hidden in the winter woods
bare and swaying in the breeze
she looks down upon the ground
as if to beckon fallen leaves
sweetly shy she shivers
blushes red with every dawn
till her lover comes with spring
to slip her new dress on
Tag Archives: poetry
night
pinpricks in black paper sky
backlit by bright prying eyes
darkness stalks a lone streetlight
it flickers in its futile fight
swirling streaks of shadow gray
no sun to scare the clouds away
glowing moonlight as they pass
just as they had been forecast
second story
in the spring another fall
for the stubborn leaves that cling
to the now new budding branches
life pushes death out of the way
fluttering, twisting, fighting
bearing it’s own memory
these lonely strangers fall
once blessed with such a view
they gather in corners and whisper
tall tales from the elusive past
they wander dusty pavement
now slaves to old enemy breeze
settling on some cracked sidewalk
where Jeff loved Jane in 88
imitation immortality
fingers traced in wet cement
love now abandoned to excuses
once blessed with such a view
probably
if i took my turn under the lights
if i wasn’t home on friday nights
if i didn’t always need to be right
would she love me?
if i sang songs on the radio
if i sometimes said i have to go
if i wasn’t scared to tell her no
would she love me?
if i knew all of the latest bands
if i was there to hold her hand
if i was easier to understand
would she love me?
if i had some different skin
if i kept my faults hidden
if we had more things in common
would she love me?
if i was a lion and not a lamb
if i just didn’t give a damn
if i was not who i am
would she love me?
abandon my hope
1-15-01
—–
oh yeah i’m feeling the burn alright
the soft ache of a silent night
it’s not so much that i’m lonely
it’s not so bad that i’m me
i’ve got a stack of distractions
waiting for me to take action
but i’m stuck on the maybe you might
want to waste some time tonight
tv, flicker on, and save me from
lessons learned that strike me dumb
i am not defined by a telephone ring
i should not wish for such things
like an empty roll and a strangers place
to ask for help is to risk disgrace
but everyone feels this way today
but only i have the guts to say
i don’t care that it’s foolish
i don’t care that i’m wasting a wish
the world can’t tell me what to do
i cannot abandon my hope for you
i am winter
1/4/2001
i am winter come to ruin
the promise of last spring
with freezing rain on window panes
i am death of everything
there is no guilt or sadness
for summer’s come and gone
each has had their day
i am dusk for every dawn
at the end of december
12-31
—–
every person in my universe
has something better to do
than to just check up on me
before the year is new
every tear that i have wasted
every tear wiped on my sleeve
is all from beautiful lies
i tried to believe
too old to feel so fresh
why does the pain return
same way i cross bridges
that have burned
ah, but it’s no tragedy
no, they all will say they care
it’s just that they’re too busy
and that’s only fair
but i would like to be
someone to remember
someone to be with
at the end of december
pardon
12/16/2000
spotlights stroll the prison yard
i’m stuck back in a shadow
fifty feet from the closest wall
watching dogs alert with my fear
a tug of a leash and it’s clear
i start out slow, unsure of the plan
they’re looking for reasons to kill a man
cheek to the wall, grabbing at brick
the harsh glow passes, just at my feet
and i pull and grunt almost shout
but make it up there – halfway out
but what does freedom offer me
here i get meals and a place to sleep
maybe the best i could ever find
maybe the world is worse than i recall
and i call out for some help down
the dogs let loose and soon surround
the pounding thought, “what have i done”
i should have had the nerve to run
it’s not so bad, the slamming cell door
just that i’ve been here before
i can never go back to when this was new
when i heard stories and believed a few
no, now i have the facts of the matter
regret for the deed that brought me here
the cold ringing of taunting keys
someone is here to see me
they lead me out – into sunlight
and the gate is sliding…click
i turn around and face my past
sealed up tight and silent
but this is not fair, this is not right
who sleeps in my cell tonight?
no hope of parole, no i had to die
could someone have changed their mind?
oh i draw a breath of fresh, free air
to ask, “why am i here, and who is in there?”
trepidation
10/25/2000
God, if i give you what you’ve earned
the sacrifice that is meant to burn
what will become of the world i know
shallow laughs with lies below
trepidation, face of fear
as Your promised land draws near
what if i can’t handle being real
what if i break what time can’t heal
but there’s the answer, time is myth
just a curse that breath comes with
and only your touch makes one of two
and let’s me free of the things i do
when Christ walked here, He did not sin
did He sometimes feel trapped in His skin
no, time was the cage that humbled the King
trapped in minutes from eternity
do you remember, or have you moved on
sitting in darkness, waiting for dawn
it’s past midnight here, what can i do
i have no choice but to wait on You
arizona rain
10-10-2000
—–
inspiration like arizona rain
falls on the sand it abandoned
flows life through the land like veins
i’ve never been to arizona
maybe a clue to what i’m missing
a lifevest thrown from a passing plane
‘we won’t be able to save you, son
but we’ll send someone you’re way’
oceans are deserts when you’re left alone
and dipping waves give no glimpse of home
was the promise a lie, a mirage in the sky?
forgotten flood as the land goes dry?
no, i am clutching to the proof of hope
bobbing in an ocean of reality
no, these cactus thorns are sharp with life
the desert sports a new coat of green
all i need will forever surround
lifevests for oceans, rain for dry ground
could this be what tv tells me?
a so far product of eternity?
my faith falls short of the popular claim
we merely meander ’round a ball of flames
for i see a rhythm in the world
these swelling waves keep perfect time
lost in this blue i am privy to truth
contentment will always deny
i am broken, no matter since when
i cannot conquer my eventual end
i haven’t the power to change my mind
i am found more than i find
this desert ocean gives me a voice
through cracked lips i must rejoice
mercy is granted because of my deeds
grace is given in excess of my needs
raindrops bring word of God’s faithfulness
rescue ships sail with a bounty of goodness
though i will never be worthy
these are the gifts God has given me