The Legacy of Golgotha

When we stray

As oft times we do

Love’s guiding light

Is there to lead us through

Given these gifts

Forgiveness, mercy, and grace

A new Law, Love

Death and fear now replaced

Christ came, suffered, died and rose again

Recognize the cost

For all that was gained

That we may never be lost

The legacy of Golgotha

Proof that love conquers all

And through this sacrifice

We can rise after the fall

He is risen!  Rejoice!  The debt is long since paid.  Love, because this is the new law.  Be gracious and forgive, as you wish to be forgiven. 

Love

The essential emotion

Key to eternity

Unshakable

Undefinable

Unmistakable

How independent and enslaving

The longing, yearning, and craving

Defying Law

Logic

Lust

It's pursuit is often tragic

Creates new rules

Breaks some

Destroys lives

Shapes them

Stealing focus

While lending clarity

Dichotomy

Dulcet

Dilemma

Not known to bow to reason

Death cannot contain it

Words fail to confine

Sweet

Terrible

Love

The Best of Me

Sitting across the table

Caught in conversation

The object of my deepest love

And of my admiration

She is the very core of me

I will ceaseless seek to earn

Her love for all my life

Though my attention she may spurn

Her intellect and imagination 

Stir Deep inside my heart 

Her skill, her spirit, all of these

Are poetry, beauty and art

She is my best friend

No matter how it all turns out

She can count on my support

Of that there is no doubt

Willing slave I am

Bound for life to serve

Foolish hope I hold

Her love someday deserved

She is the very best of me

My soul, and my desire

All I am is her's

In this I shall not tire

'Nuff Said

The Pledge of a Common Man

I am a common man

I love, laugh, work and breathe, all in common ways

I have no political power, no mandate 

I have a common voice, but it shall be strong

I will use that tool in support of common people everywhere 

I will not be silent in the face of injustice

I will not ignore the cries of my brothers and sisters

I will speak on behalf of those with no voice

I am a common man 

I will stand and be counted

To my brothers and sisters world wide, living in what seems like never ending conflict; I recognize that we are oft caught in the gears of the machine.  Guard yourselves, persevere the storm.  For the kings and powers of this world will pass away, and only the common man will remain.

All Too Much

Sometimes its all too much
Feeling oppressed at work
I want to scream out, cry foul, quit
The vice tightens on my brain
I will not succumb to all of this shit

Sometimes its all too much
Said and did so many stupid things
I hurt her and I don't know why
Thought I was better than this
In the end I still made her cry

Sometimes its all too much
Disproportionate, disappointment, dissolving, diluting
My purpose, sending me to despair
Done. Done Damn it! I wept silently
Mirror reflection there's nobody there

Sometimes its all too much
I long for her, yearn for her
She owns every bit of me
I am nothing she needs nor desires
But I'm better dead than free

Sometimes its all too much
I have to regroup, recoup, revive
Remind myself of the rhythm and the rhyme
Rise.  Rise up man! You can't just give up
This same fucking battle fought many times

Sometimes its all too much
Still they come to my rescue
My angels, my family, my friends
Reminders, encouragement, a slap to the head
I see my good fortune, and the crisis finds an end



We all get overwhelmed.  Stress has many names, causes and symptoms.  We all fall short of the mark from time to time.  I am blessed to have these crazy people I love as friends.

Were I to sing of my love

Were I to sing of my love

The tune could not sound as deep

The melody nowhere as sweet

As the sound of her breath as she sleeps

If I were to speak of her beauty

Resulting words could only fail

Though my honor and my duty

Descriptions devised would seem lifeless and pale

If I were to write her a poem

To express my devotion; though rebuked

I would chance to make my feelings known

The very length of it would span the ocean

Were I to sing of my love

The angles would cry, the flood tides arise

A new world be born, if she’d but let me inside

Then I too could be beautiful

She is all.  That which she loves, I love.  That which she hates, is anathema to me.  Though she may never be my woman, I will always be her man. 

Cry Freedom!

It is said that we were created in God's own image

Sometimes, it seems so hard to believe

Other times a warrior leads us in the scrimmage

Challenging all to overcome and achieve

WE have a dream undying and undaunted

Our hearts and minds must remain resolute

There is still a call to which must be responded

A mission still left that none can refute

My brothers and sister still live full of terror

Their children still hunger and cry in the street

The hero you seek stares back in the mirror

This is not the time to shrink back nor sound a retreat

Lift up your head, your heart and your voice

Shout it loud until Kingdom Come

Now's the time, raise the standard, there's no other choice

Cry Freedom! Freedom! Freedom! FREEDOM!

Dedicated to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. (January 15, 1929 – April 4, 1968) and to men and women everywhere who still struggle to live free.

Past Present Future

Memories always look the way we want them to

Good and evil cut and dry with little middle ground

In our minds the fruit is sweeter, the cuts much deeper

The passion hotter and love much truer than any ever known

The present is opportunity, challenge, danger at every turn

Today is the proving ground where iron is forged to steel

Here is where your love swells and your children laugh

Now is the gift of God, the breath of life, more, more than this

Tomorrow is an illusion, a promise with no guarantee

Future is futile, ephemeral, always just out of reach,

Prophesy is a guessing game, a gamble and a dream

Inifinty is a long way off you can only guess what it brings

Remember all of the past because wisdom is it's legacy

Hope and plan for the future though it may never be

But, live today, in every breath and pumping of your heart

It's in this time your memories end and the future gets it's start

 

 

 

 

To say there is no time like the present is an understatment of epic proportions.  There is likely no other time at all...  Use it wisely.

Riding In The Storm

I could never know

The joy of sunlight on my face

Unless winter's grip

Had left its trace

Any wisdom 

I claim to hold

Came as result of

Lessons hard and cold

If expect 

To walk in calm

I must endure

The tempest's song

When at last 

The Spring returns
And passion's fire

Can flare and burn

How wonderful

That flame will warm

I rise again after

Riding in the storm

Raindrops in the Snow

The world can be a harsh place

With cold and thorny walls

At times it seems there is no trace

Of humanity at all

But then one day a stranger calls

To brighten up your day

Then all of your defenses fall

All sadness washed away

Ephemeral as spider webs

A sweet song no one knows

Until it sings inside your head

Your chasing raindrops in the snow

My friend, thank you for your kindness.