The earth will fall and the mountains will crumble
The day will come when the sun shines no more
In time all will fail and all will fade
It was always meant to be this way
But the word of the Lord endures forever
The law of the Lord is perfect and true
Bound to Christ we find our chains gone

Songs to the Lord unceasing like perfume to the heavens reaching
The Lord hears the cry of the poor and downtrodden
He comes to their aid
He lifts up the lowly and oppressed
Gives sight to the blind and by his word the dead are raised
Healed from affliction in body and spirit
The devil hears the name of Jesus and runs for fear of it

Shepherd your people Oh God
Lead them and keep them on the right way
Guard them from danger
Bring them back when they stray
We are the flock of your land
We are the work of your hand
We are the wheat in the fields
We are the harvest with great yield
We are the weary the tired and worn
We have caused you much pain and scorn

Come to me with open hands and empty hearts
Come to me and be filled in every part
Come to me humble and broken
Listen closely and receive the words I have spoken
Come to me with awe and wonder
Come to me but do not expect lightning and thunder
Come to me in the stillness and the silence
Come to me and find peace amidst the violence
Come to me with reverence and respect
Come to me and know that I made you perfect
Perfect the way you are and for what you need to do
It was for a greater purpose that I have chosen you

You may not understand but all will be made clear in good time
But that is all for today because we are almost out of time

I saw somebody just like you in the park
She was smiling at someone
It finally hit me, walking away
You might could love someone else too

Can I see how we painted the magic
the way you could forget your manners
when you were alone with a man

I have to accept change
Like nature accepts the way it lives and dies
I have to watch out now
It’s laying all about

Can I see how we used to walk
like goose bumps through a forest
of hair standing on our arms

It’s like sleeping in the broom closet
No window and the darkness, so dark
As if the sun was never born
And taking pictures the only flash in its place

Can I see how I won your love
inside the eyes that wouldn’t let me go
until you realized it was true

it seems awkward October is when
the days march into a haze,

unaware of how the sultry nights of August
evaporated

and left us with falling leaves, lime lawns,
and adulation of harvest moons

even if drought has murdered every
sprout planted in hopeful April

I keep a big calendar on my breakfast room wall,
and another in the hall

to remind me a freakish frost has not signaled
it's December

and feel blessed to remember, All Hallows' Eve
is not yet here,

for when it comes, the neighborhood ghosts and goblins
will yet knock on my door

expecting treats sans tricks--I'll pass out candy
with a tepid smile

knowing all the while, November
is a sleepless night away,

dragging in another day, colder, when more
living things pause their pulse

and I turn the page on two calendars
to see if it then seems November

Look no further than yourself,
be your own lamp
your own refuge.

The rain washed sky found a mirror in his eyes.

Yet for some time as the end neared
he was hearing an echo
from the deep well of nirvana
urging his weary feet toward a home
his aeons ago.

The frail bones feeling the pull
drove his weary feet through rains
to be on that land one last time.

Look no further
for howsoever long is the journey
must come to an end at home.

That night as he lay under the śāl tree
they strained to hear him whisper

All composite things decay,
strive diligently.