Leave the Door Cracked

Steeple piercing sky, you left the cathedral door cracked for the hunched-back,

For people like me, too feeble to turn handle, never nimble, none-too-quick,

And here there is an altar at which to pray, night and day, whatever one has to say,

And God must be listening from vaulted heaven, ne’er assaulted by cries from below

In tragic humanity’s last great show, throwing caution to the wind at every bend,

So does this poor man kneel and whisper, hushed tone echoing across stone floor

Before rising like incense to throne of truth and justice, with soul-deep moans,

Thank you for leaving cathedral door cracked neath steeple grand and imposing

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Let Me Rise Above as I Lay Me Down

I lay my life down in your arms, O Beauty and Peace,
So be gracious to grant me rest and on life new lease

Crown me with your love in this forlorn town of humanity,
And drive away the insanity as I now lose all of my vanity,
And bold let me enter your fold for there is rest, I am told,
And there mold me and make me like you, ever so divine

And as I walk these paths and talk with pilgrims who balk
At the idea of any tranquility with hostility and no humility,
Let me not be ensnared in their claptrap, but rise above
Such fray to your love this very day along life’s terrible way

I lay my life down in your arms, O Beauty and Peace,
So be gracious to grant me rest and on life new lease

After such great turmoil graciously grant the best of rest
In your numinous nest, and to be gone with soul festering;
Let me find merciful safety in your hands and loving bands
While the sands of time slowly fall through the hourglass
Of heaven leavened with passion that shall not pass me by

I lay my life down in your arms, O Beauty and Peace,
So be gracious to grant me rest and on life new lease

Mounting On My Knees

†

All consumed by you, the tomb of my soul gives birth to its worth;
Where once there was gloom and darkness, there now blooms life,
And I am being groomed for something more in the Womb of Love.
On my knees, my knees, I see the flowered trees of heaven dance
And the hinds prance from one mount to mount ~ who can count?
Bleeding tears from my eyes the size of tidal waves, what saves;
I’d forgotten I’m stronger when bowed low than standing for show;
Ah! Spirit of the Living Life and Light and Love from high above,
Show me now in which way to go, not with haste, but wisely slow;
Now I know, I know, I know . . . I am bended low higher than ever!
I shiver at the flow of Life surging thru my soul, my ethereal veins
Running with Blood not my own, veritable flood of heavenly Light
So bright, who can look upon the sight? And no longer dark blight,
My inner-man shines thru the night, and is there any more fright?
No! Consumed by you, the tomb of my soul gives birth to its worth!

†

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Note: First published in February 2016, now being republished for the reading pleasure of new blog followers. Blessings to one and all!

Prayer of the Damned

In the blackest of nights from the cauldron of darkness
I cry to you as I lie prostrate on the ground surrounded
By harrowing sounds, shrill shrieks from depths of hell,
And plead for redemption, restoration, an incantation
For my salvation in gravitation to heavenly habitation,
But sulfur vapor clouds around with dancing dæmons
And prancing wraiths, romancing my soul with bowls
Of precious poison, but will you hear my call so drear?
Will you come near and hold me dear while they sear
And jeer in frightful delight where there’s now no light?
Is it too late for pitiful me because I took the devil’s bait
Rather than wait on you? But you knew he was shrewd
And I so weak, though not humble and meek, and sick!
Lo, the wick burns out as I dare offer my parting prayer;
Will you save or shall I descend to the cave of Hades?

New Venture . . . Today

Surely, we bear some fear with every new venture
Because the clincher is it could be a misadventure;
After all, we cannot see down the road and the load
To carry can end up being quite scary; what to do?
Forge on ahead with fidelity and prayer,
And ever look for what is bright and fair;
Expect the unexpected as a prospect for the future,
And remember: You are never alone,
Even when you’re chilled to the bone;
There is an Eye that sees and the Heart that cares;
There is One who never forsakes but close abides,
Who does not chide, but offers the helping Hand;
So with this in mind we unbind all our trepidation
And move forward into the unknown; into the new

Walking On Shattered Glass

Here I am once again walking on shattered glass,
Wondering if I’ve been crass, made myself an ass
In being too honest rather than presenting myself
As the finest and flawless individual,
Like a pianist who’s never played . . .
But, oh, did I ever pray about such a relationship,
And despite the kinship and so sweet fellowship,
My spirit knew that this could not really be true
And last, and this was the blast of sensible reality
And I did not have to be an actuary to calculate
What would eventually happen if I let this go on;
So gone are any dreams and illusions
But there is now a profusion of tears;
As I look back over many years, though, I know,
I know, and I have my tattered record to show
That in shattering the glass of illusory romance
I was not being crass, not making myself an ass;
No … I have simply been an honest man in truth

Chasing Away the Blessing?

I am so thankful for your answered prayer,
Especially after enduring so much so unfair!
I am so grateful that hateful attitudes
Have been washed away by affection,
And that you have reached a new altitude
In your once-strained, stained relationship;
What a surprise blessing that blesses me!
To see you so very happy and full of joy and
To know you’re not being played like a toy
Thrills and sends chills up ‘n down my spine!
What seemed so impossible became possible,
And night turned to sunny bright day for you,
And with no sleight of hand or nasty blight;
And I’m glad I’ve finally seen you not so sad,
Caught in a bad dilemma with ones you love;
Truly this was blessed blessings from above!
Ah! But time move on and the clock chimes;
All good cheer must eventually hear the call
To say ‘fare-thee-well’ and then sail away
Till another day for more fun and play . . .
My dear, you have to know when to let go;
You cannot cleave; you must let them leave!
Yes, you really can mess up
What was meant to bless . . .
Do not cling and bring an even worse curse
Than you before endured in fear with tears;
Know when to let go and say ‘goodbye’
Or you will soon sigh again in loneliness;
Oh, yes, I’m happy for you but worried, too!
If you tighten your grip,
You’ll frighten them away!
Be thankful, but with open heart and hands

Be My Lover Today, Forever

When the sun rises it seems so empty without you
Though there’s plenty of bright light and clear skies;
Without you the new day seems already old ‘n cold
Though it’s warm outside, but with you by my side
Even the fiercest bite of winter can’t pierce my soul;
You fill the hole in my life ‘n thrill my beating heart,
Not in part but fully fill ‘n guard me against the chill
Like the skilled lover you are, but when you do seem
So far away my mind strays into confusion and life
Becomes an appalling illusion in which the chimera
Raises her horrid head beside my bed covering me
With nightmares I dare not face alone, and so I cry
And call to you to be true to our love and rescue me;
Oh, rescue me, indeed, from the raging sea of vanity
And persistence in vacuous existence . . .
I offer you no resistance, only insistence,
For even beautiful moonlight at night is but a blight
Apart from you . . . I need you . . . I feed upon you . . .
Come and stay, never to stray . . . be my Lover today
Forever

Come Now, O Breath of Peace

Peoples around the world are bound by the sound of fury,
Shackled by deprivation, starvation, escalation of violence;
People hurt people, avert justice, and desert Lady Wisdom,
Overtly perverting, exerting themselves, inverting decency

O Come now, O Breath of Peace, come from above,
And bind up the broken heart and calm our fears;
Come near and blow through our world with love

Do we really want to mar the earth, this place of our birth?
Do we really want to compromise the worth of all creation?
Here today, but like flowers of the field we yield in the end,
And our place knows us no more and with nothing to show

O Come now, O Breath of Peace, come from above,
And bind up the broken heart and calm our fears;
Come near and blow through our world with love

Peoples around the world struggle to survive, even thrive,
Persistently walking the halls ‘n consistently hitting walls
Of resistance without any assistance even for subsistence;
Is this really how some want to live, with so much to give?

O Come now, O Breath of Peace, come from above,
And bind up the broken heart and calm our fears;
Come near and blow through our world with love

Blow thru each of us with loving peace from above!
Blow thru each of us with loving peace from above!

Peoples around the world are bound by the sound of fury,
And shackled by chains
And shackled by chains

O Come now, O Breath of Peace, come from above,
Blow thru each of us with loving peace from above!
Blow thru each of us with loving peace from above!

Just Most of Us

They work in rice paddies and fields of corn,
Torn by thickets and briars, born to work;
They raise their families and face calamities
Without any formalities or plush royalties;
They write, fight for survival, nothing trite,
And give thanks for food and scant shelter
Amid the helter-skelter of life in this world;
Most are fair, generous, and pray prayers
While living from day to day,
And in no extraordinary way;
Most folk do not spend their time in pubs
And party hubs, drinking to intoxication
For some false elation and sex-sensation;
Most peoples in this harsh world are hurled
Into the fray of life by night,
Looking for the shining light
By which to fight their blight;
They’ve no time to stay ‘n play lurid games;
Their life demands they tame their beasts,
So bars and fancy cars are of least interest;
Tis the simplest joys ‘n beauty that attract,
Not the hubbub of expensive nightclubs —
Shadowy places devoid of any graces,
Dark dens filled with deviant grins —
Most men and women are not meanly vile,
Living in reduction to drunken seduction;
Most hearts strive for the better part of life,
Even life so very rife with pain ‘n suffering,
Buffering ills with the will to live and work,
And, yes, above all to love family ‘n friends;
Ah! Yes, these constitute the most of us,
Most of us on earth for what we are worth,
And in nothing to boast . . . just most of us
Just most of us