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