Heaven's Eyes (A Christmas Poem)

We think of stars and hope and cheer
We think upon a midnight clear

We think of songs and angels bright
We think upon a silent night

But do we consider or stop to think
Or record the truth with page and ink?

That this night was black as all before
Who would notice one star more?

And the host that brought the shepherds word
Had before been in the presence of the LORD

We think of trees and joy and snow
We wonder at all of Heaven’s glow

But on this night so long ago
That Light made Himself stoop low

So what would be the tone above
In view of the great price of love

To look down from eternal glory
And see a feed trough, bleak and gory

To see the Word that created all
Condescended as a helpless child and small

What then was on Heaven’s Mind?
To what then were its thoughts assigned?

With my idle wondering I wish we would try
To look at Christ’s birth with Heaven’s Eyes

Redmption Cycle (an experiment in poetry)

-Tasting Knowledge (being the first part of a cycle of poems)

For man to be alone was not good
God Himself thus had said
But who knew I had the choice I would
Should man be alone or be dead?

My companion offered me learning
That I knew was not mine to grasp
But within I still felt a yearning
That our hands might not be unclasped

So I took of the fruit that we shared there
And around sprang thistles and thorns
And the shame that we began to bear there
Was the heaviest clothing we’ve worn

--Wrestling Angels (being the second in a cycle)

I was sleeping alone in the desert
In the tiresome bed I had made
And my troublesome dreams bore no comfort
From the stone where my weary head laid

To myself I was wond’ring aloud there
How it happed that I’d be brought this way
But the thoughts that I pondered and found there
Had little or nothing to say

So I’m wrestling angels at twilight
And I’m hoping my vigor will last
But now all I can do is hold tight
And pray that the morning comes fast

---Fleeing Giants (the third in a cycle)

It was never supposed to be this way
But still, we find ourselves wandering the desert sand
Still we follow pillars by night and by day
Still we wait to enter the Promised Land

But we fled from the giants before us
We trusted not in Yahweh’s Word
Then His power ignored us
When we tried to take up our own sword

And now the reward for our slander
Is to march through the dust and the grime
For forty years we must wander
Fleeing giants the entire time

----Trusting Harlots (part four of the Redemption cycle)

I once was a strong man of valor
I put all my rivals to flight
I turned my foes’ faces to pallor
I haunted their dreams in the night

I knew my strength’s source was above
But my thoughts spent little time there
I denied all the power thereof
And then let a whore cut my hair

Now I can’t see where I’m going
I’m fed on stale, moldy crust
I ache from the weight I am towing
Of giving a harlot my trust

-----Slaying Allies (the fifth in a cycle of poems)

Up where I watched from my rooftop
I beheld me desire below
From there my lust would not stop
And I finally let myself go

But my sin had grim implications
And my actions would be brought to light
In the face of unlocked expectations
The brother I betrayed had to die

My transgression shattered my virtue
And it brought naught but grievous pain
It is a crime I would gladly undo
But my ally already is slain

------Awaiting Hope (part six of a cycle)

For hundreds of years only silence
Only cries for help have been heard
We are ravaged by famine and violence
Our kings are arrow and sword

The prophets no longer bring message
Not even to denounce our sins
What hope could uplift our visage
Lest we hear from the LORD once again

So we wait in anxious confusion
Fretting over our fate
We know there is but one solution
And until then, hope has to wait

-------Bearing Damnation (Being the Conclusion of the Redemption Cycle)

All the pain and all the grief
All the cruel and bitter hate
All the worry without relief
For every man both small and great

Every wrong done and planned
Every instant act of rage
Every wrong from every hand
Every brunt of evil’s wage

All the foul and vile deeds
All the lust and fornication
All the selfish, slothful needs
All the guilt and condemnation

Every egotistical act
Every scheme with guile prepared
Every dark and fiendish pact
Every tyrant that brought despair

I bore, I bore them at the end
I bore the crimes of quick and dead
I bore the death that comes with sin
When My disgusted Father turned His head

I bore, I bore the guilt you owned
I bore the fire of Hades’ flame
I bore transgressions yet unknown
And I bore all owed to your name

I bore, I bore the darkest night
I bore the blood of a thousand rams
I bore the breath and fought the fight
And when I finished, I saved the damned

Trusting Harlots (the fourth in a cycle)

I once was a strong man of valor
I put all my rivals to flight
I turned my foes’ faces to pallor
I haunted their dreams in the night

I knew my strength’s source was above
But my thoughts spent little time there
I denied all the power thereof
And then let a whore cut my hair

Now I can’t see where I’m going
I’m fed on stale, moldy crust
I ache from the weight I am towing
Of giving a harlot my trust

Slaying Allies -- Part Three in the Cycle

Up where I watched from my rooftop
I beheld me desire below
From there my lust would not stop
And I finally let myself go

But my sin had grim implications
And my actions would be brought to light
In the face of unlocked expectations
The brother I betrayed had to die

My transgression shattered my virtue
And it brought naught but grievous pain
It is a crime I would gladly undo
But my ally already is slain

Fleeing Giants (being the second in a cycle)

It was never supposed to be this way
But still, we find ourselves wandering the desert sand
Still we follow pillars by night and by day
Still we wait to enter the Promised Land

But we fled from the giants before us
We trusted not in Yahweh’s Word
Then His power ignored us
When we tried to take up our own sword

And now the reward for our slander
Is to march through the dust and the grime
For forty years we must wander
Fleeing giants the entire time

Wrestling Angels--being the first in a cycle of poems

I was sleeping alone in the desert
In the tiresome bed I had made
And my troublesome dreams bore no comfort
From the stone where my weary head laid

To myself I was wond’ring aloud there
How it happed that I’d be brought this way
But the thoughts that I pondered and found there
Had little or nothing to say

So I’m wrestling angels at twilight
And I’m hoping my vigor will last
But now all I can do is hold tight
And pray that the morning comes fast

Longing for the Sky

Within my heart there burns a fire
An ardent flame still seeking more
Eclipsing all I could acquire
Surpassing all I once adored

It burns to ascend ever higher
Until it learns to leap and soar
It changes thought and turns desire
And yearns to fly home to my LORD

When

When the time has come and then has passed
When the final day has arrived at last

When faults and failures fade away
When light is brought here by the day

When darkened glass is wholly broken
When unwritten words at last are spoken

When question’s answers count no more
When how we played outweighs the score

When guilt and strife trip and fall
When all is nothing and One is all

When we have failed and thus have won
When eastern sky reveals the Son

When all is seen that was afore
“When” shall not matter anymore

And Now (the remnants of a fleeting dream)

And now at last I find
My heart and soul are blind
To all I left behind

And now the world is sore
And now I long for more
It was not enough before

And now I carry on
Though hope is all but gone
It still infects my tone

And now questions matter less
And now I must confess
That I made my own mess

And now I leave it all
And now I humbly fall
And now I heed His call

And now my self is ended
And now my self is mended
And now I am befriended

And now my joy is full
I cannot tell the whole

Unsteady Wings

You promised me the wings of an eagle
If I would only trust what You say
So, why am I still weak and feeble?
And why have my dreams gone astray?

Perhaps I have answered my own query
Perhaps I already knew
Perhaps my wings quickly grow weary
So I never fly too far from You

So I will stretch out my wings like an eagle
As I try to avoid earthly things
Though they may not be lofty or regal
I am grateful for unsteady wings

What I Want

I want to know what I must say
And how it must be said
I want my voice to bring the day
My words to rouse the dead

I want my songs to quell the night
And open deafened ears
I want my pen to bring forth light
To still and waken fears

I want to search and then to find
The way I must prepare
I want to be lost in God’s mind
‘Til His will is my prayer

Confession of a Would-Be Lover

Maybe once in the beginning I claimed to be a prince
But I soon withdrew that bogus claim and haven’t made it since
And I wished for shining armor that would make me a brave knight
But I found it either too expensive or otherwise too tight
And I never had a charger or a white and well-bred horse
Nor have I fought a battle or led a well-trained force

And I know that I have failed you and not treated you aright
And no excuse will quite ring true, but I am not a knight

Perhaps in the initial days I claimed to have it figured out
But I now openly admit my great wisdom was in doubt
And I strived to be a philosophe, or a wise and learned man
But study, thought, and the lack of both thwarted my best plan
And I never met with Aristotle or tried to study Socrates
Nor have I learned from Plato, I have flouted all of these

And though I strived to devise truth, and not give in to lies
I fear I misadvised you, for I am not that wise

I suppose when I first met you I claimed to be a bard
But I soon discovered poetry comes unnaturally hard
And I tried to find artistic words and develop witty rhymes
But I soon found it a bother and would not give the time
So I never wrote a ballad, a limerick, or a verse
And I tried to write a sonnet once but it came out quite adverse

And even my confession here is not much to be heard
I make my profession clear: I am not that good with words

So, if the time has come and gone that I may apologize
I’ll tuck my tail between my legs and forget a second try
For, though I grieve that I have lied, and by deception lost you
It weighs more heavily inside, all that my lies have cost you
For I am not a knight, I am not wise, and I am not eloquent
And, in hindsight, I recognize that I left you no fair hint

But I thought the truth of who I am not worthy of who you are
For I am but a wealthless man, with naught to offer but my heart
So, now the truth is free and clear, and I present myself to you
It’s not what you deserve, my dear, but it’s the best this peasant can do

I Have Seen Love (a poem in three parts)

It has been said, man is better dead
Than to have never loved at all
To have had and lost is worth the cost
And the climb is worth the fall

But it has not been told since days of old
That love will never leave you
Though the aim be gone, love carries on
If that love indeed were true

For I have seen love fly like a dove
And cross the endless space
It flew and searched ‘til it found its perch
And bestowed its endless grace

I have seen love face the darkness of bitter times
I have seen love cover a multitude of sins
I have seen love search for what life must find
I have seen love stare down death and win

I have seen love fight when all was lost
I have seen love stand steadfast and sure
I have seen love give above the cost
I have seen true love endure

I have seen love grasp on to fleeing hope
I have seen it in the bleakest hour
I have seen love thrive when I could not cope
I have seen love and I’ve seen its power

But, of all these things that I have seen, and with all that it could mean
I have not yet seen love die
And for all the things that love has been, I insist yet once again
That it cannot loose its life

Love, then, cannot be lost, though our hearts be thick with frost
For love does not depend on us
This love for which we search the most does not allow our pride to boast
But requires humble trust

Earth and space may be severed with a place to stand on and a lever
And the stars may fall down from above
But all God does shall be forever and outweighs our own endeavors
And, in the end, I still see His love