Once we find beauty in the everyday things we find ourselves able to see God where he truly is—all around us, inside us, in even our one-time enemies. He makes his presence known in the sparrow as clearly as in the tender embrace of a dear friend. Moreover, we find love in the most unexpected places. When the purity of God is finally clear, so too is the perfection of his will, how in his wisdom we are carried over the dregs and doldrums of life to rest comfortably in his arm. New marriage parallels the refreshing of the seasons as an age of rediscovery begins.

Act 1: Springtime Blossom Bean Stalks

On A Walk Before A Rain

No sound but that of rushing wind

that brushes light the textured skin,

as if a fine tuned violin,

on a walk before a rain.

Above mix forms of drifting cloud,

surrounding willows weep aloud,

(what company, the solemn crowd!)

on a walk before a rain.

Still mirror surface, clear upon

concentric circles, dripped in pond,

where two-way glass meets dipping fronds,

on a walk before a rain.

Shadows—dominant, serene;

bluish grays meet forest green,

all is calm and all is clean,

on a walk before a rain.

Exhumed

By this point, life

had sucked out my energy,

and I was weary and old,

a battered man at the end.

My days were nothing but

misery and apathy,

dreary and cold…

then, somehow, a friend!

God, I adore you!

What’s this—a smile!?

You exhume me

when I bury myself.

And now laughter,

class, and style;

I raise a glass and

drink to your health.

Soften Me

If I could spend an hour in your room,

talking to you, what would you say?

If you could walk a mile in my shoes,

feet black and blue, would you walk away?

If I could read truth in your eyes,

never disguised, what would I find?

If I could know tones of your speech,

interpret them each, could I read your mind?

Give me an hour of your time

and I'll give you my heart.

Knock me down,

crack the exterior;

I'll fall apart.

Shelter me from the cold,

almost frozen, all alone;

melt my heart with your kiss,

throw a coin in the well,

make a wish.

I'm numb with frost,

but warmth you breathe;

thaw my emotions,

soften me.

If you comprehended my

words, meanings unearthed,

would you understand?

If you touched the sorrows

inside, longings denied,

would you touch my hand?

If I should step out from

my grave, long to be saved,

could you nurse the wounds?

And if I have missed out

on living, and you feel forgiving,

may I leave my tomb?

Give me an hour of your life

and I'll give you much more;

I'm freezing outside,

knocking sadly,

open the door.

Shelter me from the cold,

almost frozen, all alone;

melt my heart with your kiss,

throw a coin in the well,

make a wish.

I'm numb with frost,

but warmth you breathe;

thaw my emotions,

soften me.

Drag me in from the snow,

frozen solid, cold as stone;

heat me up with a kiss,

capture a shooting star,

make a wish.

I'm encased in ice,

summer you breath;

thaw my emotions,

soften me.

Exploding Dreams

I dreamt you a princess,

what you deserve;

I dreamt me an outlaw,

seeking your favor,

seeking to serve.

I dreamt you enlightened,

while I was in pitch;

I groped through the open

to where you had spoken,

and fell in a ditch.

My heart exploded

when I saw you;

now my epic

was complete.

You toted hope to

where I broke into

a thousand little

pieces of memory;

you opened and bled for me.

You were a missing child,

a mystery to solve;

in this scenario, I was

behind on the rent

when she called.

You were a circus act,

I needed to laugh;

you were the core of the earth,

so I cracked the world in half.

My heart exploded

when I noted you,

beneath a sheet

of cloth.

I overloaded

when you soaked into

the stitch of me

I’d lost in a whirlwind;

I’m smitten with pearl again,

in my exploding dream.

I Think I’ve Fallen In Love

Some batty thing is happening

that I just can’t explain;

some crazy thing is stirring

my emotional remains.

I’d a heart that was useless

and fruitlessly plain,

until you discovered its uses again.

I think I’m falling. I think I’m falling.

I think I’ve fallen in love.

Well certainly absurdity’s

reversed to be the norm;

certain things are burning

hot enough to keep me warm.

I’d a notion that oceans of fish had run dry;

the mood turned, you swam

through the highest of tides.

I think I’m falling. I think I’m falling.

I think I’ve fallen in love.

Parenthetical Gothic Elsewhere

When you look this way,

when there is nothing more

your eyes can say,

I will stare you down,

you’ll be my queen, you’ll be

impaled on my crown.

In a castle on a hill,

the candle burning

on your window sill,

and the cold outside

attempts to scale the wall

and steal my bride.

Under a frightened sky,

the silence echoes with

your torturous cries;

oh, if I lose you now,

curse this tragedy that

threatens our vows!

(Fantasy is so much easier

than living in reality,

in my head is far more

pleasant than outside,

ignorance is far, far

sweeter than tolerance;

mercy on me, wisdom—

I beg you to pass me by.)

When you turn away,

when there are no thoughts

or words exchanged,

will you tear me down?

Act 2: Shimmering, Simmering, Feverish Summer

Virgin Eden

The water falls to my silent delight,

flows through the crevices of stone.

My thoughts are hazy in

the sun that dims my sight,

in this remote place all alone.

Far away from

monuments and signs;

isolated quarantine

of sighs.

The swallow dips its wings

in flutters by the pool,

chirps a greeting to a fawn.

Butterflies drift slowly by

the swaying shadow’s cool,

to join the dragonflies

in cattails on the pond.

Mountain valley

hideaway, serene;

picture perfect

postcard of a scene.

Untouched by

human hand,

virgin Eden’s

promised land;

white sand,

clear water,

blue sky.

Duality

Watching strangers pass,

splitting blades of grass,

all alone;

pulling out the weeds,

sipping herbal tea,

tossing stones.

There’s a silence in who

you perceive that I am;

there’s a lion, lying in

the pasture by a lamb.

There’s a science to making

you believe I fit in;

a fair alliance between

the mountains and the wind.

I Can’t Believe It

I can’t believe you said yes to me;

I can’t believe you didn’t turn and run.

I can’t believe you’re standing here next to me,

agreeing with me, to be one.

Believe it if you can;

I’m giving you everything I am.

I am in love with you so deeply;

I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true.

I am in love with you completely;

no one means as much to me as you.

Time has yet to prove

there’s nothing I won't see you through;

I promise I’ll be anywhere you need me,

just to show you how I care.

Believe it if you can;

this is part of some eternal plan,

that I’m in love with you so madly,

the thought of you alone can make me cry.

I am in love with you so badly,

I gladly do commit to this new life

—a life in love with you.

I can’t believe I could be so lucky;

I can’t believe you really did agree.

I can’t believe how wide good fortune’s smiling;

I can’t believe my God’s so good to me.

Believe it if you can;

we never have to sleep alone again.

I am in love with so purely;

I want to be the best friend I can be.

I am in love with you so surely;

I can’t believe that you’re in love with me.

I am in love with you forever;

love will hold us close together.

How I love you.

Weeble Wobble Wonderbread

I’m in love with a girl without legs;

I felt, and they simply weren’t there.

Everyone was laughing at me,

and she didn’t care—she didn’t care!

The world had lost its patients with me;

she knew precisely what it was I needed.

In the midst of sheer humility,

she showed me true stability,

and held my hands with fingers

that much more sensitive.

Girls with legs, they lack perspective;

I couldn’t have been more selective.

I’m in love with a girl without legs;

she’s everything I want, and so much more!

(The possibilities are endless; it’s something

I’d not thought of much before.)

My beautiful amputee, you

bring such numbing bliss to me!

My lover and my friend, you

’re my pleasure, heaven-send!

I love my girl with no legs.

I love my girl with no legs, I do.

I love my girl with no legs;

I stand behind my words.

I love my girl with no legs.

She weebles and she wobbles,

but she won’t fall down.

Now

There’s so much my stumbling words

could say, but where would they begin?

They could nowhere near do justice

to the jumble of mumbles within.

Now is not the time for words,

just wade in the pools of my eyes,

pull yourself close to my chest and my

throat, and I’ll open to what it implies.

Never expected to be holding you so near;

I wouldn’t have thought you’d be

caught in my arms in a million years.

I witness our worlds moving closer,

and I wonder how; I’ve never been

so happy as I am right now.

Seeing you alone—I almost never get

that chance; I can’t help but think of how

this night might be enhanced.

Soft upon my skin, you breathe mint

and curl in, glisten with magic,

listen emphatically to the wind.

Never expected to be holding you so dear;

I wouldn’t have thought I’d be

lost in the darkness of your tears.

I see our worlds intertwining,

winding ‘round our vows; I’ve never been

so happy as I am right now.

Changing from the inside out,

now that I’ve seen love;

leaving would be suicide

—I’ll never have enough.

Listen to my heartbeat,

tapping in Morse code;

with no one there to rap against,

my overactive heart would explode.

Never expected to be holding you so near;

I wouldn’t have thought you’d be

honestly taken, and join me here.

I’ve seen my world brightened

and lighthearted since you’ve come around;

I’ve never been so happy as I am right now.

Asleep

Drift—pulled under current

(current) swept in wonder soft;

swiftly blissful entrance

(entrance) into bedroom loft.

And I don’t feel I am dreaming,

and I don’t feel any hurt at all;

in a small way, I must be asleep.

Held snug, securely, surely

sweet surrounding arm;

lullaby, good bye, good night,

encompass you from harm.

And I don’t feel I am losing

any moment’s pressing need,

or bleeding; I must be asleep.

Daylight comes, daylight goes,

flowers bloom where it snows,

seasons change, heaven knows;

in serene, I must be asleep.

Act 3: Autumn Seasoning

Dusk At The Clearing Of The Wetland

Raindrops fall from leaves, upon

the rippled surface of the pond,

wrinkle soft reflections of the sky.

Purple clouds and orange moon

glide into the dry lagoon,

as animals retire and daylight dies.

Spanish moss sways in the breeze

that winds its way through crooked trees,

to oversee the dusk from where it hangs.

The silhouettes of branches stretch

their etches to the granite’s ledge,

where foliage dangles like fangs.

The world has nothing to compare,

it suffocates in pallid air;

I pray it never taints my paradise.

Dear sirs, dividing up the earth,

I’ll gladly pay you twice its worth,

if only for this perfect little slice

—this slice of paradise.

You’re Wonderful, You’re Mine, & I Love You

Changed faces worn down by fingertips;

names and places, only sampled lips.

I turn the page, it seems like ages ago;

must be someone else, someone I don’t know.

But you’re now and you’re here and you’re real;

you’re now and you’re near, and I feel so I alive

in your mind, in the thoughts on your lips;

you’re completion in purity,

everything I’ve missed.

Don’t worry, you’ll never catch me

in a hurry to hang up the phone.

Don’t fret it, I won’t forget that you’re

the only reason I’m rushing home.

‘Cause you’re wonderful,

you’re mine, and I love you.

A trunk in the bedroom,

full of relics from our youth,

could use some sorting through

—I’d rather look at you,

who gave me everything

I ever hoped I’d find;

how’d I get so lucky

you agreed to be mine?

You’re now and you’re here and you’re real;

you’re now and you’re near, and I feel so blessed

with the best, most perfect thing on earth;

the most virtuous, extravagant

pearl of priceless worth!

Don’t worry, you didn’t catch me

in a flurry of emotional haze.

Don’t sweat it, I don’t regret that you’re

my reason for greeting the days.

‘Cause you’re wonderful,

you’re mine, and I love you.

You’re wonderful, you’re mine,

and I love you.

In My Eyes

The way the light gleams in your eye,

the way the night beams in reply,

the way the earth whispers your name,

the way it pours you in the rain,

the way you take shape in the clouds,

the way you stand out from the crowds,

the way you pin prick my nerves,

the way you run me down your curves.

I couldn’t say just what I’m feeling;

you are in every way appealing.

You’re the only one—

I’m enchanted and amazed.

I stare for hours, powerless and enslaved.

In my eyes, you can do no wrong;

it’s no surprise I’ve

harbored dreams so long.

In my eyes, no other life exists;

you kiss the blisters, nurse my broken fists.

I barely touch you with a look,

you squarely undo every hook,

I press you well between my knees,

you lunge at the opportunity,

I jolt and recoil in surprise,

you soak in the depth

of the moat of my lies,

I cry, so overwhelmed with fears,

you cup your hands to catch my tears.

I wouldn’t know how to explain it;

I wouldn’t know what shade to paint it.

You’re the only one—

I’m blissful and intrigued.

I’m feverish, and melting in degrees.

In my eyes, you can do no wrong;

you materialize in the verses

of passionate songs.

In my eyes, no other life persists;

you breathe mint on my licorice,

lick clean the dish of my wish list.

Solace

Shiver, cold chill, cat on center stage,

study floor (at which point, he turns the page).

Something meaningful, something fleeting...

(at which point, his heart stops beating).

Not going to steal your thoughts,

but I’ll steal your mind

when you leave it lying on the table;

kick it under the love seat, swinger,

kick it as hard as you can

(after all, he’s only a man).

Now you know where my head is lately;

gutter-boy to laughing paisleys,

shadows drifting, while staying in place

(after all, he takes up space).

Cage-bed comfort zone

(after all, he slept alone);

not to look, but pierced with stares

(after all, life wasn’t fair).

Blind young lover, closet dancer,

notion; glimpse into the future—yes!

Crazy babe, lukewarm gentry host

(what happens next is anybody’s guess).

Drift

Packaged so perfectly, petite and frail,

gentle, so delicate, pallid and pale,

sleeping so silently, sign on the door, saying,

“DO NOT DISTURB”, hers, the dream I adore.

At night, as the stars on her ceiling look down,

in a dim flood of light, all her loneliness drowns,

with the vague recollection of things undefined,

unwonted telepathy swells in her mind.

Alone in my chambers, surrounded by walls,

no figure illumined to answer my calls;

when I scream into nothing, thoughts all a blur,

I’d imagine a new song, if only to her.

Formed so fantastically, fair and divine,

so very nice, and incredibly fine,

the child is a banshee, the rest are impressed,

such rapt infatuation, strapped at her breast.

In mourning we wake to this tragic design,

you rise to your ways and I fall to mine,

overcome by the madness of mundane replies,

you obscure views of the overcast I.

Asylum

A-rap-tap-tap... here’s the scenario:

the stereo is on the station playing

only slow songs, and the pelting on

the rooftop is another angel crying

from the shadow over dandelion lawns.

Up at dawn, while I sleep, you close

your eyes in the shower stream; and

me, still dreaming you’re lying there

near me. Dear, you go your way

through the day without a thought of me;

in jealousy, in honesty, it gets to me.

I hid my journal so you wouldn’t

see how foolish I am, what cheesy,

sentimental drivel I’ve been scribbling again.

The funny thing is how I really still mean

every word I erased, but inspiration goes

to waste on someone like me, who can’t

for the life of me explain what I meant

when I decided you were heaven sent.

You’re the epitome of everything

redeemable in lunacy; loosely translated,

you’re a daisy in a junkyard of stock cars,

whose owners are fat and lazy.

The world is crazy.

The world is crazy, so hold me;

hold me, baby... the world is crazy.

Act 4: The Lingering Wintergreen Kiss

Outside, A World Of White

It’s snowing on your face;

I can see.

Come in for the evening,

by the fire, you and me.

We’ll drink tea and coffee,

whisper softly,

count the gusts of wind.

We’ll talk for just a little while,

hours later, sit and smile;

let no other in.

Just the two of us;

outside, a world of white.

Just the few of us;

outside, a world of white.

Dashing

Like a northern winter snow,

like covers on the streets,

like the stars in summer skies,

or the silk between the sheets,

shekinah glory;

white is beautiful.

Like a heart that’s free from sin,

like the glowing of a saint,

like the color of your skin,

or the lightest oil paints,

telling stories;

white is beautiful.

Like a girl who knows her worth,

who won’t compromise beliefs,

like the shifting shapes of cloud,

or the shells on coral reefs,

so inspiring;