I wish I had a snapshot
for every smile I've seen
from the eye of a newborn babe
to that of a new bride.
Fresh and unspoilt
innocence and joy.
I would make a wall to marvel
of faces, eyes and teeth.
A spectacle of Human happiness
so all can remember.
That moments are fleeting
and joy can be so brief
but it always can be found
in the very next twinkle
of your neighbor's eye.

The fracture lay
bone deep
beneath the sand
cracked and dry

The city seen
on high and fallen
buried deep
within your heart

The tangle of days
bloody and cold
press for release
from the pit

Eleven came
and none retreat
the path was certain
as was defeat

One left standing
toward the end
a lone observer
of my sin

We cast him off
dispatched his bones
buried his home
ended his days

But his eyes haunt
guilt remains
the sins that day
forever mine

What can I do to convince You
of the rightness of my cause
What words can I say
What songs can I sing
What music can I play
and what pictures can I bring

The arguments I make
The logic I present
Seems hollow
and weak

The emotion I give
The heart I present
Seems weak
and hollow

I don't know what to do
To tell you how I am
To give myself to You
To tell you who I am

Tell me, won't You
What would light the spark
To start the fire
To consume our hearts

too soon i see
the coming of
the end of the road
the side brush grows
and the trees canopy
rabbits scurry
and deer abound
the sun is setting
and the sky
streaked
clouds and rain
on the horizon
and they bring
the sweet scent
of renewal

I am the pencil
and you the eraser
what I have created
You have rubbed out

But see I have left
my mark on you
now no matter your effort
I will be with you

Your effort to undo
will only remind you of me

Sleep til the light
of day wakes your eyes
then look out
and see what I've done for you

Your slumber
I will not disturb
Your soft breathing
I won't interrupt
But when you rise
Come here and see
What I've done for you

Your dreams shall be your own
Your heart hidden from me
The places of your mind
I shall not intrude
But when you are ready
Look what I have done for you

I will take your hand
and lead you to the window
I will draw the curtain
and let loose the shutters
I will open the world
Just for you
And you will see
All that I have done for you.

I close my eyes
and I slip away
carried on a whim.
I sleep and dream,
I hope and fail,
I am what I was not.
The dreams were meant
to a reality be
The hopes were dreams
of a future unseen
I am what I did not want to be.

Start again,
but not at the beginning
Start at the end
or the middle of me
Follow the road
twisting and winding
to where I may be
waiting for you

There you will find
stacked and heap
groups and cousins of hope
laying about with cluttered precision
waiting for you
waiting for me

I can make them real
as real as they should
I can hope and pass
and dream and hope
I can be who I should

He made me as
He makes it possible
to survive the lost hopes
and misplaced dreams
to find the path
in the middle of me

smile now and close
your eyes and feel
the soft warm wind
caress you soul
I am He who brought you so much
and asked you to lay
at peace in My Hope
have faith and persistence
walk and cry for help
I will have loved
your whole life through.

That noise
did you hear it?

She laughed

And it was magical

It was music
more complex and beautiful than Mozart
It was light
Brighter than the dawning sun
It was uplifting
Taking me higher than Icarus
It was warm
Like an old down blanket in the dead of winter

It was her laughter
And I treasured the sound

Cold sweat she hadn't expected. Neither the nightmares. This was all pasted her, wasn't it? Hadn't she made her peace and moved on? Why, then, the dreams and nightmares? Why the endless chasing through dark passages, never to escape fevered dreams? Awake now, she looked around. Half expecting someone to be looking at her from the foot of the bed. Alone, but was she as safe as she had assumed. Are ghosts real?

No More Hope...please

The light breaks in
through the chipped blacked glass
a stream or ray
to pierce my heart.

The light,
so desired
is an anathema
to me now.

I have longed
for the daylight
and prayed
for the sun

'Tis easier to live
in a blackened room
devoid of hope
a comfortable gloom

with the coming of hope
it raises my spirits
too soon to be wrecked
when the light fades away

The pain of the dark
is easier to take
without the intruder
light

The dark becomes known
and somehow less frightening
when you don't have the light
to show what you've lost

Hope, so long sought
Brings the anticipation
Of being dashed
Once again.

Set you feet on the path of the Savior
And follow to the torn curtain
Through the pain of the cross
Through the humiliation of the thorns
To the Redeemer
To the Savior
To the Christ