I leave You
I cheat You
Then wonder why
You aren't there

Then I say
I didn't leave
I didn't cheat
How come, I ask
You aren't there

But I know now
I left You
I cheated You
I now know why
You aren't there

But now I say
I want You
I need You to
Keep coming back
When I leave
Because nothing thrives when
You aren't there

I'm blind without You
I need Your sight
Guide me

You are the only one
No other gives life
I am just your pawn
You'll lead me through strife

May Your kingdom come
Through my desires
I want to succumb
You'll lead me through fires

I submit to You
My God, my only
Your word is so true
You'll lead me through folly

I know you won't go
Like so many do
You'll never let go
You'll lead me through You.

To God I pray for all her life
That she would stay inside this life
I know You'll come but don't know when
I pray refine her before then

That she may be in life past death
That You will bless her every breath
That You would bring her home once more
That You would give her life once more

Right now she's flat she has no hope
I pray You'll guide her from above
And
Keep her safe
Please

Was it their fault?
Were they in the wrong?
She made her choice
Was it their responsibility?
She thought it through
Were they supposed to control that?

They did everything right
But some things are out of their control
Can they be responsible for everything?
She didn't follow in their footsteps
Instead

She turned away
She went against her upbringing
It saddened them
They tried to bring her back
Yet she would not return

'Where is justice?'
She would ask
But she'd never listen

Then she fell
Well,
She jumped
She tried to escape their loving hands
Forever
But failed
Thank goodness

It couldn't have been their fault
But they would have felt it
Nonetheless
They still feel it now
But they will
And so will she
I hope

The grass withers
The flower fades
Will anyone stay?

Twenty-three and counting
They've all left
Will I be left alone?

It's not their fault
But they still left
Who will be next?

Yet I keep remembering them
Only their bodies will truly leave
Will I see them again?

I've left some too
It was so hard
Will they remember me?

This disease that plagues so many
It kills
With bridges
With pills
With knives
With guns
It seems there is no escape
It seems to affect any

But love
It breaks down walls
It saves so many
It heals
It gives hope
It stays
We could save so many
If we just love

I hear the flute
Its joyful melody.
I see my wife
Our daughter Melody.
I think of my wife
And her full of life
With our daughter, Melody.

I hear the crash
And then the tuba.
I hear naught else
It's just the tuba.
I think of the life
Who destroyed my wife
Our cursed daughter, Melody.

I hear trombones
It's getting better.
I see the day
It's getting brighter.
I think of the life
That destroyed my life
My blameless daughter, Melody.

I hear the horns
Their far-spread high-notes.
But mostly horns
And mostly low notes.
I think of my wife
And the love of her life
Our damning daughter, Melody.

I hear the trumpet
The different rhythm.
It has some movement
But mostly rhythm.
It's not the same
But it'll do
My beautiful daughter, Melody.

I hear clarinets
Their soaring melody.
Reminds me so much of
My daughter Melody.
Who came out of strife
To salvage my life
My angel daughter, Melody.

Think about the people you hurt
Is it really worth it?
What is it about this world?
Why would you leave it?

This is my plea:
     Live
     Hope
     Love

Don't try again
Please

We don't see unity
We are right
     They are wrong
We have truth
     They do not

We divide over the simplest of things
We are straight
     They are not
We are white
     They are not

We hate
We block
We hurt

Why must we betray each other?
Why?

A tree,
A jacaranda tree, once tall, majestic,
Its purple blossoms littering the ground,
Its fern-like leaves bring shade to all around.

The rings,
We count the rings on the stump,
As the lumberjacks drive away,
Leaving stripped branches and leaves to decay.

Years will pass,
As leaves decay, years will pass,
But not all is lost, and as the life fades away,
Something new sprouts up, something here to stay.

Dead father,
It draws life from its long-dead father,
Using its nutrients, being fed,
Life, sprouting out of stump long thought dead.

A shoot,
A growing, flourishing, feeding shoot,
Only one thing that it could be,
A massive, flowering, majestic shading tree.

All this,
From a stump, a remnant of a tree,
Life, sprouting from stump thought dead,
Replacing something very old with something new instead.