On sixth day:
you made us after your likeness,
to go on to be fruitful and multiply,
The Images of worth;
of a great love's flamed fuel,
You paid for it all, for the weight of my sin.

Jesus held it all.

In the abundance of life,
Like a piece of art;
your love an ornament in my eyes.
You saw me as herald and royal,
even when I didn’t feel as much.

Bare of my heart; guiltless of my shame,
naked, being vulnerable into your love.
I have no cares of this world to sustain me,
I've been left empty by it,
though on it's rocky grounds; the righteous
aren't shaken.

In my younger days
Jesus was a white man
with long brown hair and a beard
He cared for children
And protested against evil
He was perfect

I think i saw jesus once
In a dream of a memory of a vision
He had calloused skin on his hands
Golden brown like illumination
He was reaching for a coke bottle
On the bottom shelf of a gas station display freezer
I think he must have been tired
Because i could even see the dark circles under his eyes
Behind the wire framed glasses he wore
When he looked up at me
He gave me a weary smile and walked away to the register
Coke in hand

In the days of hardships
I called myself agnostic
Because god never cured my sorrows
And i was never blessed with heeded prayers  
But maybe jesus got tired of being perfect
And left heaven to be someone inferior
Someone human

I can believe in that jesus

The Holy Bible, th'historie of man,
     And God and man, and God as man on earth;
     The true account of how the world began;
The treasure mapp that leades to love and mirth;
The looking glasse wherein is seene the faire
     Image of God, and all mans ugly sinnes;
     The written word of God for ev'ry heir
Of saving grace who runnes the race and winnes;
The booke of lyfe writ in my Saviours bloud,
     Dictated by the Spirits whisper'd breath;
     The foil for ev'ry curse; the cure for death;
The greatest booke about the greatest good;
     The pasture for the sheepe; the sheepefold rod;
     Manna from heav'n; the ladder up to God.

Thanks be to God,
For every good and perfect gift
Comes down from the Father of lights
Who causes us in Christ
The world to overcome
And to joyfully sing.  

I am a man flawed,
A Christian the Devil will sift
For a season.  But the serpent bites
His own tongue, in time; and I, imparadised,
Will ask him when he's dumb,
Death, where is thy sting?

I think I saw you today
Out of the corner of my eye
Or maybe it was just a tear
Either way for the briefest moment
I knew you were near
___________

I looked for you at
Yesterday’s wake
To see if you weren’t somewhere
In the corner where I last laid eyes on you
And then lost sight of you;
Blindsided by suicidal thoughts

I looked for you in
Tomorrow’s dreams
And came to realize that
All that once seemed clear and bright
Had lost its glowing vital signs
As the flatline crossed out
My future course

I’ll look for you
Today.
In the dark of now.
I’ll light a match and search for you
Illuminated by your flickering shadow,
I’ll remember why I’m glad to be alive
Today.

(the birth of Christ - in Gen-Z slang)

Mary and Joseph were tight-ship.
Mary was a real-one, and no clout-chaser

One night Angel Gabriel overstreeted with word
that Cap-G made Mary chabby with soup-baby
Mary was shook and big-mad but Joseph
was baby-goggles for Cap-G’s quinlan fetus

so Mary was “okrrrrrrrrr”

A minute later Mary and Joe had to roll deep,
adulting to Bethlehem with tribute to Augustus,
the main character, but no mo-mo swerved em’
ghetto and asan Mary was Cap-G’s baby-mama!

Later these bchaps rfts biters brang Cap-J
some bag and herb to extra flex for Cap-G
while angels lay in the cut with lowkey bop.

———————- translation


Mary and Joseph were married and in love.
Mary was an average girl not into notoriety
.
One night Angel Gabriel appeared and said
that God made Mary pregnant with his child
Mary was shaken-up and and angry but Joseph
Was excited for them to have God’s beautiful child

so Mary was had no choice but to say “OK”

Months later Mary and Joe had to travel far together,
As citizens, to Bethlehem to pay taxes to Augustus (Caesar).
Emperor of rome, but a lack of motels caused them to
Stay in a manger and there Mary had God’s child.

Later these rich star followers brought Jesus
some money and herb as gifts to impress God
while angels gathered and sang to comfort the child.

Soaring little swallow, what do you see?
Enroute to Bethlehem from Nazareth,
love’s silhouette, encasing holy breath—
a pair of weary travelers, but three.
Awestruck little swallow, what see you now?
Angelic chorus singing Peace is here!
as shepherds shake in sacred, wondrous fear,
then rush to find a babe and to Him bow.
Resting little swallow, can you see more?
Great star shines brightly ‘gainst the darkened sky
while newborn Light breaks through an infant‘s cry—
God‘s brilliance swaddled, cradled, helpless, poor.
This babe you see in livestock manger lain
created you and does your life sustain.

Embedded in the couch
was the frame of what’s left of me
The weeping was racking my body
The impulse was wrecking my soul
So I clasped my hands in desperate prayer  
to keep myself from going there
To keep myself from reaching for
the objects that were screaming at me
I had to hold tightly to the thought
That I had been bought at a price
For by your wounds, mine were healed

Incarnation’s mystery! God came down
in priestly vestments of frail human flesh,
left Glory’s Crown for lowly manger crèche,
Sacrifice born so lost sons could be found!
Our King-Priest grew as Carpenter, disguised,
to build a kingdom that would not be seen
except by those the world marked as ‘un-keen‘—
His ‘sheep too dumb‘ to walk as pride advised.
For just as Christ was birthed in humble state,
so too His kingdom‘s children are reborn
through poverty of spirit, hubris torn,
to enter through the lowly, narrow gate.
And as Christ died for us, then rose to life,
He lives through us when to ourselves we die.