the beauty of clouds

floating as if on some faded
kite string suspended
from another universe

puffs of white weighted by gray
smoothly glide before a
sea colored backdrop

the winds refine with grace
continually making new shapes
with the leaves that gently
sway below the spectacle

and these same gusts whisper
into all of who i am
as i watch from this tower


that such a grace is given
so that i may live
UNTETHERED

Loss

loss, it pains me.
i wait
for hope to fill me
and to come and shed
a light so bright
my eyes close
not in anxiousness
but in warmth
i hope for a tear
that won't bleed
but there is no way
the bottle can
remain corked
when brokenness
shoves me in the corner
to watch life
swirl once again.

Plastic bag...

wind grabs you by the hand
and spins you unexpectantly
madly spinning, euphoric
such luxury is foreign
to your cellophane skin

often, you hide in corners
along busy streets
near people enslaved by time
calling them filthy names as they pass
like some misunderstood bastard

days coming and going--
a battle between light and dark
a tedious mundanity you've
learned to love--

and neither joy nor pain
tend to find you in these cracks
amidst the dust and broken leaves

until this wind reaches down
and tickles you
like a luxurious golden feather
and stubbornness is lost; even forgotten

you're free to
FLY.

Stained Glass

Fractured light beats its wings
Against a freckled stage
Mingling in a waltz with blues and greens
The bending of such an illumination
Makes up an image bright and bold
Softened by golden muted hues reminiscent
There is a sky, a canopied backdrop
To announce the brilliance of hope
With ringing bells encased in towers
Full of bustling prayers and needy thoughts
I only see reflected light.
How, Lord, do you see it all
Unveiled?

ah, simplicity.

i love the comfort of coffee shops. the horizon is faded closely to black over the mountains--and because of the lingering snow, the tops of these homes nestled in her wings are glowing pinkish purple. there is a fire in the fireplace, and my almond latte is bringing me more joy than i thought it could. perhaps it is because my sister made it for me. she's wonderful. i am full now. somehow i have been stripped so that i am thankful for the simplicity of life.

Close your eyes
And remember the sounds
Of great love pursuing all
That beeps within you.
There is no place so far that
You cannot be found
And no place so hidden---nor dark
That you cannot find your way
Now open your tired eyes
To see that there is still
A light that pierces this present darkness
Binding fear and regret
Bringing hope and grace to the tearing
Hems in your very soul.
Unfurl those clenched hands
And wait for the blessing
To fall
To rain
To pierce
Your brokenness in a way
That makes you new
Clean
Full
Bursting
And above all else; FORGIVEN.

your little familiar arms
hold me tight
and take my heart captive
as light dances on
homemade snowflakes
and twinkly white lights.
the joys of jesus' birth
fills you and me with
an awareness to give
from an overflow
that comes
because Christ was born.

Your song calms me
Little bird
Hot sticky breath
Leaves these lungs
As I exhale pain in whispers
--These secrets with the trees
Faint traces of rain
Bleed from bare dark
And falls atop old leaves
That have seen better days.

This is where I come for
A release from the Loud.
Distractions wind me so tight
It’s no wonder
I can’t understand
Silence.
Simplicity.

But these coiling limbs of dark
Continue to reach for the sky
Enduring the harsh and cold
Loneliness.
Their change is small
But is enough to still
My wounded soul.

Change need not be great to
Live well.
In fact, stretched before me
Is a thick blanket of lush greens,
Blades waiting for their time
To fade into winter.
The black.

It’s December now and
I’ve found the only green that remains
Ringing a bell to beckon Hope.
And on this day
Even amidst the haze and noise below
It is actually being heard.
Loud and clear—such is the way of silence.

one strand of hope
thats all i strain to see
amidst the bloated rush
plaguing this city
i need to find something
to love in the lost, swimming
wites of these almond shaped eyes.
it's lonely befriending silence
giving in to its needs
forgetting your own
apathetic blood breaks your vains
and you find you are swimming
in a sea that isn't yours to swim
but still, my eyes are hoping to find
the strand that will empart meaning.

and the light
beckoned forth
by one single breath
forming a body
so important to sheild
the Soul of man.
Fragile and still he lays
waiting to bloom
to see beauty
and to react to her
He dreams of days
where freedom satiates
the roar of hunger
that shakes his core
But the body; this cage
has bound and gagged
the man within.
He lays, writhing in agony
the answer so plain.
But the cage fears
the potential within

If beauty becomes realized
If life bears fruit

He can no longer hide.
He must be released
The cage is unlocked
and beauty takes control. Oh no.
Chaos is something to fear
--Because love is just that--
Something fearful
bringing LIGHT to the unbelieving
that won't be contained forever
in one rattling cage.

it will change the world
it has been waiting and growing
for this.
since the beginning.

with green so bright and protective
how could i ever need anything more?
wind makes her dance for me
and our smiles linger like old lovers.
Flecks--fragments--twist and coil
falling to dirt and rippling water
going back to what it was before
and i see that the green
is fading before my eyes
This vain beauty will soon be a memory
contained only within these pages
And darkness will hush her early
this year
Perhaps she just needs her beauty sleep?
Or perhaps death will become her.
When will we ever know for sure,
which moment will be our last?

thoughts furrow your brow
effectively shutting your heart
"what good is it to trust, to feel?"
Anger embodies itself in you
drying you out from the inside
-I see bones so lonely they'd weep
if only they had a friend to care.
but you're finally a sleeping cage
six feet below the smiles
you could have easily entertained.

i guess this is easier
perhaps you won
but my heart broke for you today
because you really aren't
so forgotten.

i love when the eerie night
sounds become dissonant
~chirping life
~singing child
~honking horns in separation
my skin becomes speckled
flesh at the remembrance
of light cutting dark
and this light
also
runs through my veins.

An overinflated sky
lays low above the trees
stripped bare of dignity
so honest these hues
of green, peach, and brown
hiding the cliche of blue.
she's losing her fight
-tears hit my shoulders-
she's fading fast
There's no way to help
her pain so deep
but to give her time
blackness will swallow
all that is left
and we'll start again; anew
After the rain.

Green looming clouds mirror
heaviness that cuts
and stunts my belief
My tongue was thrown out
with the stale bath water
Sunken spirit to match
such hollowed eyes
Full of an unquenchable
hunger for truth
From a silence so bold
it stings
Skin burns, thoughts warp,
and fingers scrounge
to find and hold
the one
that is LOVE
for ALL...

When did the sky decide to be loud?
I've always thought it to be
a lame one; without a thought
of its own
But tonight, it got tough.
Sandwiched between a frigid rain
and showcasing clouds mid-pirouette
I am silenced.

The numbing blues and purples backdropping
the formidable world...
A foreground of blooming magnolia
All is full of love
thats true
But the loud is drowning even my own thoughts
Maybe its just time
to feel small again
To quiver at things unfathomable
You reach for it
but all you can touch
are particles
that fail to reach
the heights
just like these nimble hands.

Must you make such a scene?
I'm not in the mood
Who do you think you are?
My head pounds because of you.
You have never been like this.
Why start now?

The clouds dance with you
But im too involved to care
Stop yelling.
I'll notice you later.
Even though you've never been
more beautiful.

Rarely does the sky use words
But when it speaks, all is still
Electric blue kisses tender puffs of white
Pink teases purple in tango
When did the sky begin to paint
with bloated indigos?
when did grey marry periwinkle blue?
This sky is relentless in its moaning
as if battling the natural course of the sun
Her groans are just as mine
the ones tucked away and hidden from even me
See me and love me
I'm different, but i strain to keep pure
All I hold close
All i have loved
All who have yet to find my beauty.
I am a prism of bent brilliant colour
and still you pass

What shall I paint tomorrow?

Brilliant lights fill this tent of darkness
Shadows linger where light once ruled
Crisp breeze fills empty space
Illuminating each lonliness to bind together
Our created masques cannot hide from night
Branches still strain in this deafening silence
Like torn pieces of paper, clouds glow in limbo
Greeting all who look upon them
Sharing in solitude; in a strengthening loneliness.

the soft string vibrates
filling your lonesome heart
with song
the low resonant chords
dance in gluttonous
ears flowing
a distant piano keeps
safe the beauty of
this ancient story
told through the affection of
a tattered wooden
messenger
like a leaf in the wind, you
are tossed to explore life
in a way that is forever new
innate desires echoed in
on string.
sweetly sing.

Up then down
flying like dust
Buried below
exploding like light
Gathering crowd
crooked smile
Graceful hands
truth revealed
This seasaw becomes
a bold masterpiece.

Broken back clouds
amidst parchment sky
Dog eared like a saved page
Straining branches
a hushed breeze
Spotted shadows cast with care
swaying with the shifing atmosphere
A humming bird with people on its back
echoes down the throated street
Bouncing fabric tied to steel welcoming
all thats new, forgetting what has gone
This continuing world scoffs the face of tragedy
Deaf ears bleed
Ignorant hearts shake
But in the distance, the laughter of
an innocent child
And then, the sweeping
awareness of my own
beating heart.