Encouragement

She does not use her fists, but her courage. 

She does not overpower, but gently persists.

With conviction, through prolonged thought,

She remains steadfast. 

On pilgrimage, she finds love;

Bringing it home each time. 

She labours the soil and waters the earth;

With patience, she waits.

Exerting herself has become a reward

She must choose wisely to receive.

She crafts strength like jars of clay,

Placing each one in her home. 

Letters to myself

Is this a love story?

Where the hero is I?

Am I prepared to fight for you,

When it barely seems as though you try?

Maybe I'm crazy;

It's probably true. 

Despite the disruption and denial

I'm in love with you. 

It's a special kind of painful

When the love isn't shared. 

Love is a decision

Totally separate from care. 

I say that now, because earlier, even I forgot.

Love is not a disease

To be cured or caught. 

Love is a decision.

So if decision, not bout, 

I cannot cajole. 

Volition required; no corral, nor plea

I must stand here, obviously, and hope to be seen.

To Fill A Need.

That's where that feeling comes from: 

She is the answer to a question.

A barrage, a beckon, a bellow;

All addressed to her. 

To fill a need,

She was made.

So much insight,

So much attention.

Her radiance,

Her sophistication. 

To fill a need,

She was made.

Grace becomes her,

Faith becomes her.

Without these,

She disappears. 

What it is.

I used to think that I struggled to find love:

Not true. 

It turns out that I am 

Very lovable. 

The problem is,

Not many know what love is. 

I used to think that I struggled to find love:

Turns out, I didn't know either.

Churn

My moves are few;

Over to something better

Can I take the reins?

Knuckling the experience,

Every sight important.

Revel in the moment,

Yes to the day.

And you thought it was over

Not likely, or sad.

Doubt is faulty.

How deep;

Over to something better! 

Planning for the best

Every experience a joy

Love lasts forever

Even in the drought.

Saunter away from

Sadness:

Never giving up

Endless casting out

So there is no fear! 

So there is only love.  

The Only Way for Yeses.

Neither coward, nor thief:

Appealing,

Past the surface,

Heart on fire.

Recognition:

Organic and Mutual.

Chaos is only

The violence of affection.

Union brings good change.

Reminders on Sunday

Justice is optional:

Should I lament? 

Exerted, tired;

I find myself spent. 

Frame it beautifully, 

Display it 

In the Foyer.

Over the mantle, perhaps. 

Open arms,

Open heart.

Open arms,

Open heart. 

Worship: see Your face. 

Need: met by love. 

Justice is optional:

Love never fails. 

Fear is optional:

Power, love and sound mind prevail. 

Rough Stones

Rough Stones can be beautiful;

Trace their jagged edge.

Maybe porous or solidly packed,

They mesmerize. 

Picture the scene: 

It's me, washed in violent ocean.

If I'm flesh, I bleed.

If stone, I'm changed.

Either way, 

I respond.

Either way, 

I have to learn.

Meta-analyses Are For Papers

Grinding gears to make product

The prospect, confusing; what is enough?

I came to give/get everything I came for.

I came to see everything.

Don't be a coward

Don't be afraid

If you are scary,

Then I am brave.

Let me be the judge of what I can handle.

Give me everything; don't protect me.

Let me show you how I use it.

The mouth, twice the size of the body.

My Best Work

You haven't fooled me, 

Even if I am bewitched. 

I'm conscious, d. 

Even if my choice is ill advised. 

Volition, here, means I exert

A love that isn't deserved

Verb, or Noun.

Given freely.

There's some liberty

In feeling a little robbed.

Because I made it,

And gave it away.

Yes, I hoped

For something more.

No, I didn't get it,

But I did my very best work.

So Far.

Experience

This yarn is bumpy, and frayed.

Its tinge uninspiring, and gray.

Here, we press the foot pedals.

A wheel turns slowly.

It is coarse.

You might call it ugly.

Press, and guide

And turn.

Spin

It. 

The Words of A Friend.

You're beautiful, you know

I'm telling you so

Look at the laughter in your eyes!

Just a bit more;

Keep going, my love.

Your heart makes me smile

Persist. Persevere. Prevail.

Keep going, my love.

Close your eyes a spell.

I listen carefully for you;

Heartbeat a melody.

Exertion and acceptance marry.

The guests are products,

The church is a library.

But no one will give you away.  

Velveteen rabbits

Time to admit it, 

Time to come clean. 

That look on your face, 

Was meant for me. 

You don't exist,

And neither do I. 

This moment, an ignition,

A reason to try. 

If I clamor here,

And you do your version,

We might be real.

 We might get motion.

Velveteen rabbits,

You and I.

Come, love.

Come love.

We're real in the tension,

Fake in the day.

We're non-existent,

If we don't engage.

Ode to Tilling: Part Two

I don't take the flowers, 

But I watch them bloom. 

I don't uproot the trees by their stumps, 

But I pick their fruit.

From seed, to plant, to blossoming tree,

This strange earth, some reflection of me.

Ode to Tilling: Part One

I'm only here to see my flowers. 

I'm only here for the trees. 

I planted them, gave water,

Watched them grow from seed.

This land was never mine,

Though I looked after it regularly.

This land was not my own,

Though I worked it lovingly.

To take the flowers would now be stealing.

To uproot trees is theft.

Yet I'm standing empty handed,

Forlorn, speechless, inept.

Fuel and Flame

This isn't the first time,

My audacity has humiliated me. 

It's okay, 

It's fine. 

This isn't the first time,

That my hope

Has shamed me.

Audacity is fuel and flame.

Echo

You do it so masterfully,

At first I don't notice. 

I fall in love with myself

When I talk to you. 

In two years

I know three things about you. 

Your flat stomach,

A sounding board. 

I saw my estranged self

In your eyes

And I fell in love 
With her.

You moved so slowly. 

And when our conversation 

Sounded like an echo

I pushed, because I was hungry. 

I've never seen a chest like that. 

And I've never imagined

The heart so much. 

I fell in love with myself

When I spoke to you

Up

Zero gravity tears fall up.

A reason to cry

Take the weight off,

Not easy, but functional.

One, two, seventy-seven.

Up they go, and I watch them.

Tears fall up, 

Because I lift them.

Love is in the sky:

A good place for tears. 

Giving them their weight,

Can flood my earth. 

So I lift them.

So, I take the weight off. 

So, I cry:

Up.