Life is a spark then a light then a bit of smoke. In between these moments is when we truly are meant to live. What we do will define us for an eternity. Do we put our flicker of light under a lamp shade or set it on a pedal stool so that it may shine brightly and dispel the darkness so that others may see.

In a kitchen full of laughing children with a yard full of sunlight. I dance around my duties to make sure everything is just right. A cake must be cooked even and golden brown. Cookies that smell divine must cool before they can be devoured. In a bustle of sweat I swish about and clang pans. While little helpers stand idly by waiting to lick a spoon or bowls when I an done with them. Some say it is too much labor, but I say that when it is for the joy of family, that I am wrapped in love and there is no greater comfort that I can find.

A broken *** shattered and scattered into pieces that are strewn everywhere. Oil and water that cannot mix together and will not coexist. So are the ideologies of humanity, the things we think are important to us. That which we feel we must scream at another in order to get them to understand in truth is of little consequence. If one way is right and another wrong, then let them exist side by side and see which bears the fruit of success. If we cannot agree on even existence with tolerance, then we are a house divided and to null effect for we shall both come to nothing and fail in the end.

I walk in lace of purest white, I come to the day I have dreamed of all of my life. With Roses and babies breath adoring my hair. I have become a treasure most precious, an object of pure desire. In a breathless moment I take my place in a grand precession on this special day. As all eyes turn to me and through a lacy white veil, I look forward as I take my first steps into a moment of a dream. Though I am in quiet reverence of this moment, I am bursting with joy inside, for I walk in lace at last to become my soul mates loving bride.

They say its noon, but with my curtains drawn the light doesn't hurt so much. I like the darkness, I can just lie here. I feel numb, but last night I was alive, at least I think I was. The clock ticks like thunder, I look at it on the wall mocking me. In and out of sleep I slip, in some kind of weird trippy dream. Is it night yet, can I get up and see the stars. No the suns still up, dam it! My head feels like it will explode if the sun doesn't go down, the darkness is stale, I want to open the window so I can get some cool night air, but the sun won't go down. Tick Tock goes the mocking clock. I slip back into a comatose state. The drugs don't really help, but I can't tell through the haze. The doctors say I am doing well, but I am just slipping into the abyss waiting for the sun to go down.

To ask a question of oneself is to begin understanding. To ask a question of another is to seek wisdom. To offer help to another without thought of ones self is the rendering of mercy. To give freely without concern of your own person is to achieve selflessness. To resist oppression is to show strength. To seek justice is to find a truth. To know that we are imperfect, is the beginning of humility. To apply these things to ones life is learning how to live.

Pain and suffering abound in a world filled with strife. Children go hungry and disease ravages whole countries. All seems hopeless and lost, and yet we are told that we should,praise God? Why should we praise him and who is this God that will let people suffer so? Perhaps it is because we have tried everything but calling on him, that when all else has failed us that now more than ever we need to give our praises to God.

The sea of people churns like violent winds. They have no direction but run everywhere. Seeking anything that will give peace to their souls, they are without a set course. All who seek rest from the peace of God sail a crooked course. If we reject his peace, though we think we are at rest, we are never satisfied with the things of the world.

A heart knows when it has been hurt. A heart knows what sacrifice is worth. A heart can know courage and a heart can know fear. It can also know love and when true friends are near. A heart knows it's own desires and it can know how to give and sometimes a heart can know how to truly live. In single moments a heart can know memories that will last a life time. In all things that we as humans start, we should always take a moment and listen to our heart, for it will know what is best it will always tell us the truth.

I listen to the rain falling and hear the wind howl. I see birds falling from the sky and look at the rivers running red. The waters change colors like a fading rainbow and I feel the sadness as the Earth bleeds. I feel the ground shake and watch the waves rise. I see the animals dying and watch the blackening of the skies. The leaves on the trees fall early and the winters are not so long. One place becomes dry and arid and another becomes cold and unforgiving. In a moment of time we live as Earth ages pass. Yet in our fleeting moment, our actions can outlast us. What will be our legacy, what future will we leave. What will our children say as they hear the Earth cry and bleed.

I thought life was all Roses and video games, until the first baby came. Now I do not know where all of the money has gone and I can't sleep because my kid won't leave me alone. He cries to be changed 12 times a day, I go to work just to get away. My wife tells me to work harder, then dumps the kid off on me, as she puts in her ear plugs and tries to get some sleep, I spend 12 hours at work and the real job hasn't begun. I though being grown up was supposed to be some kind of fun. I liked it better when I was back in school. I wasn't really popular but compared to this, that was cool. Now I am begging the kid to go to sleep, I can't believe just how much a toddler can eat. Finally, I am at rest by 3 am, then my clock goes off at 5 and I am off again. I get out the door and leave the problem with my wife. In 12 hours I get to do it all again, what a way to get an education.

Watching a homeless person beg for change, I just walk on by. Seeing a mother that was addicted to drugs, now clean and sober asking for help to get her children back. My heart feels no sympathy, I have lost compassion and love. I see the images until I am jaded and I just don't care anymore. The love of my humanity has waxed cold and I seem to only care about myself. Is this what we are to become, is there no mercy left with in us? The shadow of apathy has fallen upon many, I often prayed that it would not be me. Now I find myself caring nothing about the human suffering that I see. We are all becoming guilty and will one day have to answer for our in action. As we watch others suffer with depraved indifference and go about our daily lives.

Oh how the fish jump about, oh how they dive high into the air, upon a lake so pristine and clear. To the delight of any fisherman what seems to be an abundance of game, fit to be taken on any given day, but alas this is not the case for a fish is smarter than they look. The aerial display of agility does not translate to a fish on a hook. For while I admired the splendor of a potential catch of the day. The fish had other plans and simply danced away. As I placed my boat into the water I noticed that their dancing stopped, they swam away from my part of the lake to another spot. In what was almost with a mocking choreography that the fish escaped my grasp. Choosing to go to where my baited hook was not to continue their little fishy dance.

Divisions are everywhere , society is filled with despair. The liberal liars revel in the chaos. They crave disharmony and lust for power. They despise freedom and embrace tyranny. They want destruction so that they may feed on crumbs of the despair of others. They speak with a silver tongue, deception is worn by them like a shroud. They hide in plain sight among a crowd. Little liars liberals all, sitting around waiting for the fall. So they can pick up the pieces of what is broken and create their utopia. You must simply be compliant and voice no resistance. Just be compliant or they will become insistent. In lock step they come, in unison they March to the same drum. Free will is a danger to their plans. Individual choice cannot be allowed to stand. So they will tell you that you are a nonconformist, they will say that you are not normal like the rest of us. The fact is that there is no compromise there is only one truth. That is what ever they choose.

I have cried the tears of disappointment. I have wept through the long night. I have been wounded and I carry the scars. Through all of the anguish, your hand has been with me. Even when I thought I was alone, I was being guided by the unseen love that you feel for me. Now after the long journey, I have come through to the other side. The burdens have been lifted and the pain is fading. I see the new day dawning and now I realize what true love is. For despite my mistakes, you have been faithful. You kept your promises and did not forsake me. Always you were present with loving kindness and the strength of the nail scared hands.

A shattered mirror lies in pieces on the bathroom floor. The image you saw terrified you. Filled with self loathing, not able to take the sight of your own reflection. Sickened by the blackness of the person that lies with in. Tormented by memories of what you have done. Drugs no longer **** the demons from your past. When you try to sleep, they come to haunt you, the screaming horrors of your mistakes. Tossing in fits of rage and sweat, ripping the sheets in panic as you awake. Faces and places thought long forgotten, buried in the deepest recesses of your soul. They now call to you for a day of reckoning. They demand that you pay the price for your past deeds, they are here to collect part of your soul. Nothing you do can satisfy their lust for you. They tear and rip at your soul. A conscience once thought seared black with a branding iron, now dredges up all of the things you want to forget, you haven't even begun to start fighting your demons yet.

When the heart seems lost, it can be rescued. When the heart is broken, it will heal. When loneliness overflows, comfort will come. When loss makes us feel empty, the void can be filled. When hope seems lost to us, love will find a way into our lives.

Worry not for me for I am fine. The earth is welcoming to me and my soul is gone. On a new journey I am setting out. I am not sure where I will land but the trip is amazing. Out into the darkness beyond the starry light, onward I sail into places unknown. The last glimpse of the weeping mourners behind me, I finally had the courage to break the mortal bands of pain and enter into the eternity what ever that may be.

In a v formation the geese ascend. They honk as heralds of the coming spring. The snow is melting and the lakes will thaw. As geese from southern haven return North in majestic beauty. Returning spring again.

Not seeking fame and fortune, but looking to heavenly things. Holding fast to the way of service, taking each day as it comes. While denied earthly rewards, with caring hands you give of yourself. Not giving a thought of your sacrifice, but looking towards the welfare of others. In all things being humble and seeking the well being of the less fortunate. All for the cause of heaven, to show that unconditional love truly exist, in a servants life.

The shadows are following me, I am sure it is them. I see the trees moving to surround me, I should stay away from them. I lock myself in my room, because I think it is safe. I keep looking under the bed to make sure, that no one is laying in wait for me. Most days I can only have a conversation with myself. I am not sure why that is, perhaps I am the only one who understands me. I change my clothes at least 3 times a day, my shoes almost never match what I want to wear. Perhaps I have gone over the edge already, or perhaps I am almost there. I am not sure which way I will lean tomorrow, it will depend on which way the sun chooses to rise. Beyond that, I think me and the voices will be just fine.

I narrowly escape my own destruction as temptation looms ever present. I wrestle with a demon that torments me relentlessly. Each day is a struggle and each night I lay in a cold sweat as it whispers to me to succumb. I feel the aching in my bones as the demon rages to be set free. Barley did I escape the addiction that ruined my life, and each day tries to reclaim me.

Chatter, chirp and screech, thus goes the pundit on t.v. . Reminiscent of the mocking bird, sounding like other things but itself. Chatter, chirp and screech, that is all today's news commentary is to me.

Vanity is an infection that distracts from the truth. Superficial beauty fades like leaves on a tree in Autum. Wealth blinds the eye to justice. Silver and gold turns away true judgment. Those who have can buy judgment, while the poor have no recourse. All things come to an end, kingdoms collapse and empires fall. Death is the one true equality. All face this judgement, an no mortal can escape it. No matter what trappings the world has given us.

In rage and frustration mindless thugs light torches. They pound the pavement with their boots and become a resemblance of marauding hoards from years long past. With no regard for justice or another s right to life. The unwashed masses of villains set the town alight. The city burns with anger, the city burns with hate. The city burns with want for revenge, which masked robbers gladly take. From a peaceful calm to torrents of flames, with false calls for justice, the city burns.

It has been 3 days since I needed it. My hands have become unsteady and I am shivering with cold chills, though it is warm outside. My eyes have cleared up but I have black circles under them from lack of sleep. It hurts to even breathe at times. I am sweating like there is no tomorrow and I am unsteady on my feet. I have to sit down too often, but I am determined to make it through this. There is not a pill I can take, I must suffer for my life. I want to just give in, which has been the problem in the past. To let go and feel the warmth shooting through my veins, is a quiet peace but then it is just temporary. I cannot hide from my problems in a syringe anymore. I must face the reality of what I am becoming before it is too late.

Give mercy that I can help another. Show me kindness so I can show my brother. Grant me peace that I can share. Please oh Lord show me how you care.

I walked out on to open plain and I saw the mid-day sun. I watched my brother the Eagle soar into the sky. I looked at the lonely mountain and I began to climb,on through the day and into the evening past many clinging Pines. On to the top of the mountain from which I saw my brother the Eagle fly. I watched the sun go down and I saw the stars fill the sky. Shining down as the souls of the ancestors watching me down on the Earth below. I sat down by a roaring fire and began to chant and listen to the night, when I was taken by a vision in to the heavens and there I saw many wondrous sights.  I soared into the clouds with my brother the Eagle and I watched the ground pass below. I saw the tops of mountains and the clinging Pines as I went on. I came to the birth place of the river and saw how it is given life, as it pours up out of the Earth and begins on its long journey. I asked the rushing water where it had come from and where it intended to go. It replied I came from the Earth and to the plains I must flow. I followed the raging river until it became calm and at peace. I saw the great Buffalo grazing beside it's banks and they stopped by it to take a drink. As I poured out my soul into the heart of all living things, I ran with the Buffalo as they thundered across the open plains. I went to so many place and saw so many things, I heard the stories of the mountains and of all living things. When at last I returned to my own place on the lonely mountain top, I knew that I had been changed inside and many new lessons I had been taught. I saw the world through new eyes as I completed my Spirit Walk.

I narrowly escape my own destruction as temptation looms ever present. I wrestle with a demon that torments me relentlessly. Each day is a struggle and each night I lay in a cold sweat as it whispers to me to succumb. I feel the aching in my bones as the demon rages to be set free. Barley did I escape the addiction that ruined my life, and each day tries to reclaim me.

They may not show their wings or walk around with glowing halos, but that does not diminish their work. People who walk among us everyday going about their normal business, but who affect the lives of others in the most extraordinary ways. It may only be a word of kindness to someone who has lost all hope, or a handkerchief to someone who needs to blow their nose. They may give a few dollars to someone who is in need or perhaps they will give their time to teach a child to read. From preparing a meal for a stranger, to helping out a neighbor or friend, the miracles are miraculous if you could truly see their end. Each person who lends a helping hand, sends kindness and hope along the way. These ordinary Angels who walk among us, working not for fame or glory, but simply seeking to make the world a better place.

Baseball games have been replaced with a smart phone. Arguments are not settled with a dare but with a 9mm at school. The government is going to take care of it. So the father is not needed in the home. All we see on t.v. is the thing that is imitated in the streets and rebroadcast on the 6 pm news. Likes and hits have replaced true friends. The grownups have crawled into a pill bottle and let someone else deal with their problems. A child must be given everything but the one thing they need. Then when our baby goes off of the deep end, we try to blame society. The politicians say it is the objects that did this, the kid is not at fault. Let's give them a pill and it will solve everything. So the cycle repeats itself generation upon generation. Our children have lost their identity and are not sure who they are. Finally we sit down and look at a photo and do a hash tag for what we have lost. When the answer is simple enough, all we need is a mirror to answer the question where have are children gone?

Shedding all of your clothes and removing your inhibitions, stand in front of the mirror and admit the truth to yourself. You are what you were made to be, you are beautiful indeed. Could you lose some weight, yet but only for your health not for vanities sake. So accept your existence and breathe in the free air. Be at one with what you are and just go from there.

From the deepest blue of the ocean a mighty giant rises. Calling into the dark depths then rising to meet the sun, it lifts it's mass out of the darkness into the radiant light in a display of power that is seldom seen. It's haunting echoes call to your soul as you listen in the dead deep silence. Only the sound of the waves churning can be heard from the distance surface world. As you fall with the mighty ocean giant back into the nether region of the abyss from which it rose, the Blue Whales song calls in a unique harmony that only a few can appreciate.

Dressed in the finest clothes, with the best looks, money and prestige in abundance. Only when the serpent has beguiled you into submission, do you see it's fangs too late. Taking up a banner in the name of righteousness, only to commit atrocities that would make God turn his head. Singing for joy of holiness, when the actions are anything but that. Hiding in a crowd, appearing plain and normal, while underneath the façade, a raving wolf waits to pounce. Whether with a serpents beguiling tongue or the appearance of self righteousness, evil has many faces of which one must be aware.

I saw a luscious looking berry just hanging from a vine. I thought I would pick it quick and just be on my way. Little did I expect what was laying in wait, behind gorgeous Green leaves, where the berry waited to be pricked, were rows of unsightly thorns, wanting to give me a stick. So in my hurried anticipation, I reached into to claim my prize, then I winced as tears filled my eyes. So just remember this lesson, when you curse at the fruit you would have enjoyed, check behind the foliage first because Briars do have thorns.

Accept my way or die. They are to blame for your problems. God loves me and hates you. These are the messages that are delivered everyday. These are the things that our children hear and see, ignorance and intolerance, close mindedness and bigotry. Blaming ones neighbor for our poor decisions. Saying that what another has is ours by some imagined right. These are the messages that stir up strife. These are the words that people use to create divisiveness. These are the tools of the messengers of hate.

Our souls have been sold for instant fame! Now you can be famous for no reason at all. Post your life online, for all of the world to see. Depravity has become the norm and piety has been cast aside. For thirty pieces of silver was once the price, now thirty seconds can gain you a million followers. As what cost have we sold our souls at what price have we forsaken any form of virtue. To open our homes and our lives to scrutiny once reserved for only the most infamous among us. Now for fame and self adulation, we will forget the golden rule, and teach ourselves and any who will follow how to be mean to others. Only to find out in the end that no life matters. For we have become, a empty and virtue-less world.

Iron brought out of the dark earth, pushed into a crimson forge. Coals heated beyond white hot, metal liquid then cooled. Over and over the process is repeated, each time the hammer falls ringing on the metal. The breath of a red beast is poured into the steel that has been wrought from iron. The seething venom of a hell spawn with red scales like glistening red jewels. It spits its flame into the forge as the coals become hot beyond reason. In goes the steel out it pours into the mold. Clang goes the hammer as it is folded and formed. Back into the fire, the dragons breath hot on the blade. Bang goes the hammer to the anvil. Muscle and sweat are poured into the blade with blood spattered on it for good measure. Hell spawns breath heats the forge as it roars to life, putting the final touches on the sword. A weapon that will cut through the night and make women lament and weep for they are widows and their children are orphans. What a terrible thing, this Dragon blade that thirst for battle and wills itself to drink blood.

String bikini's have replaced over coats, flip flops have replaced furry boots. The sun rises higher in the sky and stays longer. The warm trade winds come in from the ocean and the smell of barbecue fills the air. There is no question that winter is gone and summer time is here.

I wake up with a hang over and I haven't been drinking. I am sick at my stomach because I haven't eaten. The wounds are healing on my wrist, but I keep wanting to lay them open. I am not sure what is wrong with me, still I keep hoping. I look for answers but I find little to make me feel alive. No matter what I try, I am still sad inside. The day wears on, one into the next. Most are horrible make me want to give up. What I wouldn't give for just one lousy day.

From the top of  a high mountain, looking over the land below. I embrace the wind as I prepare to take flight. On a glider of blue and white, I step into the nothingness and sail into the air. Down then up with the push of the wind. It is as if some unseen hand has lifted me above the earth. I rush onward into the clouds. I feel the moisture brush against my face as the gentle hand of a lover. I turn this way then that, rising towards the welcoming sun. I see an eagle in flight and get close so I can ask his advice on which way I should go. I watch his majestic wings lift him up, then he looks at me and with a haunting screech he dives away as if to say follow me. I turn my kite downwards chasing his wake. I sail over waters and valleys then we both hit a current of air and shoot back up towards the sun. With a wave of his wing he bids me good day. He then goes his way and I go mine. Into the changing blue sky that becomes steel grey,I am lifted high over the land. All things seem small and my problems seem petty, if only for a few moments I know what it is like to be free. As I finally see my friends waiting down below so small, I  know that is where I must go. So I turn my kite downwards and leave the sky that sets me free. For is you ask what I would prefer, then gliding is where I would rather be.

God is kindness and God is love. God is a firm hand from above. God is instruction and God is change, in the way our lives are lived. God is reason and God is wisdom. God is correction with a loving hand. God is a father and a teacher. God is a comforter and a friend. God is a creator and God is a judge, with divine wisdom and discernment. God is all of these things and so much more, if we would only open our hearts, we would know what God is.

Left or right, liberal or conservative, ideologies do not put food in a hungry child's belly. Foreign aid, domestic spending, in the end, where does the money really go. Trillions are spent by both sides but the poor still seem to be poor. Perhaps we should get rid of  the ideological leaders and give the average person a chance. How would a waitress make the law work, would a carpenter do better at rebuilding our inner cities. Perhaps if we move beyond the politics and let real people have a chance, then the world beca better place.

Woven of strips of wood, and set on a table somewhere. A simple item that was made with such love and care. To some it seems a simple thing, but oh the stories it could tell. How it held flowers for a sick loved one and help that person get well. It once carried home made bread, on a lovers picnic. It was filled with colored eggs one Easter as it was filled to the brim with the excitement that went with finding them. The plain and rather ordinary basket, has been many times to a garden, where it was used to pick fresh vegetables to carry to someone in need. It has been a play pen for kittens and a place to keep pencils and pens. Such a simple thing a woven basket, oh how useful it has been .

Most people will not acknowledge them but miracles happen everyday. A persons incurable cancer disappears, a person survives a horrific accident without a scratch. Other miracles happen, but we do not want to believe. A scientist makes a ground breaking discovery that can cure an incurable disease. Mankind does feats of engineering that science fiction writers only dreamed were real. A person who seemed doomed, finds redemption and kindness, some people say it cannot be real. I tell you miracles are everywhere, if we only choose to see them. We too can do miracles if you only choose to believe in them. Give a hopeless child a book and a meal, share a tragedy with someone whom you have loss in common, help that soul heal. Give a thirsty person a glass of water plant a seed of hope. Tell them that it will rain tomorrow and they will have more than enough to drink. You ask me if miracles are real, I say they are you see. Miracles need not come from a God or scientist, they can start with you and me.

The rain has stopped falling and there is a chill in the air. The trees have put out green buds for the first time. Clouds are fading as twilight falls and the suns rays are breaking through. The distant light holds a red hue as the evening comes. Walking out into my garden, I smell the freshness that spring rain brings. It reminds me that old things are washed away and new things are beginning to come in. I look at a rose bush where a spider has built it's first web. As a cool breeze washes over me I see the fragile yet elegant web shudder in the wind. Each drop of water shimmers in the fading light like a precious jewel. I wonder at how simple yet strong this web is and how things are becoming new for me as a dark winter of my life becomes a loving spring once again.

When knowledge fails and wisdom will not be heard, it is at this point when we know that we are in love. At the end of reason, passion rules the day, for the heart wants what it wants and will not be denied no matter what our intellect might tell us is rational, love will win out over reason every time.

Feel the rush of fear, hear the plea for help. See the blood spurt as you twist the knife!. Listen to the gasp for breath as the body goes lifeless. Look through the sight and see the face of your prey, just before the trigger is pulled. Watch in anticipation of the POP as the gun goes off! The prey is unaware of their fate. Going about their life then POP, the gun goes off and a splatter of Crimson ejects from the exit wound, as you see the shock of their face. Down they go, the image of the **** burned in your mind. Listen to the begging and watch the victim squirm, tightht are the ropes and black is the hood over their face. Struggling and pleading, crying for mercy where none exist in the cold heart of a predator. To a private place you go, where you can take your time and savor the taste of their fear. Each delicate morsel to be extracted as if though it was some rare treat. The victim holds out hope until the bitter end, enduring torment after torment, hoping for death but fearing the end. Not knowing when the blade or bullet will come, ending their suffering and putting the finishing touch on a masterpiece. Thus is ******, an act, a way of living, the essence of a killer.

When you find something that gives you contentment, no matter what it may be, then serenity is the gift you have been given, cherish it and don't let it slip away.

A boat bobs up and down in the surf as old wood is scattered on the shoreline. The wind blows up the sand and ghost haunt the dunes. Pieces of life fit together in odd ways as each one tries to grasp at reality. The sea froths and churns with cold waves as it makes a groaning sound with each splash against rocks that seem older than they should be. Wet sand ***** you into the earth where the water has soaked it through. Heavy are the desires of nature as old and new tear at each other. A mist rises and the fog horn calls from a distant outcropping of rock telling sailors beware. The home sick souls come forward looking for safe passage as I gaze on into the thick smoke of water vapor that surrounds me and fills my lungs with the cold dank scent of the sea. I head inland to try to escape it all, but the stench of it is in every fiber of my being. I am now and forever intrigued and a prisoner to nature and to the sea.