when I was a child, heard many a thing
about God in His Heaven and angels who sing
of streets paved of gold, and the one at the gate
whose keeping a record of me on a slate

the things that I do and the things that I say
It scared me to think that I'd sin anyway
and I wanted to know how the God of great love
could measure our worth by the things we think of

not knowing Him then, well I listened to men
who knew less about God than they did their own end
so I prayed to the One, asking right from my heart
tell me true, are you there, have you been from the start?

can you please help me sort through the myth and the magic
the lies of religion, the hopeless and tragic?
can you meet me right here, just where I am
in my darkness and failures, are you really I AM?

and what of the others who labor for nothing
who have not and hunger for turkey and stuffing?
on the streets, in the cold, stumbling drunk in the alleys
red-handed, white lies, and deep blues in dark valleys?

at our weakest, and numb from the heartache of losing
the ones that we love, left behind with a bruising
will I find you in throne rooms in the back of my mind
like some Wizard of Oz that I'm seeking to find?

A whisper, an answer, a thought I just had
was it me, was it You, could it be, that I'm mad?
But wait, there again, as I stifle my pride,
"Open the door and invite me inside".

"Ask Me, I'll tell you, I'll lead you along
NOT ONE WORD WAS WRITTEN, disproven or wrong"

"And as for the poor and the weak and your past
Your sins are forgiven, the first shall be last."

"I've chosen the weak things to confound the wise
I turn it around for the greatest surprise"

The ONE that I love, the dearest of all
the babe in the manger with the horse in the stall
He grew to a man and we know him as Jesus
fulfilled the great plan and wow, how he sees us

He bore all our burdens and gave us the ring,
we are his bride and HE is our King
and the more that I trust him, the more I debate
I need to ask questions regarding our fate

Is God all around us, is heaven for real
does He care for our flesh and the way that we feel?
is one day like a thousand, as thousands are lost
in the floods and the fires and the wars and the frost?

I'll wait for the answers and try to be still
like the child in the manger and the cow on the hill
I will study to find myself well in Your sight
while we sit by the fire and chat through the night

and when Christmas has finally dawned on our days
and we celebrate giving in so many ways
I must keep in mind how you wiped clean the slate
for once and for all you reopened that gate

and I must not forget though I'm often at fault
that you want me to shine, to be light, to be salt
and always remember that You are the reason
I celebrate Christmas, no matter the season.

Eb pulls back, he holds his peace
he's done with Flo, he's wined the beast
and as it's said, 'don't tread where sands are shifting'
ebb and flow, they come and go
ebb draws us out, the tides are low,
but as we yearn, return, and stop our drifting.

i stand on rock, alone at last
and mourn for what is done and past
but still, with broken heart, recall the surges;
the times when you were out at sea
and when you finally wrote to me
I laugh at how you satisfied my urges.

The words we shout from distant shore
the ones which fall on heavy oar
which make the trip back home far less than pleasing;
far better are the words on wing
which land with olive branch and sing
a song of love which keeps the flow from freezing.

but even in the closest knit
where scarcely will the piece not fit
there's comes a rhythm known as ebb and flow.
and marriage is a special bond
and Eb and Flo they looked beyond
and understood the way it had to go.

and through the laughter and the tears
and late night dances, sharing beers
they always knew the highs would lead to low.
and now Flo waits on lonesome shore
for time apart was forced before
as time would have it, 'twas Eb's time to go.

In the Summer of Love
I was just a young dove
but for all my eight years
it was all I thought of
and he slipped me a note
just a sentence or two
with my name and the words
"I Love You".

and I thought it was sweet
see I knew him from Pete
a mutual friend,
we all played in the street
and I never would think
that he'd give me a wink
less a note with the
words "I Love You."

Well I tucked it away
in my pocket that day
and I smiled at the boy  
and said "Hey, let's go play"
But the recess bell rang
and I thought then, "Oh Dang",
since his classroom was one door away.

I never did kiss
that olive-skinned guy
with the ***** blond hair
that hung over his eye
I'd fallen for John
and I guess he moved on
and we parted
without a goodbye.

Many years later
I'd think about Glen,
that first little crush
the paper and pen
the thought and the hand
that bothers to write
with intent
and the courage
to send.

And one day by chance
I sat in a chair
entrusting a stranger
with all of my hair
she pulled through the cap
the strands to be bleached
and though it was painful
they had to be reached.

I asked for her name
and discovered, the same
as the boy I had liked,
my childhood flame
I made the mistake
of informing the goat
the wife of the boy,
about one little note.

And never you mind
she pulled my hair blind
I don't think I've ever
run into her kind.
And the moral I say
and my very hairs pray
"please leave your old love notes behind!"

In the Summer of Love
I was just a young dove
but for all my eight years
it was all I thought of

Here we lie beneath the poppies
Blowing in the Flanders air
Do not forget our sacrifice
Do not forget that we were there

Young men forged in heat of battle
Neighbors, brothers, sons
Lost in time, with just our markers
Lost to lie, beneath the sun

Remember us as men of valor
Remember what we came to do
We came, and died, do not forget us
We gave our lives up, just for you

Forget us not, beneath the poppies
Where the sky is no longer dark
Remember us as long dead heroes
We came, we fought, we left our mark

Forget us not, please pass the torch on
Forget us not, more than this day
Forget us not, we were all soldiers
And we remain so....all the way!!!

Forget us not....

There was a time, I was a child
and I could climb the wooded wild
and see out over treetops way beyond this place called home
Now I am grown, can barely climb
but give me time and I will find
another way to rise above and see beyond this poem

The paths I loved when I was nine
are overgrown with thorny vine
and streams beside, which I would sit
polluted now and hardly fit
but give me time and I will find
another path, a sparkling stream
which winds around and satisfies
a quiet place where we can dream.

Where there's a will, there is a way
and there's a path that's yours today
and if you come upon a place that somehow seems impassable,
the answer still, the same today
That if you ask and if you pray
the things you hope for, come what may
will rarely seem impossible.

I was thinking 'bout my life and how it's gonna be
Left it up to God, He put it back on me
went lookin' for direction but I'm just your average Jane
don't like all these decisions, the unknown mystifies my brain

I pondered over all the things I've done before
thought I could walk on water, knocked on every door
nothing much was scary then and nothing much was out of place
Walked by faith, and left the rest to Grace.

I'm thinking that my life here is beyond halfway
I found myself with bills I can't afford to pay
playing hard was easy yeah, but paying back is hard to do
tracing all my steps, it seems they always lead me back to You.

When I said that I would follow God, I meant it too
stayed away from magic, idols, and taboo
and doing the right thing, the only thing that mattered
You planted the Word, and by the wind those seeds were scattered.

Turned my back on old religion, not the way for me
well you can keep your catachism and your rosary
never being sure your gonna get into the promised land,
God showed how much He loved us when He took the nails in his hand.

Your raised me out of darkness way before I'm dead
left the puzzle all undone, and lit the way instead
I'm thinking again, but far much higher this time
It's not my will but yours that I am hoping to find.

I've got some time to spend and time is on my hands
I wanna do your will and follow your commands
I know it's not by might, and not by useless power
But by your spirit I will serve to my last hour.

And as I'm on my way, just doing what I do
I'm gonna try my best and kiss it all to you
Well I make mistakes and I've seen some wicked days
but out of every darkness, your faithful love, it lights my ways

Holding out hope
Hardness of hearing
Hardness of heart