To know Truth
followed me
shining light
creating shadows
of my sin
shrinking and powerless
in the power and might of His Spirit
come to seek and find me in these rags...

to know Love
and grace
that was given freely
out of Love
from Love.
to know myself
without the veil of sin
like a child
only with the knowledge of
what I have done
forgiven and forgotten
once and for all
no condemnation
in Christ Jesus
once again and for all time
innocent and free
oh such a lovely one
who truly matters

much time spent in useless pursuits
hungry for something more
thought I had to know
the darker side to
truly appreciate the light
thought I had to go there  
to find my souls delight
before I knew the hands which made the vine...
I had to taste the sweetest wine
and dabbled in the works of men
and found it left me cold and shattered

knowing that I had left you
like a prodigal daughter
ashamed and wanting you back
if only...
then you found me here
the only One my heart knew mattered
and came out and got me
shined a light in my confusion
and I asked you to forgive me and
lift me up...

Nothing short of grace
unmerited
what you came to offer
nothing short of beautiful
rising to the task
buying back this misery
and trading life for agony
killing you fulfilled your quest
so prophesied in Isaiah 53.
and rising on the third day
they had come to see
stone rolled away
and there you stood
a miracle and so delighted

there is
now no condemnation
for the heart that you are living in
a walking recreation
now You see me here without my sin
I'm clothed in your salvation and it's
nothing short of beautiful
it's not a thing I've earned or done
you came out here to me...

You are everything I've wanted in my life,  oh JESUS
thank you Lord for saving me
and giving me your Holy Spirit
there is nothing else that cares for me as much as you.

To know the truth
within the shadows
to know yourself
oh such a lovely one
who truly matters

The hillside before me rolled out like a wave
awash in my thoughts 'til I noticed the grave
the headstone was tilted and covered in rot
a memory of someone forgotten, but not.

The scene triggered feelings which drew me way back
to a time when I dwelt in a one bedroom shack
the love of my life had grown cold, and despairing,
my heart shriveled up like an unpickled herring

I remembered thereafter, and oh, what a mess
I led me to places too dark to confess,
dying for flowers from somebody dear
I'd fill up my window box year after year.

and soon the depression grew into a hedge
though flowering plants kept me back from the ledge
"I'll never be happy! " I quite often thought
a forgotten old headstone all covered in rot.

I swore if I ever recovered again
I'd wait for the right one, the Boaz of men
but for all of the damage, the shape my heart's in
be blessed if he'd notice, so how could I win?

With all of these memories weighing me down
I slapped myself silly and turned up the sound
and opened the windows to let in some air
the sun on my face and then suddenly...glare!

I veered off the highway which cut through the land
a two lane construction of asphalt and sand
took the embankment at an ungodly pitch
and suddenly airborne, shot over a ditch.

Landing my vessel across the divide
I hoped for the best for it's brave underside
the dust settled soon, and how foolish I felt
Thank God I'd remembered to buckle my belt.

And there in the front seat, assessing my plight
dazed, but amazed at this beautiful sight
as 'Love is a Battlefield' blared in the grime
Wildflowers grew in the trenches of time!

You the forgotten who languish for years
ditched and bedraggled and drained of your tears
thinking you're nothing, a sunset that's fading
grieving love lost while your best years are waiting

Tend to your gardens wherever they are
keep yourselves fresh with the watering jar
Remember, like flowers, the wild ones too
your maker, your husband, will take care of you.

For your Maker is your husband--the LORD Almighty is his name--the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth.
Isaih 54:5

Well they call me Uncle Rumpkin
my body's just a pumpkin
my hat, the pointed core
with a smile, I deliver
warm you up when you shiver
leave me lighted on the floor

Hey  I'm not a nasty fellow
in fact I'm rather mellow
an ordinary guy
on the porch, a Jack-0-lantern
with a torch, but the man turns
and I'm churned into a pie!

and I
would rather die
a broken shell smashed in the street
to be a trick, over a treat
for all your kids
who'd rather eat

well my face is close to human
my teeth can almost chew men
though I'm not that kinda dude
in the end when our eyes meet
you will see who's the pie's meat
when they're servin' up the food!

"Minding my own
making it rhyme..".

                Coming back?
         don't even know
      haven't heard
      can't be sure
   of anything
anymore

"It's all coming out,
there's dust in the drought
but the rain comes in time."

even now
   while the sun sets into this chilly November evening  
      I can hear a song  
         and into the dark starry night
it warms my heart
    memories set loose
       and the ones I keep to myself.

"Nothing held back
I got nothing to say"

I sit alone
on that porch swing
swinging in the dark
hearing nothing but wind
rushing  by
moving through bare
branches.

"Let it roll off my shoulders
puts less on your mind and it's easy that way."

coming back?
     i don't know
from here I
      can't be sure,

"I said nothing at all
it's that horse in the stall..."

no human voice
no radio
no tv
just that old record in my mind
wind through bare branches

"my foot fell asleep but I'm not gonna weep
I can drag it or crawl."

just as well
liking silence
never mind
it's okay....
it's silence
I need
in my heart
    
"distracted it's true
idle chatter won't do"

the matter of me
the matter of us
the matter of time
never mind me
just wait
and see

i don't know

"better nothing to say
put the music on play
and be quiet with you."