The Wind
The wind is calling me,
Its siren song echoing across the sky
Catching the trees in its turbulent embrace
Sweeping down from the skies to grace the earth with a kiss
While leaves scuttle and dance down the street.
The wind is calling me,
Winding its way past the pages of time
Pausing by a viewpoint high above the evergreens
Rocky crags surrounded by stunted oak and smooth arbutus
Where the ravens soar and dance on a radiant autumn day.
The wind is calling me,
Beckoning me back to the shores of the sea
Where breakers roar and crash on the rocks
While the wind sends glistening spray skyward
And there is salt in the air.
The wind is calling me,
Sweeping aside the cold concrete of the city
Unveiling a haven where the world is wild and green
I find myself following ancient paths
With wonder and adventure around every bend.
The wind is calling me.
Sometimes the silence
Sometimes the silence is deafening.
Oppressive weight crushing my chest
Of words that can’t be said
And tears that can’t be cried
The ache of all that should not be
The thieving tide, unpredictable,
Turning, seeping away
Beyond my reach.
Sometimes the silence is deafening.
Sometimes the silence is holy.
Seeping into every corner of my being,
Sacred and undefinable,
Gently bidding me to linger still
Where presence is a gift,
And all that is required.
Sometimes the ache is right and good
And eternity bends close.
Sometimes the silence is holy.
Do you mind?
We’ve been trained and been drilled,
learned our lesson so well:
the tenets upon which our culture stands—
keep your hands off.
Every person’s an island,
so mind your own business.
But if our own business is all we mind,
everyone else is left behind.
How can we be so blind
to the lonely and hurting,
averting our eyes
from each sight that implies
we may not be quite as self-sufficient
as we want to believe.
We deceive ourselves,
ignoring those who don’t have a voice,
who can’t make the choice
to cry for help.
When we’re so busy with our own business
we don’t even notice
when people disappear right from under our noses.
And they’re gone,
and they know they were right all along
because nothing really changes.
Relationship was just an illusion.
A delusion
that someone might actually care
if I’m even there.
But they care.
At least, they think they do—
they’re trying to,
but how can someone really know it’s true
when all you’re given are post-it notes
slipped from prison cell to prison cell
with meaningless platitudes
and out of context Bible verses.
We know there should be so much more
than our poor attempts
at reaching beyond the wall we’ve built
to hide ourselves from discomfort.
While handshakes are nice and all
they tend to fall
a little short
when you are drowning.
How can we even show that we care more
when we’re trained to ignore
those we pass on the street
all the strangers we meet
that we greet
and forget.
Good wishes without substance are not very appealing,
and caring isn’t just a feeling.
But no one will ever know its there
if we won’t dare
to step out of our little box
into the mess of others’ lives.
So would you mind
if we could mind
just a little more than we do,
and find
perhaps
we are the lonely and hurting ones
too.
brutus
Dark eyes look in mine for the last time
As the knife slices between my ribs.
Pain explodes.
Lifeblood oozes out of me
Staining everything red.
I can’t look away.
Where was Laocoon’s warning?
I accepted your gift without question,
Heedless of Cassandra’s cries
Until—too late—
The charade was over
And Troy began to burn.
You got what you wanted,
And you’re finished with me;
Thrown to the floor with Tamar.
What you called love was only a delusion.
There was no kiss
When you sold me for thirty pieces of silver;
Instead, you said your farewell
With a twist of the blade
And a kick in the gut.
Isaiah 9:2
The people walking in darkness
walking in depression
walking in anxiety
walking in grief
walking in fear
lost and alone
Have seen a great light
a great hope
a great peace
a great joy
a great love
a Saviour
On those living in the land of deep darkness
the land ravaged by famine
the land torn by war
the land shattered by injustice
the land numbed by affluence
a broken and hurting world
A light has dawned
a hope has dawned
a peace has dawned
a joy has dawned
a love has dawned
God is with us
Cry
I want to see you cry
see the tears in your eyes
and know that she mattered
to you
Feel the throb well up
in my own heart
because I loved her
too
I want to know
I’m not alone
in this darkness they call
grief
This pain dammed up
inside of me
your tears give me
relief
I want to see you cry
see the tears in your eyes
and feel that it is
true
That when you trust me
with your tears
my tears become safe
too
children of the wind and sky
Children of the wind and sky,
Dancing across the fields,
Hair blowing in the breeze,
Swept back from shining eyes
And dazzling smiles.
Children of the water and waves,
Laughter bubbling, brimming over,
Flinging recklessly into my arms,
Giggling, wriggling, fleeing,
Returning with arms open wide.
Children of the sea and sky,
Wild, chaotic beauty
Uncontainable within my arms;
Infectious delight of life itself
Frees my heart to soar with theirs.
Tender Heart
Tender heart,
you bleed all over
this broken, hardened world,
holding the shards
of yet another hope,
shattered beyond repair.
Aching heart,
drawing so tightly
within your paper-thin walls—
an illusion of shelter
between a cruel world
and your lifeblood.
Courage, dear heart,
your spirit bears
within this gift of pain
a gentleness so strong
to die a thousand deaths
and still know how to cry.
Be Still, Little One
Memorial Garden
do ashes feel the cold
do they know
that life once flowed hot
through their veins
why should absence hurt so much
does the wind just blow
or is a heart behind it
and does it make a difference
to these tears
loving never really stops
do these words spoken here
somehow mean more
than words we’ve spoken
somewhere else
walls of stone cannot contain you
freer than you’ve ever been
does there come a day
the flowers fade
and no one visits
anymore
maybe I will have a little girl someday
is it strange that I still see
God’s loving hand
beyond the ache and tears
a gift
While it was Still Dark
She knew what hopelessness was like
But this time somehow it was worse
For she knew love and hope and peace
Then watched as senseless violence burned
Her hope and future into ash
The one she loved, teacher and friend
Tortured and murdered ruthlessly
The eyes that saw her see no more
The hands that touched and healed the sick
Now bloodied, mutilated, dead
Despair and fear now fill her heart
As friends disperse, flee for their lives
And yet she cannot stay away
Her heart still yearns for what is lost
She slips away, out of the city
While it was still dark.
With heavy heart she seeks the tomb
No hopes or plans in mind except
To be close to the one she loved
To care for him one final time
She weeps and walks her lonely road
Believing that this is the end
But soon she’ll find the tomb unbarred
Her fear and sorrow overwhelmed
Engulfed by wonder beyond hope
Before her eyes he stands alive—
But she is still upon the road
In grief and darkness and despair
Continues faithful step by step
To where her heart at last will know
The miracle already happened
While it was still dark.
O Mountain
O Mountain, where have you gone?
Bulwark of strength
Unmovable
Beautiful, you pierced the sky,
Defined the horizon
Faithful guide
A solace once, for restless hearts
Place of belonging
Crumbled, gone
Compass points spin, undefined
Fearful absence dominates
A new horizon
But there is one unchangeable
A refuge still remaining
In the chaos
O Mountain, know I will not fear
Though all else may fall
Still He is here
From the Trees
Grow
straight and tall
Reach
toward the giver of light
Stretch
wide your arms to receive all that is poured out to you
Embrace
those growing beside you
Breathe
the free air once again
Fear, Your Day Is Over
Fear, your day is over.
I have listened long enough
To your whispers and lies
That seek to paralyze and haunt me.
I used to be your plaything
Caught in your icy grip
Drowning in waves of terror
You had your fun
As each new fear
Tightened your chains.
You thought I was yours
But your pride was your downfall
For you pulled the chains too tight
And I recognized you for who you are
And remembered
I know the one who has the key.
Fear, I know your little game now
Every time you stole my imagination
Filling it with endless things
That could go wrong
You piled calamity upon calamity
I died a thousand deaths
But you could not touch me
What would you have me fear now?
You have said it all before.
There’s no reason for me to fear you
Or listen to your whispered lies
You do not define me
I live in the house of love
I belong to the Prince of Peace
Fear, your day is over
I am free.
Pentecost
A vessel, dry
An empty cup
In your great pow’r
Come! Fill it up.
A body, dead
A hope denied
In your mercy
Breathe life inside.
A life laid down
Called by your name
In your great love
Come! Light your flame.
