
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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.
It’s snowing on your face;
I can see.
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.
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;