On the cross and in our lives
The light dispels the darkest day
Exposure burns away the night
Releases those beneath its sway
Turning sorrow into good
Letting love find its way
Transforming what’s been understood
Not letting pain have final say
Tricking evil into the open
Disarming powers past obeyed
Turning lead into gold
The art of alchemy displayed

The blood pours
And life drains
Triage means
A card with my name
Is held in my hand
Shaking….
Dizzied with shock
On one knee
Tired
Must rest…
As I plead
Going down
To the floor….
There’s shouting….
Awake
A nurse
Is speaking to me
Can you get up?
Looking sideways
I see
Trying to move
Crying….
I get up
To the stretcher
Lying down
Blood
Soaking hands
And running down
Pressure stabilizing…
I regain my strength
To a room
We walk
My son and a nurse
And all the small talk
And stop
The bleeding….

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

Flitting around
Feelings abound
Opinions change
There is no ground
It all unravels
And it dazzles
As it spins and spins
And the soul travels
Toward the light
The truth that’s bright
Buffeted by thoughts
Wounded by slights
And it weans
And moves free and lean
Away from its home
It’s seventeen!
And the dices
And spices
Fill the air
With chance
At prices
Running storm clouds
Lifting all shrouds
Finding out
And wondering aloud
Amid confusion
And intrusion
Sorting out
Ideas’ illusions
And the heart stops
And the shoe drops
Pains infuses
Where the ball hops
Changing, flexing
Bursting, connecting
The chrysalis emerges
Cocoon dissecting

It's just so **** beautiful
And indescribable
The feeling that I get
In the early morning sun
Hanging like a golden torch
Shining with such blinding light
The glare reflecting off the lake
On the day that’s just begun
Amid the fluttering leaves the breeze
Feels like life is reaching me
Speaking in a gentle voice
Bringing tears to my eyes
Kissing me upon my face
Soft in love, as if to say
*I love you my beloved one
This is your own sunrise

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

In the still of twilight
The warm air bathes me
As I look at the clouds
And the moon hanging bright
Shining in the late evening sky
The sailboats barely moving
In the silence and the calm
The lake serene and still
And words of encouragement
And hope flood my soul
And I feel joy and thankfulness
And peace for all the good
That is to come
Laughter, healing, singing
As my spirit rises and
Sees in faith
The final outcome

The lilac perfume
Wafts through the air
The senses are filled
With all that is fair
A garden serene
With lovers and friends
And family gathered
To talk at day’s end
The splash of water
The flowers so bright
Each corner a discovery
A visual delight
And the lake
Like a painting
Pale blue
As the sun
Reflects on the sailboats
Completing their run
Peace hangs in the air
While birds fly about
The children play quietly
And there isn’t a doubt
That a garden in evening
Brings rest to the soul
Preserves sanity
And makes a man whole.

Beyond tears there is hope
And a brand new tomorrow
Pass through the suffering
Let go of the sorrow
Stand on the rock
And from faith’s scenic view
Scan the horizon
Await all that’s new
Open your heart
To love and to giving
See the goodness of God
In the land of the living

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

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

It’s the time you take
To say the things
That matter most each day
It’s the time you spend
To listen, care
Help others on their way
It’s the little things
That mean the most
The thoughts, the words
The actions
It’s the giving of yourself
In love
This empowering interaction
For the greatest works
Of art were made
By an artist’s
Paint filled strokes
By each strike
Of a sculptor’s chisel
By each word
An actor spoke
And so our lives
Are filled throughout
With small deeds
That cannot wait
For how you do
The littlest things
Is exactly
What makes you great

The man and the maiden
Have a dance going on
Of trust and connection
Before armour donned
The warrior and goddess
Each in their power
The key’s with the goddess
That beautiful flower
Who holds total control
Of the man’s heart
Who brings life to the earth
Gives the race a new start
Who looks for a man
Who’ll approach her with honour
Who’ll keep his commitments
And her trust garner
A man who is alive
With passionate fire
But grounded and strong
With calm, cool, desire
Who passes the tests
The maiden may throw
In casual remarks
To see her man grow
That sweet combination
Of a man standing tall
With a heart wide open
And backbone
And *****

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.

Amid our disutopian bubble
The suffering masses on white sand huddle
As tourists react with care and concern
Bikinied women and health workers learn
The refugees have come ashore
Weary, tired and forlorn
The clash of leisure and deprivation
Of suntan, and suffering, and dehydration
The haves and have nots meet at once
The beggars crash the rich man’s lunch

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 Sabbath
Is a time of rest
To reflect on God
On what is best
To feed your spirit
And your soul
To replace with good
Something you stole
Robbed from yourself
In strength, direction
Refusing to rest
Spend time in reflection
And so fulfill your
Deepest fears
Saving hours, but
Wasting years.

We are all just fallen angels
Who’ve forgotten who we are
Sunburst from the realm of glory
Shadows of a distant star
Created, formed in perfect splendor
Placed in time and space and earth
To live and move and have our being
Touched with wonder from our birth

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.

You talked of pride
And of pain
I could see it
In your eyes
You talked of exhaustion
And emotional drain
And the countless tears
You cried
You talked of worlds
Moving apart
And you knew
You had to decide
That it wasn’t worth it
To go there again
It would just tear you up inside
I heard you talk
On your phone
And the words
Rattled in my mind
Then you hung your head
And closed your eyes
And continued
The subway ride

Expanding at the speed of light
The universe unfurling
And on our little ball of rock
Our world is ever swirling

The cries, the pain, the saddened hearts
The suffering and the sorrow
Eighty spins around the sun
That shorten our tomorrow

Angels of mercy intercede
And speak in dreams and visions
Lonely hearts find each other
And God heals our divisions

To grow, to live, to hope, to dance
To sing with each new morning
The starburst of the Creator’s love
Sends our spirits soaring

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

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

This sudden spring
Arriving before the gardeners
Have prepared the beds
A profusion of growth
Invading the gardens
With startlingly vivid colours
Before their season
The trees have budded
As if an invisible hand
Has tilted the earth
Just a fraction faster
Than normal
There are no complaints
Of this early spring
The gardens can be raked later...

This sudden emergence
Of what matters most
Love and all it awakens
Feelings forgotten and now relived
Dreams and hopes reborn
It's as if our hearts have now learned
How to love deeper
And with more understanding
And compassion
The other "things"
Will just have to catch up
Things that can be bought or replaced
For that which is irreplaceable
Has made its appearance
And has transformed our world

There always are
Those big questions
Looming like giants
In the room
Spoiling our food
And tainting our water
Spreading
A pervading sense of gloom
For we’ve set
Our boundaries
And our limits
Of who we are
And what we’re not
And woe to those
Who cross those markers
For which generations
Of souls have fought
And so we live
As parallel beings
Crying, loving
In different worlds
Content
Until we look behind us
And catch a glimpse
Of truth
Unfurled

It’s the love
Behind the words
That you would like to hear
The respect
The pride
The acknowledgment
That will calm your fears
Behind the good intentions
You’re searching for a sign
You’re looking for a message
You can read between the lines
And the failure to communicate
When it’s an absolute must
Is a death blow
To that fragile thing
The emotion we call
Trust

God is bigger
Than our expectations
Of whom He is
Or our limitations
He unfolds our lives
With many surprises
That destroy our myths
As one realizes
He works in ways
That don’t fit our own thinking
We don’t see it all
There are more dots to be linking
Yet still we fight back
And the unknown we loathe
Try to push back the tides
And stop our own growth
We don’t realize what’s missing
We’re not even searching
Don’t see the precipice
On which we are perching
Till it comes crashing down
And our ruin is effective
And we see all the ways
Our thinking’s defective
Then out of the ashes
We discover our purpose
That we had forgotten
Though once it had served us
And our eyes are now opened
And here the mind races
Finding love, truth and beauty
In unexpected places

There is no them
There is just us
No boogeyman
No vile foe
There is no evil
Save what’s common
In all of us from head to toe
Unbroken cycles of misery
Hatred upon hatred
Piled deep
And we wonder why
It happens
That our cities
End up in heaps
Let’s end the division
And work together
No either/or
But also/and
Let’s reach across
These manmade barriers
And listen to
And understand
We’re not going to solve
Any problems
If we point our fingers
And lay the blame
If you work for peace
And solutions
You drop the labels
And the names

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

I remember
The first second
I saw you
The shock
Of recognition
Now what?
I thought
In anticipation
For you see
The vision
Did not lie
It’s not
The appearance
That’s the window
It’s the feeling
That’s inside
And since
That first day
How I have felt
Has never changed
So I know
I’m not mad
Delusional
Deranged
It’s happened
As they all do
These journeys
Beyond time and space
I’m terrified
I bolt awake
Heart pounding
Dismayed

Another place
Another time
Reunion of family
And thoughts that bind
Memories of past
And struggles anew
The future recast
In different hues
Of current events
And change and decay
Of inner renewal
And fog shrouded days
And visions of clarity
That suddenly reveal
Snow covered peaks
That once were concealed

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

I have my sanity
Freedom
And the ability
To breathe
I have clarity of mind
Health
And all my being intact
I have all my emotions
I have forgiveness, kindness
Tenderness and mercy
I have courage
Strength, power
And endurance
I have the presence of God
His love
And His healing
I have much, much more
Than what I lack
I have what cannot
Be taken away:
Dignity, self respect
And hope
Integrity
And a clear conscience

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

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

The wounds are healing
So deep inside
Rearranging
But still the smile
The colour
And the joy of life
Are holding back
And that’s not right
Now when I hear
The joyful banter
The passion
The spark
And the things
That matter
I pause
And glance around
Once more
And wonder how
It’s all restored
Do you turn a switch?
Do you find the light?
Do you change yourself?
Do you take a wife?
Oh to be intimate
And close
Trusting
At peace
Not to keep
My guard up
And to find
Some release
Just to laugh
And be happy
To sing
And be glad
To feel
The world’s friendly
To have what I had
For l know
There is wonder
In each living breath
And the choice
That you make
Between life
And slow death
But when zeal
Has abated
And hope’s
Beaten down
Life becomes jaded
And you
Wear a frown
It’s the dream
That you’ve lost
And all
That has changed
Your feelings
Revealing
What words
Cannot say
But you do
Care for others
Their tears
Call your name
For you know
We all suffer
When things
Aren’t the same

I walked where life
Has stronger roots
Where beauty blooms
And silence moot
Guards the sentinels
Brooding strong
Away from the din
And the noisy throng
I’ve scanned the heavens
I’ve searched the skies
I’ve listened to counsel
Strong and wise
I’ve risen at
The light of morn
And climbed the slopes
Where clouds are born

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

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

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

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

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

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

Can I be your silent friend?
I’ll just gaze at you
As you read my face
And wait for me to say the words
You can take me off the shelf
And flip the page
It’s up to you
And then
I’ll just smile and beam
At your beauty
As your mind races
Through my thoughts