In hope a light that saves the drowning
The light at the edge of the dawn
Troubles must pass eventually
The storm must settle down
That hell through which you navigate
Will be overcome eventually
And for your deeds to those you meet
May you inherit eternity
I sent you hope in a letter once
I sealed it with a prayer
The storm blows on but it endures
I'm writing you yet another
Clash of kingdoms and pride of lords
All Gods requiring obeisance
But as for us, we will be safe here
We will not pray to anyone
Sustained by the life forces of time
There will be safety here
And you shall have a hobby horse
And a place to lie your head
Of misfortunes there are many still
They cry from across the door
Yet safe are you and I my child
We'll eat sandwiches together
Physical beauty is overrated
And so is success and fame
Intelligence is overrated too
And I often walk alone
When the Gods swear revenge on you
Just smile and walk on
Revenge and jealousy are thorns to me
But still I endure and continue
Heads bowed with suffering, we walk on
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Where waters flow in darkness there is light
Where the adult child lays forsaken by God
Where the discouraged are knocked down yet again
Where there is hardship, there is light
In the forsaken, meaning
And in things forgotten, eternity
The waters that feed the land are feeding us all
And through the black storm, a light
Through oppression, deliverance
And through torture, the startling clearness of revelation
When one door closes, another opens
And that which is most forsaken wins
The world lays still under the stars
Waiting for a sign from heaven
In my heart, a blizzard blows on and on
Day after day the snow falls in darkness
And forms press into and out of it
Speaking with me as friends
I listen and I learn things about them
About struggles and the rules of the rulers
I learn about pain when they torture me
And when they bring gifts I am grateful
Beyond them the waters are flowing through the dark
With a steadiness that steadies me
All things coming or going are passing without harm
Without struggle and without evil
Once I was a beautiful girl but now I have grown old
My pain seeps into the water
It becomes part of the earth and I lose place and time
I become that which I was writing about
When I die I hope to become the things I wrote about
The still and the intricate and the cold and bright
Like snowflakes cut out of aluminum or porcelain dolls
I hope to overcome that which overcomes me
All goodness is energy that flows and unflows
It echoes in the sounds of creation
Your voice and my heart and the water and the night
All hings lost and forgotten
In peace the hope that lives on unrelinquished
In hope the final answer
The vagabond that wanders through the desert forever
Is calling me by the name
I follow the star that wanders without settling on anything
And that which expects nothing of me
Just peace that falls like the endless chain of being
And destiny that leads me there
All wandering without form the nameless hunters
That hunt without wanting to heal
Are thirsty for blood that is not their own
But you and I will not be there
May we be undestroyed when the fever sets in
May we overcome that which overcomes
May the forsaken be raised and the prosperous thrown down
May the little crawl out from the corn
May that which had nothing have something at last
And may nothing be killed or tortured
List listen to the voice of the wind that blows
And in that find sustenance and peace
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

"Godless Faith"
When I look out across the water I see a truth
A truth that has no face or name
It's glowing in the night and all around
And I hear it in the blowing of the wind
And the steam that leaves my mouth it endures
Bringing answers from far across the dark and light
Like rivers without purpose it flows in the night
Like plants that grow through tillage or fairies in the night
Like kittens learning to fend for themselves
Or people without a God in things they cannot understand
Whispering words of hope to the lost and downtrodden
And it has no face and no name
I continue on in my little life with hope
Where there is no hope yet still I hope on
And Gods will fall and rise but I
I will endure with this all-enduring spirit
Telling me everything is going to be okay
Some people belong to primordial forces
Some people know who they are
I'll follow my truth into the blue mountains
And hide there with all the happiness I've found
I'll keep it in my heart like origami
And brush the earth without a sound
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

The lights glow on in the green-black night
The trees tall and vigilant like knights in shining armor
You just stand there and feel the night tingling against your skin
And the insects cry out in anger under the low-hanging moon
Long nights have I journeyed to your weary shores
And now here I must crash down at your feet
You live and you try and you fall down and die
The pennies that you earned are scattered on the wind
All that's gained is suddenly lost again
And what you worked so hard to win is lost
But in your grief I find a meaning that is substantial
And crashing waves rush ahead for your victory
They take back the part of you that was lost
They take it back into the dark and lonesome eternity
It's lost and no one can get it back again
But there's meaning in the tears that are shed
Maybe we must suffer to go home again
Maybe suffering is necessary to the returning
I fell down at your feet and asked for mercy
I didn't know what you would do
You smiled and told me to get up and help you
And I did it without fear
We'll go on this way a million miles
A million miles and eternity
Let's get lost in eternity
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

"The Lion"
Sometimes you come towards me with the coolness of a cat
Cool with an effortlessness that proves the existence of God
With a flip of your hair the foundations shake and groan with dread
Your beauty is something that I could not capture myself
There's fire burning in you and the shining glint of a blade in fight
Nothing, nor any world, could tame you
Until wear and tear of torture pulls you down with a sucking sound
Yet even that you have survived and your cry
When you cry the diamonds trickle from your shiny straight hair
They fall to the floor and shatter like bombs in the wilderness
There's the wrath of God in those that harm you now
And you are His Child and always will be
He made you beautiful without blemish and victorious until the end
A noble lion in a cage roaring with all the wrath of the jungle
It's better to be his servant because there's only one of him
Just take these breadrolls and pass them out to the people for him
His visions spread wider than the plague over the continents
And his dreams must not be barred
Do what he tells you because he knows what he is doing
He is the leader you've always wanted to follow
He's being repressed and tortured by those in power now
But can never really fade
Sometimes you don't have to rule the world to be on top
Sometimes power corrupts and a smile is enough
Just to be his servant is enough
There is a very long way to go forward
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

I hope you wear galoshes and chase your dragon
That there is always somewhere warm to go afterwards
I hope you find the answer to your geometry problem
And that your flaws are their own grace
I hope you understand love and physical forces
Like a weaving that follow seamlessly together
A cloth that weave themselves in and out
Or a winding road that leads you all the way home
I hope there's always enough of everything
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

"Love One Another"
And when I'm finally tired and lost
And my legs and body have failed me
When there's nothing left to go on
When we run out of luck at last
I guess we'll dry up like leaves in the chaff
I guess we'll die in pain
Perhaps there is no answer to that question
Perhaps I'll never see you again
To kill that which cries is what they do
And It's a better way to go at last
You cry and fight for the one you love
And you do it till it kills you
Sometimes death is the only way out
Sometimes you're trapped and have no way out
I dearly hope you cry your little heart out
I pray you cry until they finally kill you
There is only so much we can do to fight evil
Sometimes it is the purity of heart that wins
The purity of simple broken tears that fall
The tears that save the world
When terrible is too cruel to understand it
Just return it by being too kind
Kindness and love really are the way out of life
They really are the answer to all this suffering
Love and Kindness are the answer to cheese fries and tv
And walking in the rain and working to provide
Because aliens wander that lonesome galaxy on and on
Yet they aren't getting any closer to what they seek
The answer to that question wasn't anything of geometry
It wasn't in connecting one point to another
The answer wasn't in fuel tanks or provisions or staying warm
Though those things are sweet to the soul
The answer wasn't in wandering or fighting or eating gourmet food
It wasn't in money under the Christmas tree
It wasn't in fancy cars or a clean doctor's bill
It wasn't in being warm or having a place to go
The answer's symbolized briefly in the Christ Child
And it is felt most strongly at Christmas
It's when people sacrifice their needs for one another
When people give what they have to their friends
In smiles and greetings and second shances and forgiveness
In having fun and dancing and sharing secrets together
The answer is in the reasons we cry
It's in the reason it hurts to be alone
It's why we feel so safe and warm when we're loved
And why our hearts break when we are unloved
Don't throw things at others, don't be cold
And give what you have to your fellow man
Be good to yourself because self-love is important too
Self-love is crucial to being happy
You can be homeless and still love yourself
You can be perfectly happy with nothing
Just to sit still and be perfectly happy
Just to smile at a pretty sunset
Life is pleasant and the sweetest smile
Comes from those with the least things
There is a freedom in being kind and giving things away
It doesn't matter how much or how little you have
To sit on the side of the road and eat chili fries
And to be grateful as anything for your warm shoes
To be grateful for whatever you have and give things away
To dance every day of your life
The world lays like an oyster waiting to be opened
And the body is capable os feeling so much pain
Don't focus on the pain just let it all go
Pain is fleeting like an April snow
Just take what you are given and partake with God
And love one another
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

The snow is beating hard and fast
A cat creeps out into the silent snow
Her feet padding holes into the snow
And disappears as quietly as she came
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

"The Lost Children"
Some Lost Children of the night
Are wandering without sound
From under the dark doorways of the poor
They're creeping out hand in hand
Soft nests of brown tuft tucked under
And in their eyes is a hunger
They creep into the night on the back of the dragon
That carries them softly into the city
The lights are lit with low somnolent rumour
And ghosts prowl the sides of the lonely streets
Without purpose they wander because they are not
And little ones nesting wait with eager hearts
Until the great palace chants beating, beating
The drums crying for human sacrifice
Blood pulses in the ears where the people chant
Dancing with rhythmical movements
And the warriors vie for the onlookers
And I cannot help but feel afraid
If I am an ancient queen
And the Nile carries me further away
What will the dancers do to me
Should I reveal that I am afraid
But they are not afraid, no they are angry
As they pound their feet and lean forward
All lost, all lost I watch them
I'm holding your little hand
Holding it safe inside of my own
Because you are more important than the world
And suddenly the horns ring out
Like angels in long white robes
Then gifts are lain at the children's feet
They throw toys at their feet as they sing hymns
The children watch silently with big surprised eyes
And listen to the eerie and beautiful singing
They are served pillowy warm fried cakes
And while they eat, there is dancing
The boy cries out excited with joy
And the girl listens quietly
They creep back into the night in the dark
On the back of their trusty dragon
And fishbowls of light glimmer on the shores
Of the waters that mark the way home
If beggars come softly to your door
Then turn then not away
Feed them pillowy fried cakes and dance
And throw toys at their feet and sing
For verily this is Christmas Day
And this is the meaning of Christmas
To eat and be merry and give
And to love one another
To do unto one another
As you would have them do unto you
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

"Your hand"
When I came in to bed tonight
Your hand was stretched across my pillow
And you were deep in sleep
The span of your fingers marks all things
The distance between two points
The reasons I cry on my birthday
And the one Christmas gift you never put down
The reasons some people never get to be happy
And why young children cry
All hope for you in your heart
Was the distance between your fingers
Like dolphins curbing the ivory coast
Or flowers alight in your hair
Your beauty was born of briefness
That I will not always be there
The pain in your outstretched arms
Encompassed for me all of life's meaning
It's sleeping in the flames like a puppy
It's underneath the snow
It's when you are most afraid
That you get the closest to it
And things that are hidden in packages
And things that are too late to be learned
Things lost without an answer
And things hat will never be found
"Oh Wife," your fingers whispered
As I pulled back the covers
No more to be your protector
But many leagues till then
Let's take what we are given
And enjoy that which we have
Your long, tapered fingers tell everything
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Oh light without a second hope
And light without an answer
Oh light with nowhere to escape to
And light with nothing to do
Oh innocent beings that suffer
And people without a home
Why is God's child crying
Why is someone all alone
Why has God forsaken someone
Who tried so hard to praise him
What if that one praises him still
Oh, won't that shake the rafters
What if he finds meaning in all the chaos
What if he finds a way through
What if there's hope in the silence
What will hell's borders do
What if the answer he sought
Is within some little flower
What if there's hope in the future
What if he finds some magic power
What if God comes to comfort him
In his Island of despair
Will the powers that Be, be shaken then
Will that which takes despair
Will he find his way through night and day
To the ivory coast of the shore
Sometimes living's not the highest gift
Sometimes there are more important powers
So when you hear of this prisoner
Wish upon a star for him
He's carrying the cross of Christ
And some hairpins and candy
What then, Oh Lord
Will you deliver our helpless soldier
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

Under the stars, the still white stars
Our hero is alone tonight
All swallowed up in the doom of all things
He endures like a little dandelion
With nothing there to protect him
He pines away with his conscience
Alone and without comfort
It's a terrible way to go
And if there is anyone to help him
His help must come from afar
The lights in the sky that guide this child
The shining of the stars
Don't you know his dreams are sweet
And his nights must be so long
The hero with the courage to try
And the little voice that comforts him
What hope is there for He?

Softly brushed onto low-hanging boughs of fir
The snow hangs heavy like fresh biscuits
And the dark cool green of the trees are thinking
Beneath them, sorting out the problem of the snow
That holds their fragile needles down
The sun is high and piercing in a blank blue sky
The snow has already fallen in the night
One can pad out in the snow with tender feet
And it creaks like a rocker under a grandmother's weight
The trees drinking the cold icewater from beneath
And one must struggle to breathe in
It is so still in the pine forest
Inside the cabin there are oranges scattered on a wooden table
And you can walk back inside and shut the door softly
While the heat surrounds you and takes off your coat
You peel an orange all in one peeling in a spiral
And lay your crocheted hat down on the table beside the oranges
And warm yourself to the heater that makes the electric buzz
And look at a magazine that takes you faraway
The bed is made up in the corner with a blue, white and red quilt
And your boots are laying against the side of it
Corner pulled back to show a soft set of sheets
And the refrigerator is full of salami and cheese
There is a photogeraph of someone expected for Christmas
And a radio beside your bed
You take off your clothes and crawl into bed
And turn on the radio and listen to the oldies
And stare off into space
Hugging yourself to yourself and thinking
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

'Listening"
A Cathedral lying gently in the snow
Of a long, dark and cold night
Inside, there is a lady praying
She repeats the words over and over
With her hands folded softly together
The winter night swirls on and on
But she is still praying to herself
She rises and silently leaves
Walking through the snow to get home
The snow piles up against the door
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

When I look out on the sky at night
I do not feel alone
For you are my paradise and my world beyond
And that I want to get lost into
If you were a world I'd wander off in it
And explore all the things that make you you
I'd get lost in learning why you smile
And when a tear trickles down your face
I'd charge into fearless war
There is no fathom to that terrible pain
No end to the suffering you feel
I hope they have mercy on you forever
Forever and ever and ever
In Jesus' Name,
Amen

I could kiss you a million times
And never become weary of kissing you
The suffering you feel now is not in vain
Some leagues hence you will be grateful for it
Like hard work put in that will pay off
Some day you will walk in the sun again
And no one will ever hurt you anymore
The messenger that runs beneath the stars
To tell his master of some great danger
May he protect you from a worser fate
A fate you do not deserve
May you be safe when the storm is crashing down
All around in fractured and colorless images
Somewhere in this madness I hope you find peace
I hope you find someone you would die for
If you would die to save the person you love
If you really love them not for physical beauty
But just because, then, that is enough
I hope you find it
In Jesus' Name,
Amen