Sing Sister Sing

Your smile is intoxicating
your eyes are bright as the moon
your spirit is disarming
breaking down my hard heart
injecting it with love

am i falling in love with you?

maybe

but even more
i am falling in love with
the One who made you
your contagious laughter
your angelic voice
your amazing beauty
directing my gaze to the heavens

sing sister sing
to the One who created
the heavens and the earth

and you

dance before your king
laugh with joy
sing sister sing

Ganesh and Me

The smells of urine and incense
fill the air
mixing into something
all it's own
the road is blocked
by people demonstrating
what? taha chaina

buses and taxis
are at a standstill
as the crowd sings
and chants
for a better tomorrow
I take to the sidewalk
dodging half dressed children
and crippled old men
pedaling past a shrine
I notice the smell of
incense is stronger
but the drunk sprawled at the entrance
clues me in to
the power of his god

if that's what it
can be called

nothing more than a
rock housed in a
building ridiculously large
while its adherence
struggle to make ends meet
what power is this?

is it the same that
constructed cathedrals
while parishioners
starved?

is it the same that
constructs mega-churches
while its neighbors
go hungry?

without pointing fingers
i know where the problem lies

it lies in me

one more shrine
one more crowd
one more street kid
and i know
that the only respite
comes from above

They Should Have Listened to Benjamin

The story begins
with a king deposed
by a few unsavory foes
who spin tales
of a better way
and lead the masses
to obey
every word to achieve
a shallow freedom
and to believe
that they
the people
have it all under control
but in the end
the pigs
and
the humans
look the same

Man Overboard

Oh Holy Lord Most High
I have come to realize
that I have spent my entire life
with a millstone around my neck

It's become a part of me
as I wade this terrible sea
I grasp the air in search of Thee
only yot have water fill my lungs

Oh I know there's a better way
that Your mighty hand holds sway
over the powers of night and day
but land is far from sight

The salt has dried skin and bones
many moons I've spent alone
dreaming of home sweet home
where my soul was at rest

Oh Son of David, I once knew
that Your words where true
yet I still crucified You
I can nver wash these hands

Is there anything but this
a child's game gone amiss
I bretrayed you with a kiss
now I am where I belong

Twenty fathoms was the sounding
all I see is the waves crowning
I've done all I can to keep from drowning
Lord, save me

I Rejected Jesus

the image still haunts me
he mumbled in nepali
feeling his way across
the bus park
his skinny frame
scarcely held his clothes
scarcely held his life
his eyes lacked pupils
just bloddy buldging orbs

they mocked him
abused him
he just cried
no
he weeped
in a language i didn't need
to understand
he weeped in his pain
in his suffering

and i just stared

my bus came
i boarded
content to leave
him behind
but then
the bus stopped
and a familiar voice
filled my ears
my heart sank
as the skeleton boarded
felling his way to passengers
mumbling
reaching
begging

he touched my leg
i cringed
the smell of blood
sweat, urine, alcohol
filled my nostrils
i cringed

''nai''
(how could such a word cross my lips?)
i pushed his hands off of me
as i tried to avoid
looking into his face
''nai''
(blessed father forgive me)
i pushed again
he moved on
his pathetic body
moved on
mumbling
begging
weeping
i cringed
(oh God, what have i done)

Call Me Cephas (Call Me Beavis)

The heavens declare
Your glory
as the Hunter
chases the Bear
across the night sky

Your creation screams of
Your infinite goodness
as solar rays are processed
with water and air
to grow the grass of the field

A horse is a vain hope for safety
yet in its power
it bears the mark
of a skilled craftsman
layering marrow and bone
muscle and tissue
skin and hair
to form such a
magnificent beast

The sparrow
takes flight
without a care
mutts roam
city streets
without regard
rocks orbit
nuclear reaction
without effort

why then should i worry?
why should i concern myself with tomorrow?

knowing that tomorrow will come
I plot and plan
contend and conspire
to control it's fate

lo, what vanity of vanities
to strive against
the One
who can set a snare for behemoth
and hook leviathan through the nostril

I move that arguing
against such power
is folly
(but i do it all the same)
can the created
say to the Creator
"Why have You
made me?"
(no more than a picture
can leave its frame)

Where does this
leave You and I?
am I to ignore
the darkness as
i'm dazzled by the light?
or should I rise
like the moon
reflecting the light
of the Son?

the answer is clear

so in fear
i place my hand
over my mouth
lest my foot
finds its way in

how can I contend
with the One
who holds
reality together

Maschil ( A Contemplation)

I don't understand
my senses are overloaded
there is simply too much
to process
my head is swimming
my body is weak
sleep comes whenever
it desires
i am feeling pressure
like Augustus in the pipe
the suspense
is killing me

Lord, i don't want to
spoil Your chocolate river
to make bitter
Your fountain of blessing
but i can't make sense
of what You are showing me
i long to hear Your voice
direct my steps

To the Creator

I view the world
through a viewfinder
i interpret my thoughts
and observations
into poetic verse
random thoughts
give life to doodles
frustration into
works of art
pain pours out
through sonic woes

I was created to create
so i will forever reciprocate
the blessings bestowed by the Creator
the God of my fathers
the God of Abraham
of Isaac
of Jacob
the God of the living
the God who lives
the God who still uses
Bezalels and Davids
and fills them
with the Spirit
to compose
and construct
beauty
where there was none
in order to give
glory and honor
to the One
who formed
and fashioned
life
where there was none

Come, Let Us Conspire

: To my future wife, whoever, where ever she is :

Come
let us conspire together
let us plot and plan
and scheme together
let us run hand in hand
through fields of uncertainty
let us rest in the shade of doubt
let us climb to the peak of prosperity
all the while knowing
we have each other

Come
let us birth together
let us build and bring down together
let us be the change
let us become the answer
let us turn the world upside-down
turn frowns upside-down
turn each other upside-down
let us move in rhythms
and sing in harmonies
that only God will witness

God is good
God is love
let it be known
that we loved God and each other
that we love God and each other

Come
let us live together
let us grow old in gray hairs
rocking chairs and depends together

Come
let us die together
let us leave a legacy
so that our children's children's children
will know what love looks like
what love acts like
what love lives like

Come
let our lives be a testimony
to the grace
and humor
of God
in bringing us from
two
to
one

Come
let us
be

estrellas

the stars
sing in unison
choruses from
ages past
as the spheres
revolve
they change
configuration
but they remain
shouting
screaming
the wonders of the Creator

the stars
have witnessed
creation from afar
watching the plot
unfurl

the fall
the flood
the family
the famine
the fettered
the free
the frustrated
the fighters
the fiefdom
the fettered [again]
the forsaken
the Father draped in flesh
redeeming His creation

the stars cry out
in celebration
the stars cry out
jubilee
the stars cry out
holy, holy, holy
the stars cry out
hallelujah

the stars sing in harmony
the wonders of the King

It's a Beautiful Thing

How do I begin
but to say
that when
death is near
Christ is nearer

Though I
feel empty
though I
feel distraught
though I
feel as though
the world will end
You are near

I cannot put
words to this pain
nor could I
draw up a
visual
there just is
no way yet
You are near

As troubling as
the thought used to be

"Though I go
to the heights
though I dwell
by the sea
though I go
to the depths
even there
You will find me
even there
Your hand will hold me"

This now is a
beautiful thought

Domine, miserere mei, peccatoris

i am a sinner, have mercy on me
i commit these where some may see
curses leave my mouth
anger hangs on my lips
my tongue lashes out like whips
these hands, they kill and steal
break my heart, its contents reveal

i am a sinner, have mercy on me
i sip the cup of greed like ice cold tea
my eyes divert, your love they suppress
by over looking those in distress
my feet, they tread upon Your neck
they kick against You
bear hug me, become my rescue

tame my wild spirit
Your flame, draw me near it
correct my vain philosophy
i am a sinner, have mercy on me

Less Than Three

I.
tempest brings
torrid rain
bleak november
gloomy october
broken tuesday
morbid wednesday
like a knife
cuts deep
breaking skin
good times brings
great joy
dance and song
dance and song
dance and song

II.
i could talk forever
on theories and mythology
on major sevenths and flatted fifths
on caesars and tzars
i am a walking wikipedia
cool
calm
collected
but when you are near
forget it

III.
the sun skips rhythm
birds sing off key
whenever you
walk by

colors fade
sound dissipates
light flee
when you come into view

stars fall
trees uproot
seasons become erratic
when you show your face

nothing is as it should be
everything fails
everything falls
from the pressure of
being compared to you

new minds cannot be held in tin cans

from an open mind
comes a new horizon
empty of past
void of tradition
a new beginning
hewn from virgin stone
chiseled with delicate hands
a young conscience
that has not yet
been told the
horrors of existence
nor taught to fear
failure
fresh wings take flight
unaware [or rather unaffected]
by the plight of icarus

in the lexicon of a new day

death
is a new adventure

life
is but a dream

change
is inevitable

resistance
is futile

now
is the time to become
a blank page
ready to receive
messages in the form of
zeros, ones, and twos
binary must give way
to the new way
for new transmissions
are lost in old codes

"new wine cannot
be held in old skins"

for when minds are liberated
the gates of mediocrity
cannot prevail

bike path to enlightenment and green picnic tables

Among trees i rest
and wander through
scriptures of olde
pouring over ancient
words of grace and peace
of love and compassion
where can this be found
outside my leather bound
at a green picnic bench
i read and marvel at
the words of Peter and Paul
two thousand years removed
in my semi-secluded sanctuary
just off the bike path

among trees i rest
and wander through
the works of Ezra Pound
language beautifully poetic
but nothing is found
to my liking except
of course
a line or two scattered
with no anchor
that is how my
mind rolls you see
gathering bits of inspiration
followed by digestion
which gives birth
to a renewing of my
mind and soul
refreshing as i ride
my bicycle down
the path of enlightenment
aided by the words of
poets, prophets, and priests
culminating in fervent
meditation

among trees i rest
and wander

When Did It Become

When did it become
us versus them
a tally of numbers
a score to be kept
a feeble attempt
to rule the world through
grace
peace
truth

When did it become
divide and conquer
the media
the government
the schools
the religion
a change of pace
to keep pace with
the fervor
and the devotion
of the other

When did it become
so off kilter
with the Fish
while other fish
flow with the tide
the Fish says
come abide
in a way
opposite the current

When did it become
the norm
to twist
and conform
the message of the Fish
into a list of
hoops and nets
to test against
the way of
the moon
the dragon
the eagle

on me

come breathe
your warm breath
upon this frozen heart
melt it, sculpt it
with your subtle art
let it runs through your hands
like melted ice cream in july
take away the scales that
cover my eyes
come breathe
your ever present
ever pleasant
presence on me
shake loose the icicles
defrost my frigid soul
come breathe
on me

Ligaments and Marrow

At what point do i
attempt to cut away
at tumors and worts
to lighten the burden
on my body

When do extremities
tissue or bone
become useless to be
torn

Ligaments and marrow
divide under stress
my soul is in distress

Of what use is an eye
that cannot be tamed
what trouble could
a hand mamed
be if it cannot function

Lame
i could not run
to the hands of seperation
nor could i run from the Creator

Crippled
i would be still

Mute
i would be quiet

Blind
i would be aware
of the Mover and Shaker
in all things

a verb in past tense

who holds the keys
to my destiny
i need them back
i've tried to guide
my life's course
buts its on track

for failure of the
worst kind
i've lost my sense
of living, of breathing
love is becoming
a verb in past tense

i thought i had
everything under
careful calculation
adding, subtracting
the parts with
marked adulation

yet things
fall apart around
me, fast
things i saw
in the future
never come to pass

miley spears a nation

how pathetic
that an adolescent
can hold the attention
of a nation
steering it into vast
ignorance
away from the
prestige it boasts
all while
people starve
nations drown
alliances divide
sovereignties war
ice caps melt
liberties disappear
how pathetic