking of warmth
Friendship
And connection
And God, who sees
And knows all
Works amid the pain
And the chaos
The tears and the sadness
Bringing healing
And lifting my spirit
At the most unexpected
moment
And causing my heart
To beat again

Miracle child your day
Has dawned
You’ve been knocked out
And you’ve been wronged
A violent collision
Has sent your soul
Spinning and lifeless
Out of control
You lie in death
With your eyes closed
Certainly
A fatal blow
But then you awake
And open your eyes
The confusion so strong
You can’t even cry
An angel of God
Has held your head
You've survived
When you should be dead
You were given
A second chance
You can breathe
You've rejoined the dance
Your father cries
You've come alive!
There's a purpose for you
For you've survived!
So live each day
As a gift that is given
The miracle is you
And the life you are living

The cell phone rings
The young girl answers
And winces at the pending pain
The truth lies trampled
In deception
The healing words
Held in disdain
A story, morale for all others
Spinning tales
And tangled webs
Causing wounds
Of self infliction
Kicking integrity
In the head
So we all
Can be the liar
And choose the what
And when and why
The road is paved
With good intentions
To the hell
Of living a lie

The destination is still shrouded
The fog has hidden it from view
I’m on a train ride in the darkness
On a line I swore I knew
Yet the journey is not so simple
With twists and turns and bitter ends
I thought that I was flying forward
But I was going round a bend
Now in the wake lie scattered fragments
Mementos of a recent past
I feel the lingering warmth now leave me
As my life runs out of gas

Troubled
By the sins of others
Wrong decisions
Spiteful thoughts
Hatred’s deep
And brooding presence
Brokenness
That failure brought
I sought in prayer
The Savior’s mercy
Freedom
From a deep-felt pain
Sorrow, hurt
And depression
Twisted
And no longer sane
The magic words
I stumbled on them!
Allowing me
Again to live
I asked for mercy,
Then I gave it
Saying the words
“I forgive”

A wounded bird lies
Stunned and still
Pointed straight
At the window sill
Recovering its wits
Or breathing its last
Immobile in front
Of the pristine glass

A wounded student
Hobbled in pain
Struggling now
To be free again
Struck by a car
The joy all gone
Afraid to tell home
Of what’s gone wrong

A wounded spirit
Crying inside
Dressed to perfection
The pain to hide
As sorrow creeps in  
From all the edges
She draws back in fear
From the window ledges