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Cinders
The acrid scent of bitter fumes,
fields of ash and ember,
sting me with their billowing plumes
in the cold winds of December.
The past, almost forgotten,
comes dimly into view;
phantoms of a netherworld
that never fade away,
dancing in the darkness of
the waning light of you,
passengers, whose fares
I have to pay.
Memories remain,
though so much else is gone,
the laughter, tears and tenderness
of all we did and had.
All toward different destinies,
our broken lives race on,
some find the journey joy,
others dark and sad.
These tiny sparks that fill the night
like fireflies in July
gather to them other sparks
that drift across these planes,
wanderers and vagabonds
to search the endless sky
for hidden truths that mar
the earth with melancholy stains.
We sail the ocean on our own,
we steer the wildly whipping waves,
a stormy sea of fate unknown
into our waiting graves.
Where is it that we all drift toward?
Such tiny flames - a roaring fire!
To freely choose our course forward
yet prisoners of our own desire.
Man, a creature free of will,
given dignity and choice,
to the point of madness, still
to flee Love's calling voice.
Though walls do not a prison make,
our hearts and minds enchain
all that would for mercy's sake
dare be free again . . .
Little Baby
The fragile things we are,
dust filled with breath,
life filled with tragedy
and cruel circumstance;
the innocent taken by
twisted hands of death,
leaves blown among
fickle winds of chance.
Little baby, little baby
in this troubled world of men
you will never smile another smile
or shine your light.
Little baby, little baby
who would you have been?
Your soul - resting deep
in God's arms tonight.
There must be a place for you,
a place where you are,
your little heart still beats
and your laughter is heard;
a heaven for you,
your face shining like a star,
you fly on the wings
of a freedom bird.
At first, the rage,
the pain filled my heart,
when I heard how you died,
I cast my stone;
then I thought how your loss
must tear them apart,
living on with the grief
and the guilt, so alone.
And looking to heaven
for someone to blame,
I could not; the suffering,
the sorrowful years;
accuse God, He makes us,
but WE make the game,
the killing and war,
the suffering and tears.
That left me, little baby, with me;
A sweet little baby like you - to die,
and me, worthy of death, to go free,
my dark soul to see the sun rise in the sky?
I can not understand
the depths of this ocean,
these masters we serve
like gods made of of clay;
a thing we ourselves
set into motion,
ships we keep sailing,
having lost our way.
Sailing, sailing, into the night,
till our souls choke with darkness,
our hearts growing numb
towards the unknown
till the end is in sight,
if we're lucky enough
to see it come.
But little baby,
your journey has just begun,
horizons uncharted,
beyond our dismal cage;
your ship sets sail
by the light of the Son,
your heart will not fill
with the coldness of age.
The cynical clouds
will not darken your eyes,
of the hell we inflict
on ourselves in this place;
you will never learn
to hate or despise,
they can not steal the innocence
from your face.
To trust and to love
and to laugh and to cry,
things we forget
as the years go by;
to forgive and to thirst
for something that's true,
little baby - if I
could just be like you.
In the midst of all
that we say and we do,
Little baby, I could learn
so much from you.
I don't blame anybody,
not even a few,
but little baby we will miss you.
Little baby we will miss you.
The
Thawing of My Heart
The joy is worth the pain,
to be vulnerable and weak,
the laughter worth the tears,
when love's the treasure that you seek.
In these changing seasons
I am troubled and perplexed
for a myriad of reasons
that my countenance reflects.
It seems it's been so long
since I've felt a real emotion,
since my heart was filled with song
and my will with pure devotion.
Love? Oh, I could do the action
though the feeling seemed misplaced,
but now I FEEL the satisfaction
of Your INTIMATE embrace.
I thought for sure this must be death
and never would I feel again,
in frozen winter's icy breath,
hibernating in my den.
But spring is coming with its rain,
my heart, long dormant, now awakes
to feelings, love, joy and pain,
no longer numb from snowy flakes.
My eyes fill with salty tears
and laughter and sensation,
my frozen heart for many years
has longed for restoration.
Breath of Life, in me You sing,
my opening heart again to trust,
blossoming in warmth of spring
breaking from earth's icy crust.
Oh Jesus, thank you for this gift,
this swelling, surging sea of pain,
this pricking thorn, my soul to lift
out of unfeeling clay, so vain.
A blind man, once again I see!
I sense within me and in others
the joy and pain and specialty
that fills my sisters and my brothers.
Though we walk by faith, not sight,
upon our feelings not to lean,
when Spring returns, the Morning Light
will bring our hearts to heights unseen.
The joy is worth the pain,
to be vulnerable and weak,
the laughter worth the tears,
when love's the treasure that you seek!
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The
Battle
There is but one solution
to this conflict's resolution,
to take up arms against a sea
of disillusioned scarcity.
Bloody, tear-stained fields of grey
extinguish here the light of day,
if nothing but to recompense
their owner's lack of common sense.
Whyfore do we raise a hand
against this ragged marching band
of children, filled with thirsty lust
to do what others say, they must?
What dark night descends upon
these feeble hours we have drawn
while casting lots for earthly gain,
amassing here such toilsome pain?
What melody, so sweet to die for,
leads us waltzing off to war?
There that fearful, wining greed
upon our souls will daily feed.
The cries of angry, bitter men
who drift upon the wayward wind
who without clue, or subtle hints,
expose the heart of false pretense.
And though we battle fiercely here
we won't escape the gnawing fear
that we ourselves, the greatest foe
that any man could ever know
will not prevail in our own strength,
though we go to greatest length.
Only Christ can tame the night
within us as we daily fight.
A Fighter and a Lover
To be a fighter you must first be a lover,
you can't fight the battle till
you've felt a soldier's pain.
Though you surrender your body to be burned,
without Love there would be nothing to gain.
Love preserves all that hate would destroy,
Love's patient and kind, faithful and true.
Love gives a soft answer and turns away wrath,
Love judges all that we say or do.
Love forgives, it's gentle and meek,
Love is vulnerable but never weak.
Love can fill our emptiness,
Love's the joy we daily seek.
Love is a holy fire that burns inside,
purifying, destroying selfishness and lust.
Love fills our eyes with compassion for others,
Love slays the dragons of bitterness and prejudice.
Love reaches out, crossing the line,
Love is never given in vain -
Love melts our icy, frozen hearts
with flames of joy and pain.
Let Jesus Take Your Pain
Let Jesus take your pain,
release to Him your sorrow,
He took it on Himself so you
could have a new tomorrow.
For all the pain you hide inside,
the memories that haunt your mind,
let Jesus wash you with His love
and fill you with His Spirit, kind.
Let Jesus take your pain,
leave your chains at the cross,
He will set you free my friend,
He died to pay the cost.
Set Me Free
Oh Lord I want to be free.
Like a bird to spread my wings and fly
far away into the deep blue sky,
I long to be with you when I die.
My body is a prison cell,
but You can free me, I can tell.
Thankyou Jesus, for setting me free,
I soar on the wings of Your love for me.
Oh God, set me free from clouds of gray,
to Your kingdom I will fly away.
Some day soon with you I'll be,
till then, down here, set me free.
Wash me in Your blood my King,
lift me up from here as I sing.
Open this cage and let me out,
free me to love and weep and shout!
Lord I just want to be free
from all these things that distract me.
These temporal things will be lost in the past,
I want to do what is eternal and lasts.
Free me Jesus, set me free,
break these chains that are holding me.
I submit myself to You,
tell me what You want me to do.
Free to love, free to be loved,
free from lust and greed and fear,
free to soar on wings of love
among the ones I love so dear.
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