pink blossoms – in the forest of thoughts; I seem
so lost. as a storyteller, I must have consumed a library,
every day is a memory of all that you’ve learned, and
the scriptures on your skin of the Word

where true prophecy reigns – the taste of one’s future
rains, watering faith’s garden. you beautiful tragedy,
making blissful mistakes – life hurts and stresses you
out with heavy thoughts of tomorrow, that you seem
too scared to even let down your hair; it's an anchor

yet in these pink blossoms, any piece of hope blossoms
like a blush on your face – when the slightest beauty
smiles back at your worried face… weary child,
go and pray.

I stand in front of a stone library
that once held great knowledge therein,
but stands now empty under skies dreary.
I whisper a prayer for our sins:

Please, Lord, let the children who follow us
grow wiser than we ever were.
Let them yet be the loving kindness
that we have signally failed to confer.

I doubt that they will ever forgive us
for this fallen world that we’re handing down
thanks to all the blind disservice
by leaving little but ash on the ground.

Before us all stand two stone gates
each leading to diverging roads:
The one leads to our visible fate
while the other fate overthrows.

Please, Lord, let those born in these days
choose the path of the unknown
instead of taking the road that behind us lays:
They shall our foolishness swiftly outgrow.

What few blessings I may pass on to you,
O dear reader of the future’s present,
I give you freely in hopes of a new
rebirth in a world without end, amen.

And so he slid
Closer to her side,
and although her ***** was ever
so apparent, he did not look down.
He gazed softly into her eyes,
they were entranced with the nostalgic desire to know her better; satisfaction that he was sitting
beside her.

And so she allowed
him to draw near.
Her eyes rested down
at the button on his
lapel.
She was wary of what was to
happen next,
but she could not say that
she would ever refuse him.

And so she looked
UP, edging her eyes
from his lips to his forehead.
She stared into him, sure
of what was to follow.

So he edged
Even closer to her.
Lips growing warmer by the second.

It was clear.

He wanted, to kiss her.

And so he lowered
His head down, and there she laid.

Her Demerara skin sparkling in the night's light,
it's glittering being made her more beautiful than any
woman he had ever seen.

The wind stood still as she gazed into his eyes.
Their affection was heard.
Their desire was palpable.

But still they lay, head side to side.
white cushion beneath their necks.
The sea's scent cascading before them.

And now his hand.
Placed on her cheek.
They understood that this moment could not be what they desired it to be.

And so they pull
Their backs UP and create a space
between themselves.
Their retraction from one another served as
a proclamation of their love.

So now they sit.
Demerara skin and all.
One hand clutched, they gaze into each others eyes
content that they would be all that, until they became.
All that.

Through storms, Christ sustains,
In shadows, His light remains,
Peace and hope, He reigns.

Lord, I live for you as you lived for me
I give you my all you gave everything for me
It is so hard to accept this gift sometimes
It's so overwhelming, this love outpouring
And it is all I can do to simply be adoring
You only want my happiness
You desire only my joy
You sing over me and you smile
You gaze at me in awe and wonder and love
What else can I do, but live for you
I believe Lord, help me to receive you
More fully into my body and my soul
Take it all Lord, for I give you control
I surrender to you though it hurts
So live and move and breathe in me
I make my life an offering of love
So as to live for you, my God, above

You are good: so, so good to me
Father in Heaven, you never let me down
All the good that is in me is from you Lord
You are Holy and Perfect and Blameless
And, by the precious blood, you make me spotless
You come running out to me to embrace me
When I turn around and come back home
You are waiting; arms flung open wide
You held me close while we both cried
Tears of sadness and pain, healing and relief
In this flood of tears comes a flood of peace
Lord, let me rest in your presence for a while
And Lord, always help me to live for you

Oh, my soul, rejoice and be joyful in your King
For He is good and has created everything
Oh, my soul, take flight and soar above the clouds
In the air that fills your wings, let go of any doubts
Rejoice in the one who made you and calls you his own
He has found favor with you and made his home
Oh, my soul, be still and quiet and free
It is in those places that you will find your God to be
Reach up to Heaven, ascend to Him on high
Be at peace with the glorious divine sigh
But he who sits on the throne is also very near
And, as I sit, one thing seems quite clear:
Rejoice, my soul, in every time and every place
Because everywhere you look is the Lord's face
He loved you so much he died to show
That his love is real and not just a show
He died so you could be set free
By his Hands and Feet, nailed sin to a tree
Rejoice, my soul, for your God is risen
To break you out of spiritual prison
Rejoice, my soul, for healing in pain
Life in death, and loss in gain
Sing with one clear voice
Oh, my soul, rejoice

Christ and disciples
gaze from the stone tympanum —
Frozen redeemer

In darkness, a church
of carved Baroque stone
catches me walking
unawares and alone.

Two stone hands reach out
from the church outer wall.
A gesture of blessing
or a prayer for us all

in stony carved silence
that echoes the voice
of a God we can’t hear,
who stays quiet — by choice?

Just when we need
to hear they’re right here,
they feel like a veiled cloud
that is more distant than near.

Still these outstretched hands
remind me of this:
Divine’s in the touch
of human hands’ godlike gift.