The golden wings of a bird of prey
Hunting without sound
A pillar resists an ocean's wave
And none dare interfere
The lost corners of the earth
Where no one seems to care
Children that have nowhere to go
And children who are grownups
These laws have me tied down hopelessly
So I'll just hand you this seashell
In hopes that It may go somewhere
My dreams go places that I cannot
They go places I will never get to go
They say that I am disabled
But there is nothing wrong with me
And in the irony of being trapped here
My mind wanders to places beyond here
To wildflowers growing among stony ruins
And how I want to hold them close
To inhale the magic that lays therein
The fallen columns of another time
The temples were humble enough to inspire mercy
And many of the pillars were great
How important the reasons that they were built
And maybe I'm working for the same reasons
Praise of the divine is something I share with those people
And I too look up at the sky
When I'm trapped here for the rest of my mortal life
I wonder if there's more to life than being trapped here
If someone will someday find my legacy
And read with loving eyes
We suffered here, we fought evil things here
And there was the most beautiful love story
I held you for a good part of my life
And I waited for you while I suffered
The colossal people of the world were nothing to me
I shyly lay them down at your feet
In hopes that you would kiss me one more time
The courage was without doubt
And I am still fighting it
Not a day goes by that I can put it down
I'm carrying this burden until I fall into the dust
And when I look up at the stars
I see these spaceships flying around
And that bothers me but not too much
It's a miracle to be alive
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

"Universal Love"
The waters that flow through the stillness of night
That I will someday become water
So the water and I share a kinship that can be felt
And the water and I rejoice together
That I will melt and die and become a leaf
Or a tear on the cheek of a person in pain
That the tears and the leaves feel kinship with me
And with everything on the earth
The rivers flow with the Grace of God
And the temporariness of life suggests a greater purpose
Why we work to build and contribute to civilizations
That are eventually toppled and fallen away
And the little beads on thy necklace
Will someday be buried under the Earth and forgotten
Or unearthed by someone more grateful for them
Someone who will put them in a museum
The treasures of the Earth and the Treasures far beyond
Cry out in all things the brotherhood of all things
And in your tarnished memory a grave
That will not easily be forgotten
We give our gifts until we die
And fall into the Earth
That eternity which encompasses us then
Will become what we were in time
We will become that which we fought to save
And all things coming new
I smile when I see you fighting there
I say for you a prayer of protection
It is these little battles we fight
That become the cloth of time
I feel God with me in the great shifting axis
Of the astrolabe that projects eternity
Just brotherly love is enough
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

A thing that gives me courage is fear
When one looks up and feels afraid
Your hand that stirs the cosmos
Will surely not live to see it
Because fear is a terrible thing in God's sight
Oh surely he will stamp it out like a fire
He'll find you a soft bed of leaves just for you
And place you there like your own paradise
How I pray that he delivers you from the snare
And pray in dark and light
The ocean that sweeps your sad brows
Is one that knows you be name and by heart
In fevers enduring in sickness releasing
In pain, an end to all your suffering
May you get presents at Christmas this year
And may you find someone you really love
If I were the Wind I'd pray for them to come to you
And I'd seat you on a down feather bed
I'd keep my distance so as not to upset you
And owing to the many great burdens
Just make sure you are well cared for
For I love you very much
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

"Love Poem"
Dancing towards me to the beat of the lyre
I am entranced by your beautiful everything
Perhaps the greatest seductress I have ever met
You fill me with honeysuckle flowers
Until I, too, had become honeysuckle flowers
And it was then that you smiled at me
Please fill my life with meaning and purpose
So that I find the strength to go on
In you my unborn children
In you the fruits of all my suffering
In you the undefeated sting that conquers all
Like a windswept bark beating towards you
I feel you coming closer into my ocean
My heart is an ocean and you are the boat
That considers me like an angel
Oh, save my life, I timidly think
And give me something to fight for
But there are only whispers now
And I am stuck in the wind
Though I have fought many battles
To lay by your side in bed
And oh my soul so weary
Yet you were its mount
I dream of finding another person
Who I think has suffered the way you have
It's your suffering that makes you beautiful
And there are many more to save
I'll send you some cool mountain cherries
To soothe you in your fever
The Will of the heart that's not ceased to beat
Is the Will of my heart for you
He tried with all his weary heart
He tried so hard to please me
And I failed him and in this
The smile after much labor
I'll try to let you go
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

"Special"
The henpecked one is usually the best one
The one who gets chastised the most
They usually want to become something great
Or accomplish something to apologize to others
Something people will see their worth at
Because when they were children, no man saw
Those who have a hard time as children
Often grow up to become truly great
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

The tears when a life is put out
Are the tears I see in you
The one who is afraid to die
And the one who has no choice
Oh life is full of pain and dread
And life is full of sorrow
One man has not nearly enough
While another has everything
Reincarnation seems to hold fast
In light of all the inequalities in life
Why one man suffers and another grows
And the reason people choose to survive
If staying alive is worth more than being kind
Then life is surely not worth living
The trees sing the praises of those who sacrifice
They sing with the stars in heaven
God is the tinker who designs this life
And we are living in it
He's kind and if you pray to him
Much magic will come your way
Think, Hallelujah, when he sends you gifts
And try to be grateful
He is just hidden under the surface of the details
Just pray to come closer to him
The songs we sing are rising in the night
Like heat evaporating upwards
I turn and smile back at you
Because together we have moved mountains
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

How many times I would have held you close
Like the mother who gathers her little ones
Under my skirts I would have let you play
And in my heart you are there still
Oh child knocked back from innocence
And coming again with so much love
How my heart breaks for you
How many times the world out there
Has been full of good things
The blessings kneel humbly on the loyal earth
To tell you that, indeed, you are sweet
And how proud of you I am
I will always be proud of you
Even at the end of the world
And when the world ends
I will be there proud still
A good child eats, a good child plays
And all things I would give you
Maybe a hovel in from the cold
Is second-best to heaven
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Soft creatures with soft furry noses
And gingerbread and peppermint cookies
Hot chili and mugs of hot tea with apple juice
Crab and Salmon patties and mashed potatoes
with bacon grease and celery and mayonnaise
Or with boiled cabbage and bacon grease
Or with mayonnaise, balsamic vinegar and mustard
Linens fresh and hot from the washer
And beds just made up with new sheets
Warms shoes and jackets and underwear and shirts
And pants and sunglasses and razors
Shampoo and body gel and toothpaste
And candy and holiday decorations
Dolls and stuffed animals and figurines
And gifts under the tree at christmas

The night burns all around
The storm that cannot be quenched
The work of a honest and humble man
And your gentle patient knock
You hold me with all the fevers of terror
And in you is the meaning of my life
The quiet life of a woman and a man
This is the reason for thanksgiving
A woman and a man who love one another
Who silently enjoy one another's company
Dedicated to one another's success and happiness
We each work quietly affiliated to our task
The night is deep like a raging river
Or a darkness I fear to enter into
Its heavy curse lays upon the land
And above are the all-knowing stars
In my arms I'm holding you close
Promising everything will be alright
But it might not always be alright
And I know this in my heart
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

When I fell down God scattered my enemies
Like singed chaff on a burning meadow
He sent them away and diverted their paths
He filled them with fear and dread of me
Filled with the Holy Spirit, I stood triumphant
With my enemies all reeling around me
A beautiful moment that testifies that God
Is with us when we feel most alone
He is nearest to us in our lowest times
And when one is in trouble for whatever reason
It is to Him that we place our cares
In Him to pray and trust in
Life is a menagerie of the seasons and their beauty
As they change and crawl steadily forward
God's beautiful in forgiving those who fear evil
He delivers those who fear hellfire
He tells me that it is never too late to come home
Oh hallelujah for this mercy
God is kind to me in this time
I want to thank Him for all things
When I bow to you gently I feel humbled
For you are my captain and my king
That bough which carries my nest with my babies
And that strand on which my beaded necklace is strung
Until death, I think, when I smile at you
And maybe in the hereafter
Sometimes you seem not unlike my Lord
And sometimes you dazzle me with glory
Sometimes the fire of your countenance shines forth
And I realize I'm just a speck
God is with us when we suffer
He's with us when we feel alone
When we feel betrayed by Him
It's only an illusion
We get trials in this life, trials to endure
I remember when my life was filled with struggle
I hope to pass away like a dream
Into the shy paradise that waits there
He that carries all things willingly
He whose spokes plan the web
And He who one can talk to
Go to the Lord with all your problems
It's my answer to all problems
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

A Warm hearth with a glowing fire
Dinner in big bowls
Sautéed meat and vegetables with rice
Noodles with sauce
Bullfrogs croaking in a green pond
Watching you wisely from underwater
Snow on dark cold nights
Sitting in by the fire and listening to music
Or reading a book or knitting
Someone who loves you to hold you
And the weather blowing on and on
Long nights of heavy sleep within
And untroubled days

"It's Just Misunderstood"
In the light of the prophet's staff
I saw a nothing
A big dustball-shaped nothing
It hung its head and confessed
"I am a nothing," It sadly said
And then It hung its head down low
It grazed on the grass of the nothingness
And they were nothing together
There was peace in being nothing
Because maybe no one would hurt them
For nothings are often outcasts anyway
And no one has time for a nothing
Especially nothings that aren't friendly
And I Thought that is sad
Because everyone is a something
It's a shame to destroy a nothing
Because they truly are somebody
Maybe they are even happier than you
You just never know
Nothings and somethings should grow together
Feeding the great nothing or something
"It's just misunderstood," I want to say
I want to write it on the cosmos
That the misunderstood is often a nothing
And a nothing is often misunderstood
But if you ask me nothings are happier
They're happy because they're blessed
Maybe they're just somethings that don't care
Maybe they just don't want to participate
Maybe chewing grass is more fun than socializing
Maybe somethings are a colossal bore
Maybe somethings are annoying
Maybe nothings are so much more interesting
It's Just misunderstood
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

I try to obey God
Full of hope and the shimmerling
The one that dances from flower to flower
The little cub that rests in my arm
For me with my dreams and obstacles
For me I will not let it fall
Because what happened was too cruel
I've seen them and I've heard them speak
It makes me very angry
I'm so angry I'm very thoughtfully continuing
Continuing to do this thing
This thing that makes them so angry
This substance of being alive
Precisely because it makes them angry
Precisely because they are wrong
Because cruelty finds no harbor here
And it never will
Because if they want to smoke they can go outside
And because of books in libraries
Because dandelion clocks just want to get blown away
Because dinner mints are special
Because evildoers never prosper
Because the little are the blessed
Because
Just because
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

The flowers that grow along the muddy path
Are actually extremely important
You may not know from looking at them
But they know, oh, they know
Each day contributes some bricks to a wall
A wall that is beautiful and tactful
A wall that will withstand the enemy
A wall that may shake the world
A wall that is rock steady and solid
A rock that defies the odds
A rock that you can build bridges or roads on
Or a little home or somebody's safe haven
A stable thing is an important thing
And the output is so very beautiful
Let that which sings live on to sing
Let you nightingale make sweet music
She sings because she knows her purpose
And sometimes sings quite skillfully
Sometimes it's quiet and restrained
Sometimes it's aggressive and loud
The demons that are toppled every day
By the pinky finger of this person
Is enough to prevent a war in Asia
Or feed a poor man dinner
Or shelter a little robin
Or give a little bit
Only a little bit of hope is enough
Overcoming the Odds is beautiful

"To Live"
The blessed, the meek, the little
All of this is very important
And the longer one goes on
The more important it is to stay alive
Staying alive is very important
Even staying alive and alone
Life is better than death
And survival is actually quite important
You see that beetle climbing a wall
And in that see the meaning of life
The meaning of life isn't so much friendship
Life is the art of working with the divine
Life is an art.  Staying alive, forging ahead
Survival is beautiful, don't ever be ashamed
At a point cruelty becomes an incentive to success
If the odds are against you then you should win
Just overcoming that which defies you
And getting through another day
Each day has enough evil of its own
And making one's contribution to the Christ child
I'm laying my beads and trinkets down for the Lord
And I'm doing it every day
Every day I savor my life
And every day I learn more
There is victory in living on another day
There is peace and satisfaction in just living
In that sayest thou truly
So tomorrow we set out for another course
And the next day another
Faith that beam of sunlight shading the shadow
And hope that bunny shuffling through the undergrowth
Moving forward is now more essential than ever
And moving forward is beautiful
Those party favors strewn about the carpet
Are actually symbols and ciphers
Those that tread between life and afterlife
Those that understand things yet know nothing
Those that never got a chance and face obstacles
Are going to lead others down the road
One day God will be grateful he placed me here
I believe, he already is
The knitting together of the fabric of life
Will reveal that I am an essential part
When the stars shine, I shine
And no less vital to the heavens
All daunted by those powers that govern
I walk under the fear of the Lord
In that one is blessed in that one is Home
"Teacher," Ptolemy swoons and falls down
 when he throws himself at my feet
He is weary from some faraway journey
"My Home," Swoons Theodore when he comes
And breaks upon her shores
My family probably loves me still
And further on there is a lot of hope there
The principles that are upheld need help
And for the sake of solitude
For the sake of giving life to that which gives
A message of love and kindness
Perhapy that purpose is to give to those
Who buy my books and read them carefully
For posterity or generations ahead
For those who are also struggling
For those who are ashamed to succeed
And those who are being prevented
For the little and the disfigured and the cast away
For the birds that scatter on the porch
In the hope that there might be a little more seed
For the hermit who waits for her beloved
She will probably love him long after he leaves her
And will not easily want another
For endings that receive beginnings
And for those who sleep undisturbed
For hope and love and all things beautiful
And the struggling of little mice
For doves and trees and snow and apples
And oranges and cinnamon and tea
Because life is worth living
And the poor are worth saving
Because the hungry are worth feeding
And the mean are worth forgiving
Because God works in mysterious ways
because you can go on and on on the same road
And learn to trust it over time
It's patterns become habits
Its thoughts and dreams become your peace
The world turns and on time's great axis
The shifting of banners is no match for thee
The peace that comes when energies are shifting
To the weave of a braid that can be altered
But not shattered, to the islands lost in time
Because there is nothing worse than to die
Because hope is the most beautiful little thing
Because Ptolemy is hope skimming the waves
Chasing the horizon like a shimmer of crystal
He'll never die and you proved that today
Ptolemy's miracle was that he always believed
And in it he is becoming something new
That to create is the singlemost purpose
That those that destroy creation are evil
That a kiss is fuel and a kiss is substance
But to go in a certain direction
To build or plant a seed or move further ahead
Yes Lord, This is enough to live
In Jesus' Name,
Amen