I once had a beautiful girl
The heads would turn
As she smiled
The room brightened
And you knew
There were few
Who could match her style

There was life
And there was joy
And I cherished her in pride
And she had it
When she was there
That was something
You could not deny

There was energy
And there was spark
And you were excited
By the sight
Her presence
Filled all your view
And you could not
Turn your eyes

I once had a beautiful girl
And she completed my life
And even now
It's hard to explain
The feelings I felt inside

You’re stuck between two moving worlds
The familiar and the unknown
You shift without even realizing it
Like a sailor pining for home
The flashbacks haunt you constantly
The feelings that creep and seep
Memories so alive and fresh
That reach and sting so deep
And the present form is changing
The past has vaporized
What you see is now an illusion
Disappearing before your eyes
Your mind tells you that it’s over
That it’s time to be moving on
But your soul is screaming inside of you
Of all that’s horribly wrong
So you live a conflicted being
Torn and limping past
Your shadows ever following you
And you wonder how you’ll last

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

The end has come
It’s hard to admit
The feelings confuse
And thoughts contradict
You open your being
You learn to restore
You grow in love
Yet you close the door
So your own well being
Is battered about
As you struggle with pain
And loss and self doubt
For you cannot go
Where you once went before
The season has changed
It’s not the same anymore
When you lose your vision
And let go of your dream
You’re in a free fall
Your soul simply screams
You search for new meaning
And you’re cast adrift
And you go to a place
Where you simply don’t fit
Can’t find your way home
Don’t know what’s in store
For you’ve turned out the lights
And you’ve closed that last door

Listen to understand
The person
Hear their thoughts
Their points of view
Comprehend their values
Their interests
Feel for what they’re going through

Listen to show
That you respect them
That you care
And can be true
That you can learn
From their knowledge
Where they’re more
Advanced than you

Listen, because
When you do this
Your world unfurls
The sky turns blue
You multiply your wealth and riches
By gaining the wisdom
Of something new.

We don't need to explain the how
To understand the what or why
We only need to feel the wow
The joy of morning, the bluest sky
We don't need to follow rules
Obey a certain rote or rhyme
Healing flows when we let go
Embrace it now in space and time
We don't need to force the way
See ahead to the farthest shore
We only need to open up
And live what now has in store
We don't need to know all truth
Understand all mysteries
All we need is to accept in love
The healing that restores and frees

We talked of things
Yet to come
And choices to decide
We talked of past
And of pain
And you were by my side

We talked of feelings
Anger, hurt
When jealousy abides
We talked of sadness
And of strength
And you were by my side

We talked of moments
And warm embrace
That flicker and then die
That come to visit us
In grace
And you were by my side

Why this lingering sadness?
You have been loved from your creation
The day you were placed upon this earth
Your mother was thrilled to see your face
And your father's heart leapt for joy
Why doubt the goodness of your existence?
Your soul is of eternity
The mind of God conceived you
You were thought of in a sea of light and purity
No stain was found in your being
Should you now reject the kindness of God?
Each breath, each ray of sunshine
Every miracle of life?
Have you forgotten that God is in the details
Or have you listened to the lies?
You are on a journey home and each day is a gift
Feel your life, be grateful
Believe that good will come out of darkness
Life out of death
And healing from even the most grievous injury
Rejoice, be happy for all is well
And this sadness will pass like a storm driven cloud
And you will stand
In the brilliance of the sun
After the rain

Would you fly with me
To an unknown world?
Would you act upon
The moment unfurled?
Jump without a safety net?
Take the risk
Not hedge your bets?
It’s tempting to think
It’s all the same
Whether you follow the rules
Or invent the game
Act on the courage
Of who you are
Pursue your destiny
Follow your star
But it’s best to put on
Your thinking hat
And ask if it’s real
Or if you’re just heading back
Down a road
Where you’ve been before
And for all the excitement
You know what’s in store

It’s in the hidden glimpses
Of a long forgotten past
It’s in the looks and glances
And the memories that still last
It catches your attention
When you’re trying to turn the page
For there’s a lot to process
And a lot to rearrange
So your emotions now come running
Trying so hard to catch up
But the changes are so fast
They can barely interrupt
And in the flurry of the moment
And a kiss upon the lips
The past now gets distanced
And the pain at once eclipsed
You’re left panting for your senses
You’re left reaching for the door
The future is unfolding
The unknown is now in store
And you knew it had to happen
And you wanted it so bad
But you’re staring in the rear-view
At the world that you once had
The present in abundance
Has come crashing to your shore
And you’re left wondering in the pauses
How much you can absorb
You’re in a different universe
Than where you’ve been before
It’s the start of a journey
And a new world to explore
And your head, it may be reeling
But your heart, it simply sings
As you listen to the echoes
Of the truth and all it means
The way is now confusing
But you decide that you’ll be brave
Because the answer has been given
And your present has been saved

Waiting for a missing moment
Rushing to the final end
Speaking in those silent pauses
Having thoughts that seem to bend
The present hour now is passing
I cannot find the words to say
Alone again I feel the darkness
Pushing back the light of day
Is it in the things familiar?
Oh so close and out of reach
Whispered, felt and not imagined
There amid the prospects bleak?
These acts of kindness now are reaching
Grasping hold of my feet
I look away from the brilliance
As my soul slowly bleeds

It’s no illusion
You’re lying there
In peaceful rest
And pillowed hair
I swear the days
Have not gone by
By the way you look
And the way you lie
So calmly now
As in a dream
The world is how
It used to be
But you awake
And it’s not the same
Our lives are skewed
And rearranged
The furniture stacked
And waiting to go
Leaving emptiness
And a gaping hole
The songs, the smiles
And laughter’s glow
No longer echo
In our home

There is a place of peace and joy
A place of calm and rest
A place where broken ones are healed
The crushed in spirit blessed

You go there in your inner heart
When you lift your soul in prayer
To a God who knows what’s best
And listens to your cares

It is a place of life and power
Of grace and inner strength
That grants you sleep and peace of mind
Where God works at greatest lengths

To comfort and encourage you
A frail child of dust
He speaks gently and caresses you
And all your fears are hushed.

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

The struggle constant
To the top
When no one else
Has given thought
To rise so early
And set out
The houses silent
No one about
One step, one breath
In constant rhythm
The push, the drive
Towards the heavens
And then imagine
The surprise
The sight awaiting  
Before my eyes
The bright sun risen
And shining as such
Upon a world
In morning hush
Serene, unreal
For down below
The valleys filled
With cloud like snow
And up above
On the mountain top
In golden rays
I pause to stop
And raise my arms
In victory mode
Rejoicing in
The mother lode

Sitting at the edge of the lake
Watching the indescribable
Fluid, glittering diamonds
Cresting on the waves
You’re sitting there beside me
Your love beaming like the sunshine
You turn and you smile at me
As we lock our gaze
We’ve started on a journey
Leaving fear and pain behind us
With only murmurs in the silence
And shadows in the night
They vanish with your presence
And your hand upon my body
As we hold each other tightly
And everything is right

I have stood on top
Of the world
I’ve seen the lights go on
I’ve felt the rush
The magic of peace
And the inner strength in song

I tamed the beast
That held me in
I have conquered it in faith
I have taken that step
Into the void
And hurled through time
And space

I felt the words
That I had spoke
Touch lives, connect within
I felt the wonder
Of all that comes
From faces lit with grins.

I have stood before
My friends
And shared stories
From my heart
And seen in awe
The wondrous power
Of the story telling art

I now stand on top
Of the world
I cannot keep it in
The fire is lit
The passion is hot
And the words burn within.

Lost in translation
Frozen in flight
Ah…just to hear my breath
And close my eyes
For it’s all confusion
Until I stop
And a chance happening
Helps me to solve
To confirm what I’ve felt
Though my thoughts
Still scream out
But the answer’s
A whisper
And never a shout
That I hear at first light
As my spirit returns
And my inner thoughts speak
And I just have to learn
To honour these instincts
From deep places grown
And live the reality
That I’ve always known
So I hear myself breathing
As I close my eyes
And forget for an instant
My world of lies

We pick and choose
What to believe
What hurts us most
Is released
Before the tears
And suffering
Old cherished myths
Our self deceit
The center of
Our universe
Revolves around
A different sun
The meaning
That we give to life
In a flash is
All undone
So then we tremble
On our beds
And pause
In silent
Humble prayer
The fear is of
The unknown God
The search for guidance
Anywhere
It’s hard to even understand
The layers of pain
That we meet
It seems cruel to keep us
From the truth
Deny the food
That we need
Yet we keep our faith
And we resist
We’re not closet
Existentialists
We may cry in pain
We may question why
But our hope in God
Just never dies

Just listen to my heart
It beats so constant
Just feel my breath
It whispers your name
Just look into my eyes
They glisten when they meet yours
Just touch my lips
And they will blaze
Just hold my body
It trembles at the thought of you
Just grasp my hand
And I'll walk your way
Just stand beside me
And I'll show you the future
Just love me
And I'll give you today

You cannot
Grasp a butterfly
Nor hold
Sun’s golden beams
The joy is real
But no bottle holds
The stuff
That is made of dreams
You cannot buy
Your happiness
You cannot pay
For peace
Force love
Into a storage box
For those rainy days
To keep
These priceless treasures
Are a gift
Innate
In our creation
Accessed
Through the inner door
Of faith
And inspiration

Broken pieces of a person
In shambles, scattered all about
Trying to collect and restore them
When everything has fallen out
Lend me some money,
O thank you sir!
Mumbled words and lowered thoughts
On the streets and in the alleys
Facing what their sanity brought
Shattered lives are walking past you
Not disheveled but torn inside
Two steps back and one step forward
Trying to reverse the slide
You see the bottom all around you
Sleeping on the heating grates
And you wonder if it’s luck or courage
That keeps you from that very fate

It's all around me
Streaming from the hills
Everyone feels it
Hearts lift, spirits rise
Souls turn toward the light
Behind the warmth and the life
Returning to the forest
As the seasons wax and wane
And ancient trails are traveled again

It's all around me
As each heart touches  and reaches out
With smiles and thoughts and acts of kindness
Everyone feels it
As spirits soar to the music
And the beat and laughter echoes
Through the room
With children dancing
As the party ebbs and flows

It's all around me
As words of love resonate again and again
Weaving in and out of my day
From a  heart so tender
Precious crystal, infinite in beauty
And tears of joy and happiness transform me
As I bathe in the warmth
Of sacred human love

It's all around me
I am surrounded
By blessings wished on me in love
And my heart is full, at peace and calm
Because I realize
This is the love of God
That envelops me

The sunglassed mirror
Of ruin and death
The youthful shock
The carnage met
The peaceful lives
Of style and grace
Shattered by a war
Of race
And so they drive
Amid the rubble
A new generation
See humanity’s trouble
The cell phones, car
And clothes belie
Stalled progress
Where the innocents die
The failure of talks
Behind closed doors
The option of peace
Pursued no more

Love is like a fire
It simply can’t burn cold
If you tell me I’m a liar
Let me tell you
I’ve been told
Not by the words
You’ve spoken
But by what
You’ve done
Before the God
Of heaven
Who sees all
Beneath the sun
But who am I
To blame you?
There’s no heartache
And no pain
No problems
To work through
Just a world
A bit more sane

Ah!
Play the fool and jester
And say aside what’s true
It’s not that you detest her
It’s just you can’t be you
And if you plainly tell her
She won’t believe a word
Even though you give the answer
It simply won’t be heard

You know it’s more than promise
With the coming of the seasons
You know that summer’s coming
And all that’s good and fair
You know that life brings forward
Growth and new tomorrows
You know that it all happens
Without effort, without care
Yet our plans and our intentions
Are fraught with peril and sorrow
And accidents and death
And things that can’t be planned
We’re not gods of our own destiny
We’re often gazing at the pieces
Sifting through the ashes
Trying to understand
But hope’s a type of promise
Based on faith and feeling
A knowing that these forces
Of nature and of woe
Are shaped beyond our knowledge
Carried forward by a purpose
And sometimes we just know that
Someone’s in control

I sat by the river
And thought of you
As a summer like breeze
Kissed my face
And a family of geese
Swam by
The water was filled with scullers
Their oars plunging
In the calm surface,
The trees on the banks
Green with new leaves
In the warmth and comfort
Of the late afternoon sun
I thought of you
And how we met
How you struggled and grew
And overcame
The suffering of your past
The goodness of your soul
So often bursting through
Like the warmth of this spring day
And I realized once again
How wonderful it was
To have met you
What a privilege it was
To love you
And on this beautiful day
I could only cry out to God
In immense gratitude
And utter the words
Thank you

It is love
That heals the human heart
Without exception
And for this reason
It is the most precious gift
That you can give
To another
Love touches our pain
And brokenness
And makes us whole
Because it is a force
An energy
More powerful
Than the forces
That have cast us down
Despair, sadness
Sorrow, grief and
Loneliness
Are all healed by love
Hope, faith
And courage
Are fed by its pure, strong
Burning fire
By it
Wisdom is taught
Truth is nuanced
Honesty purified
Whatever is noble on this earth
Has its birth in love
It is the one emotion
That makes us more like God
Than any other
So listen to these words of wisdom:
Cherish love wherever it is found
Treat it as the most precious thing
On this earth
For it is the secret you have been looking for
It is the key to all understanding
And tears shed in love
Are sweet and beautiful
And the fountain of life
Love can never be overrated

Hey I told you
That spring
Follows winter
And the sun
With clear
Blue skies
Yet your world
Is always spinning
And you always
Question why
Seems you're lost
But you're not
Actually
You're right
Where you should be
Seems the answer
Was just
A step away
Bursting
Through the seams
Emotions
Are your friends
They say
A true
And faithful guide
But sometimes
They get you
All confused
From the truth
They try to hide
And all it takes
Is a quiet breath
A thought
You haven't had
And suddenly
The world is changed
And good
Comes out of bad

Shadows of a distant memory
Same reactions, point of view
Close but distant, so familiar
Yet walking from the world we knew
Did we ever know each other?
What was myth and what was real?
But I swear we loved each other
No matter how we both now feel
And the changing, rearranging
Continues through what seems the same
For I'm not that ancient person
Though I answer to my name

Once the story is out
Judgment is cast
And truth lies buried
In the distant past
The world shifts
And angels weep
History’s rewritten
In pain so deep
It doesn’t matter
If one fine day
All is revealed
A price has been paid
The damage is done
And it just becomes
A test of character
And that battle won
So hold up your head
Til the evil’s exposed
Especially the lies
Under everyone’s nose
Look in the mirror
And simply realize
Your life’s not controlled
By the how and the why
But what you think
Of yourself...
That’s the greatest trust
Given to you
Til you turn to dust

I touch eyes and touch hearts
And feel warm embraces
Feel my soul open
As my heart races
I feel love and compassion
And gentleness of spirit
I reach out, help others
And without speaking, they hear it
I straighten my back
And open my core
And my love for others
As God’s children soars
And I know that all
Is well with my soul
And the pain and rejection
Have not taken their toll
It’s quite simple you see
I learned it when
I opened my heart
And loved again

You can fast and pray
For the world to change
You can cry to God
Ask in His name
He answers
But it's hid from your eyes
Until one day
You realize
It's you who've changed
And have grown
Lessons learned
True self known
Perception shift
Wisdom anew
The answer to prayer
Has come through
You

You were dancing on the waves
Amid the beams of gold
Glittering in your brilliance
Just beyond the inner pull
All around was the morning
The promise just begun
You could feel the shifting starting
When all was fresh and young
You were whispering at the edges
Of a love that we once knew
You were smiling at a distance
But the pain you were going through
Masked the sunshine of that day
And drove away the sun
Your tears fell gently as the rain
Before the day was done

When sadness comes
And rolls in waves
That lift
And crash
The spirit
The tears,
The sobs,
The wrenching heart
The soul can
Scarcely bear it

At night
When sleep
Flees away
And thoughts
Sneak upon us
That stab
And wound
The inner man
And sting
When truth
Is clearest

Go through
You must
This vale of tears
And know
This will pass on
The birds
Will sing
And herald in
Another
Glorious dawn

I’d rather be here
Than hiding somewhere
In memories or thoughts
Or cries of despair
I’d rather be loved
And feel you connect
Than be brought into a void
I’d rather forget
Of a past that is gone
Of a man who once was
Of a man whom you wanted
It’s important because…
If I don’t say this
I’d be terribly remiss
Love the man who I am
Not the man whom you miss

You asked me
What I prayed to God
On the day I did not cry
The day I arose in the morn
Before sunlight touched the sky

I ate no food
On that day
I read, and thought
And prayed
I sought God's face
And learned and grew
And accepted
What must change

I took you
To the airport
And helped you on your way
I know you didn't realize
The importance
Of that day

You asked me
What I prayed to God
But you see...
He told me not to cry
I kissed you softly on the face
And kindly said
Good-bye

When I am still
In quietness and prayer
I think of you
As I turn my soul
To eternity
At that moment
I am calm
And fear recedes
Like the ebbing tide
Clarity shines like the moon
On winter’s night
Insight comes
As suddenly as sunrise
In early spring
And courage meets me
With a still small voice
Deeper than reason
That tells me the path
To follow
Upward, onward
To more fullness
Of being
How can this be?
I thought the answer
Would be some eternal truth
But it is this:
Love
Deep, pure and constant
And I know
At that moment
I am truly alive
And that I love you

Tell me
You who hide
In ballrooms ablaze
Sparkling diamonds
And smiling gaze
Admiration
Close and afar
Can you finally admit
Who you really are?
You ask me why
You're acting so
Why you're flying high
When you're feeling so low
Why you run
When you're close
Why you just
Shut that door
Why you simply can't go
Where you've been
Once before?
As you curl at the feet
Of someone you love
Denying it's real
At the things that you want
And the things that you miss
That you mention to no one
And will not admit
Yet you told me the truth
You whispered the words
In the middle of the night
When no one else heard

They say that love
Is friendship warmed
But we know
It’s more than that…
It’s a presence
A power
A feeling so deep
That  keeps us coming back…
Love that grows within
Our hearts
Does not hold nor cling
It only asks what can be done
What service it can bring
It is a love that heals and restores
Brings wisdom, fresh insight
It’s wrapped in peace
And calms the soul
From worry and from fright
It is emotion focused, honed
To bless and lift you up
That flows from sources
Still unknown
All pain it interrupts
So accept this gift
It’s freely given
From someone whom you know
Who cherishes you deeply
In his heart
But always lets you go.

You can’t return
There’s no one home
The person that you left’s
Not there
You say you’ve changed
But so have I
It’s not that I don’t feel or care
We can’t go back
To what we had
It’s disappeared
Into the blue
I’m living in the now
You see
The past’s just something
I went through

Love is a spirit
Of common ground
That creates a safe place
Where peace is found
Where thoughts and ideas
Can be freely shared
And listened to
By someone who cares
The telling is the important part
Expressing what’s hidden
In the heart
The inner place
Where healing comes
Of reaching back
Where you are from
The fine tuned art
Of sorting out
What shapes your being
What you are about
Love is a haven
No blame…
But pain
And understanding
Of from where you came

So you say you’ve come together
And the past’s been washed away
You’ve been brought back to the present
And you live where life has sway
Yet I hear the sorrow trembling
In the echoes of your pain
And I know the final healing
Is just going to have to wait

I feel sunshine on my shoulders
Touch the coolness of the rain
Hear the birds so softly singing
As they greet a brand new day
Yet I see the beauty of a life
Snuffed out sadly like a flame
And I know the final healing
Is just going to have to wait

The child whimpers
In the night
Shivering, cold
But not from fright
But from sadness
Welling deep within
Feeling frightened
And abandoned
My little child
Do not cry
Your father loves you
So dry your eyes
You were just
A little boy
Who lost his father
Home and toys

A man now cries  
Alone at night
For loss of love
His soul’s delight
Now dry your tears
And do not cry
Gain the truth
And understand why
You’re a man
Have courage, not fear
And whisper
Gently in the ear
Of the child
Sleeping deep within
Tell him he’s loved
And healed of what’s been