ripples

From a father to his son,

From mother to her daughter,

History repeating,

Like ripples in the water.

Duplicating all the while,

The very same mistakes.

A different path is offered,

But it’s one they rarely take.

Until they finally realize,

What they’re running from.

The person they swore to leave,

Is the person they’ve become.

backwards

It’s bleaker than bleak,

I’m weaker than weak.

What will it take,

For me to be freed?

Panic, it lives,

In my bones, and my teeth,

They chatter as I,

Shake with disbelief.

How is this my life?

I climb but don’t arrive.

Slipping and falling,

Backwards I slide.

my life

I hold on to my life,

I grab it by the throat.

I squeeze it so hard,

That my life starts to choke.

The good things I have,

I don’t want to let go.

So I hold them even tighter,

An illusion of control.

The more stuff that I gain,

The more life that I get,

The more I am afraid,

Of losing all of it.

So I spend all my time,

Tightening my grip.

All the while killing,

This life that I live.

chained

The oppressed now oppressing,

The robbed become robbers.

Generations enchained,

The flogged are now floggers.

Only truth has the power,

To break through the chains,

But no one remembers,

From where this lie came.

Imprisoned too long,

No one sees the light.

Adjusted to the dark,

Losing all sense of sight.

Truth twisted and changed,

With each link in the chain,

Fallen farther from the tree,

When freedom was the aim.

No one looks for truth,

They think it’s been found.

Generations lost,

Shackled and bound.

So few escape,

Because nobody questions,

The bars of the cage,

Can’t see past deceptions.

Day after day,

Year after year,

It becomes less about freedom,

And more about fear.

shadow

I know I should be happy,

But tears roll down my face.

I know I should be thankful,

But these tears come any way.

I cannot shake the feeling,

This sorrow comes in waves.

The road that leads to healing,

Is full of ash and graves.

Mourning before morning,

Dark before the dawn.

So I’ll lay here in the shadow,

And grieve all that went wrong.

morning again

It’s morning again,

Lord, help me to rise.

I could stay in this bed,

And never open my eyes.

So much effort to wake,

And face yet again,

The day and its weight,

It’s hardest to begin.

Lord give me a push,

Give me strength that I need,

To get from my bed,

Down to my knees.

I give you this day,

Lord, please have your way.

I’m more tired now, than,

Last night when I lay.

Please be with me,

Help me fix my eyes,

On the beauty that’s brought,

With every sunrise.

Fill me with your light,

Like you do with the earth.

Fill me with your song,

Like the sweet morning bird.

Let me leave yesterday,

As I get out of bed.

I know you can raise me,

‘Cause you raise the dead.

I need you to hold me,

Lord, carry me through.

Wake me with your love,

And your mercies anew.

wilderness

In the wilderness I wander.

With each step I ponder,

Of a time long past,

When life it seemed, was fonder.

This season I’m in,

It’s cold and it’s grim.

The heartache has grown,

It fills me to the brim.

This promise land, where is it?

This desert place has hid it.

I stumble through dry bones,

The thorns are thick within it. 

There seems to be no end,

To this dry and weary land.

I search for signs of life,

But all around me is barren.

I’m all out of sorts,

Lacking any kind of course.

I’m stuck in the valley,

The valley of remorse.

In the desert things will die,

Things no longer can survive.

Things like doubt, things like pride,

There is nowhere for them to hide.

So this journey full of pain,

May it teach, may it train,

My heart to rely,

Solely on your name.

Things are not what they seem,

I am walking by your stream.

Though the valley’s full of shadow,

I’m in the shadow of your wing.

Though I hunger and I thirst,

At your table I am served.

Your blessings, they are mine,

It’s my enemy that’s been cursed.

Remind me of your heart,

I can’t see it in the dark.

Though your grace seems at an end,

Show me that this is just the start.

evening

The sun comes up,

And the sun goes down.

I stay put,

While the world goes ‘round.

What did the day bring?

Did I fulfill my purpose?

Did I accomplish anything,

To make the day worth it?

As I watch the sun set,

I’m reminded of how,

My days are numbered,

And there’s less of them now.

Another day over,

I’m another day older.

Am I any stronger now?

Any wiser or bolder?

What have I gained?

What things have I changed?

Will tomorrow be different?

Or will it all be the same?

Another day gone,

Another day is done.

This pattern keeps on,

Until the last one.

empty

I find myself stuck,

Holding this empty cup.

I lift it to my lips,

Hoping it’ll fill me up.

But there’s holes in the bottom,

The contents seep through.

There’s nothing to show,

From the well where I drew.

I’m drawn in again,

But flawed is my thinking.

If this cup is empty,

Why am I still drinking?