The sun shines
And nature rhymes
The coming of the season
With songs of birds
And little girls
For no other reason
Than to dance and sing
And drink it in
The wonder of creation

Alive again
The world springs forth
With life and verdant greenness
The people smile
The children play
The whole world loses
meanness
Long gone the winter
Of cold and grey
Now comes life in all its glory
That grows and pushes from the ground
To write a brand new story

Sometimes…
We lose our minds
And imagine a world
Of brilliant sunshine
We invent a story
The hours to fill
And then it hits home
As it always will
So don’t be confused
Don’t lose your way
Just take the time
To hear your heart say:
It’s always better
To accept what is
And the things that you have
Not the things that you miss
That’s when
You wake up
And the turmoil
Has ceased
And you stretch
And relax
In the empty sheets

The concert ended
The crowd moved out
The show was over
But I had doubts
Whether I could make
The long trip home
Long, because I was alone
I walked in circles
In downtown
Stole glimpses of treasures
To lift my frown
Floodlit fountains
Candle light
Night time galas
Hidden delights
Couples and friends
In happy times
Cyclists and tourists
Youth in their prime
And I walked alone
Single once more
And I dreaded the thought
Of the waiting door
That would lead to
An empty house
I tried my best the fear
To douse
And then I faced it
And I plunged ahead
And went straight home
To an empty bed

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

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

I am listening to Leonard Cohen
And thinking of you
You know it seems like ages
Since we’ve talked things through
Our thoughts were once so in sync
It’s like we simply knew
Everything the other would say
Almost too good to be true

But it’s glance in the wrong direction
And just a single misstep
And we’re left only with memories
And a hint of regret

This constant need for closeness
This moving of the spheres
The mysterious pull of gravity
Whenever you are near
For we’re hurtling through time and space
Into the black unknown
And we never know whom we’ll meet
Or where our hearts will roam

But it’s glance in the wrong direction
And just a single misstep
And we’re left only with memories
And a hint of regret

So I’ll smile for you once again
And say a little prayer
You led me to a better place
Pulled love out of thin air
Can’t say I had the roadmap
But I was happy for the trip
You taught me to value what I have now
Not the things that I missed

*But it’s glance in the wrong direction
And just a single misstep
And we’re left only with memories
And a hint of regret

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

There comes a choice
Between faith and fear
Often in our lives
To try and fly
And live our dreams
And soar towards the sky


So often I’ve let the chains of fear
Hold me to the ground
And the very things that I expect
Have naturally come around


But now with new eyes of faith
I’m about to soar
It’s due to one amazing truth –
I’m not afraid anymore

This sickness
Of dwelling in the past
Of not letting go
Of refusing
To accept change
And embrace the wonder
Of the present
Is not what God intended
For decay and ruin
Are the fruits of this neglect
And distance and isolation
Follow closely
Memories of what was
Are not meant
To be a prison
But a source of joy
And the sadness
Of the passing
Of what was good
Is not meant
To weigh us down
There is something wrong
If we idealize the past
Because it was
Just as full
Of fear and evil
As the present
We’ve only chosen
To let this be forgotten
These selective memories
Do not serve us well
If we **** the present
For a past that did not exist

The lovers touched
Their bodies trembling
The kiss of nectar
The heat descending
The embrace of love
And lust’s desire
The warmth of soul
The burning fire
The tender sweetness
And the passion
Forgotten feelings
Back in fashion
Seconds of peace
All pain healing
All darkness banned
And lightness feeling
Precious moments
Of joy and bliss
Ignited with a touch
And a single kiss

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

I saw a garden
Mangled
By neglect and theft
The gardener
Absent
And the most
Beautiful bed
The jewel
And crowning glory
Withered
And destroyed
And I thought...
Our lives
Are like that
Ruined
In carelessness
Or by intent
And when
The damage
Is done
There is only lament
For a stolen rose

In the blizzard and coldest night
The warmth of friendship and candlelight
Melts the feelings frozen in time
Unleashes joy and song in rhyme
The thoughts, the love, compassion feeling
Sends strongest warmth, happiness reeling
The frost and cold lose their hold
When hearts grow tender and love grows bold
They say a storm is now descending
But all I see is hope ascending.

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

Beauty is snow
Falling gently
Like emeralds
In the sunshine…

Rolling hills in
Summer
Decked in green
As far as the eyes
Can see…

The ocean glittering
Like diamonds
Under the hot
Summer sun…

And beauty is you
In all your being
So full of that elusive thing
Called love

There exists in this city
The town called Good
A different feel
From my old neighbourhood
No snow clad mountains
No brooding rain
But just flat rolling ground
On a lakeside plain
No vistas of grandeur
To lift up the gaze
Only concrete and steel
And brown laden haze
I had forgotten the mountains
With their mist laden sides
I‘d forgotten the beauty
But I could decide…
So I remembered the sunshine
The springs soft and mild
The play time, the forest
The games of a child
I remembered the berries
Delicious and sweet
That grew in the forests
And at the sides of the streets
I remembered a family
United, together
I remembered a father,
But not rainy weather
I remembered the friends
And the fun that we had
I remembered the sunshine
Before I was sad

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

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

(After a seven day hike in Pacific Rim National Park, British Columbia)

The wilderness is a beauty
Unforgiving,
She’ll take your breath
You glance deeply
Through the forest
Hear the waves
Crash through and crest
This land has not been conquered
It barely has been tamed
There’s many a spot unspoiled
And many a place unnamed
And life is all around you
The way it’s always been
It’s as if the world’s forgiven
Just this once, all of man’s sins
So you tread carefully on the footpath
You pay attention to each step
Cross canyons and each precipice
Scale the granite cliffs
This place, it is rewarding
For those who are aware
You see life teeming in the ocean
And eagles in the air
You live in the present
Your senses re-attuned
Whatever else is happening
Is suddenly consumed
You get up with the sunrise
Build fires when darkness calls
You pay attention to the tides
And sleep by waterfalls

Obstacles arise
And fears set in
When faith gives way
And trust wears thin
How is this possible?
You surmise
As you search for portents
In threatening skies
Yet shafts of light
Shine through the gloom
Words of promise
And assurance loom
Against the facts
So cruelly hurled
You can accept what is
Or change the world

So fragile
This tangled web
Of spirit, life
Emotion
Alive and strong
Yet pierced
And weak
And lost in the commotion

Like crystal
Or a diamond bright
So beautiful
So awesome
Yet shattered
By the cruelest slight
When not cherished
In devotion

How lovely is
The human spirit
When lifted to above
When cast down hearts
Are healed and touched
And lifted up by love

So fragile
Is the human heart
Like life it must be nourished
And fed the nectar
Of praise and care
To blossom and
To flourish

The choice is yours
How you respond
How you react
To the world around
You're in control
At the end of the day
When you decide
The right words to say
You should not push
Resist, defend
But acknowledge your actions
In the end
That does not mean
You are to blame
Or it's your fault
For the role you played
In all events
The things you did
Should not drive you
To shame, regret
But rather give you
The power to see
Choices made you
And choices can free

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

In the silence and the calm
The echoes of the birds ring out
The sky is lit with soft hued light
Announcing yet another dawn

Take me beyond the hectic realm
Of busyness and toil and self
To listen to the birds that sing
Whose joy of life overwhelms

We’re meant to sing and live and laugh
And start each day with hope and praise
Anticipating the wondrous start
Of all that good that will come to pass

Très ****
Si ****
La distance
Entre nous
Malgré
Nos efforts
Et nos espoirs
C’est exactement
Comme prevu
Même si
Je peux distinguer
Tes émotions
Très, très claires
Dès fois
L’amour
Ne suffit pas
Malgré
Ce qu’on
Espère

This Sad Rarity

So far
So great
A distance
Exists
Between
Our souls
Lost hope
And wasted
Effort
Where pain
Has taken toll
It’s exactly
What they told me
Although
Your feelings
I clearly see
This time
Love won’t save us
In this sad
Rarity

I can’t seem to get
The hurting to stop
The emotions run deep
And I can’t let it drop
You breeze into my life
And dance up a storm
You embrace and you leave
As if it’s the norm
And I’m left with this churning
And deep sense of loss
But you’re happy and smiling
As if there’s no cost
I don’t like where it’s going
Or what I’ve been through
It’s a choice how I feel
And it’s not something new
I’ve had it explained
So often before
You just can’t force open
A closed, bolted door
So peace is a treasure
You give to yourself
How you face disappointment
And the dreams that you’ve shelved

Discipline’s rule
Will stand you well
If you want to move forward
And idleness quell
Determine your purpose
And make a decision
Take action in life
And plan with precision
Order your future
Be humble in prayer
Gaze beyond your present
Advance more than you dare
Expand your horizons
Gain a new view
Launch yourself forward
Fly into the blue
Set steps in your life
And jump on each one
Don’t stop til you’re finished
And all the tasks done
Then gaze at the bounty
Of life’s awesome store
All the things
You’ve accomplished
That were just dreams before

I went to a magic world
Of happiness and fun
I played and gave it my very all
Under the hot Orlando sun

A kingdom of hopes and dreams
And only good decisions
And underneath the bricks and steel
A man’s passion and his vision

You hear it in the words of songs
And stories where dreams come true
Where optimism rules the day
And all the skies are blue

I had a great day in the land of ears
And wands and princess gowns
I saw happy faces all day long
And never saw a frown

So how do you fulfill your dreams?
I know I learned one way
You share it for the world to see
And invite it to come and play

It’s just a dreamy day
The rain is patterning down
The clouds have spread
Their darkening face
All over this busy town
But I’m floating
Above the rooftops
I’m scarcely touching ground
Time passes so luxuriously
Whenever you’re around

We met and we were young again
We touched and our souls smiled
We held each other closely
Then, we decided to live a while

It all passes in the moment
Of being here with you
The setting is your presence
And the flame that burns anew
As we walk through
The darkened streets
I simply don’t see the grey
For the way that I am feeling now
Is brighter than any day

*We met and we were young again
We touched and our souls smiled
We held each other closely
Then, we decided to live a while

Essuie tes larmes
Leve-toi
L’heure de la tristesse
Est passé
Joins-toi aux vivants
Car il reste beaucoup
A faire
Est ces larmes n’ont rien
Effacé
Mais tu peux voir
Encore une fois
Même avec tout ce qui
S’est passé
Le debut d’un rêve
Avec des yeux d’espoir
Ta vie
Comme une personne sensé
Ne pleure pas
Ne sois pas triste
Ouvre, pour que
Puissent
Entré
L’amour et la joie
Qui te reviendront
Comme tu n’y a jamais
Pensé

Once Again (English version)

Dry your tears
And get up
For the time
Of sadness
Is over
Rejoin the living
There is much
To be done
And these tears
Cannot bring
You closure
But now
You can see
Once again
A new dream
With hope to inspire
Your life now sane
And wise again
Even though
You’ve gone
Through the fire
So do not cry
And don’t be sad
Open up
So you can
Receive them
Love and joy
Coming
To you
In a way
You’d scarcely
Believe in

This emotional dependence
Wanting your mommy
Clinging to her skirt
******* your thumb
...ancient child
Missing your father
Who disappeared
Without a trace
Blaming yourself
...innocent child
This emptiness inside
That lifts with the company of friends
Laughter, music, smiles
...lonely child
This needing
This wanting of someone else
To be understood
And loved
...eternal child
Yet there comes a time to let go
To feel the sun warm your soul
As the wind sings in the trees
And the waves lap in melody on the shore
To feel the warmth of a body
And a kiss
To give and give again
To let go of childhood complaints
To hug the child
To wipe his tears
And say
Be strong little one
Let me see that happy face
Doesn’t that feel better?
The crying stops
The face beams
And the child
Runs away
To play

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

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

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

How can you say
You don’t believe in love anymore
When the stars still come out
In all their twinkling splendour
And my universe
Simply sings
At the sound of your voice?
You see, I caught you in a lie
Loving someone
And that someone cannot describe
In words
What he is feeling
It’s like
The feeling of a little child hearing
His mother’s voice
When she comes home from work
Or a father hearing his newborn son’s
First feeble cry
Or the joy of a fondest dream
Fulfilled

You look at me
With windswept eyes
So blue beneath
The brooding skies
Emotions like
The storm front brewing
Flit across your face
Your voice now hueing
Fragile beauty
Rarely seen
The paradox
Of what is/what’s been
It’s in the transition
That we meet
Painted skies
And feelings deep

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

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”

Forgiveness
Is to our own benefit
For pain and
Bitterness
Will slowly
**** us inside
If we do not let go

It does not mean
All is right
Or all the pieces
Fit back
Together again

But is does mean
We are well
We are whole
And we are healed

For mercy is a kind friend
To all

Freed from a weight
I could not carry
That bore me down
And wore me out
I float above
The clouds of worry
Step from the wreckage
Of fear and doubt
Before me lies
A golden future
Of choice and freedom
And inner growth
Accepting that
My life is worthy
Of time and energy
And now both
The past mistakes
And all the good things
Fall behind
In retrospect
Peace descends
Excitement rises
For all the good
I now expect

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

You must will to act
In determination
In calm decision
And contemplation
Break free of the inertia
Of dread, fear and need
Let go and embrace
What needs to be
Taste life in its newness
By bounty kissed
Caressed by grace
Not plagued
By what’s missed

For it’s a choice to release
That which has died
The fact that its haunts you
You cannot deny
But you can’t love a ghost
Your soul needs much more
Than memories and longings
Of what went before
For a ghost is a phantom
And you give it sway
And its haunting will scare
The present away

The scent of the lilac bushes
Floats softly in the darkness
The day coming gently to an end
Landing quietly on our senses
This is our sanctuary
A sacred place of rest and restoration
The gardeners quietly transforming
This piece of creation into paradise
The light of the crescent moon
Peaks through the tree branches
The shadow of the gazebo  its mantelpiece
And love holds me and envelopes me
Places its arms around me and kisses me
Hushes my fears and gently strokes my spirit
It was here the foundation was laid
In prayer and faith and promises
So it is only fitting that you are here
In flesh and blood and grace
You name the flowers
And talk of wonderful things
Of adventures yet to come
So how can I not be thankful?
How can I not have hope?
For goodness has come in
Through the door that was opened
And now it is here to stay

I feel pride
When I see the uniform
My son so tall
And strong
Quiet
Yet focused
With a sharp mind
Commanding respect
With just his look
Beneath is steel
And determination
Will power unyielding
Save to its own
Intelligence
Judgment
Discernment
Leadership
Not learned from books
Nor in lecture halls
But from inner growth
That happens
So mysteriously
In ways unknown
But of this
One thing is certain:
Grow the man
And the rest will follow
As surely as spring
Follows the season of snow

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

To hear the searching of the past
Bring out a pain so fresh
Tells me the wounds
Have never healed
And still can cause distress
You see the little boy or girl
In the eyes of the adult
Reliving painful memories
With always the same result
Of tears and sadness
And cracked voice
As the ghosts howl and haunt
The tentacles of darkness grasp
The demons prowl and taunt.

Lift up your wings
O cherubim
Lift up our downcast spirits
Heal the pain of life I plead
Or teach us how to bear it.

Merged as one
And not defined
Not knowing where
To draw the line
Allowing fear
To dominate
Stifle growth
And deviate
From all that’s good
And fair and blessed
Creating one
Hell of a mess
A tangled web
Of deceit and lies
That kills the soul
And something dies
And leaves a passive
Lump of clay
Molded, pushed
By the whims of the day
No anchor, base
Or firm footing
Only shifting sand
And winks and hooding
Of the truth
That lies bound inside
The lights turned out
As you try to hide

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

Ah Dorothy
Lost in the Land of Oz
Looking for your way home
All alone
But this time
You can’t just close your eyes
And click your heels and say
There’s no place like home
And find yourself there
But your friends are glad you are here
The scarecrow and the lion
Looking for brains
And the courage to roar
They say there’s a wizard
In that Emerald City
But what if it’s not up to him
But up to us
To connect
To find wisdom
And to be brave?
But I like this journey so far
And this lion for one
Promises to protect you
From all those flying monkeys
With those big
Racoon eyes

Integrity is the value
You place on yourself
You keep your own promises
You know yourself well
You don’t compromise
Your values, your core
Because that never changes
From what went before
Then you can be open  
And give your support
Be flexible
Life just can’t distort
Or toss you around
By what others think
You’ll see opportunities
Not pull back from the brink
You’ll try those new things
With a principled life
In confidence
Not on whim
You’ll always decide
You’ll plan your direction
And not just react
You know who you are
And you have the map
You prepare your own future
On the screen of your mind
Long before it happens
It’s already designed
No matter how adverse
Or how dark the hour
Your hope burns within
And gives you new power
You pick yourself up
Rejoicing in faith
Energizing your life
And fulfilling your days