Beside, Inside, to Abide

Pain ever so deep and wonderful, so constant and fertile,

Longing for you to long for me for all the wrong reasons,

Thankful to feel, grateful to seal my fate with your future

To nurture this bondage of soul to soul to fill in the hole

Left from cosmic decimation of long ago indiscrimination

Of one man and his demand to be you so untrue to himself,

And have we not paid the price ever since in hard penance,

So I treasure this pain, no bane of longing to belong to you,

Only beside you, inside you, to forever abide with you . . .

Never to be you, but only true to my Self within you

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Self Journey and . . . You

Coming to the tremendously, truly beautiful uncomfortable in my own skin

Racing toward the terrifying, self-denying truth all in order to begin again

Watering an arid wasteland called ‘soul’ to now leave behind what has been

Altering consciousness in opening to the cosmos within your universal sheen

Following you where you’ve been and are and ever will be in eternity foreseen

Crying to be what self has always meant to be in me, far from trouble, so serene

Holding onto the dream of you holding me holding you so close in golden mean

So be bold to take hold against the cold of six-fold winter to remold the Soul . . .

And shall I be there?

Toward Understanding and Harmony: One Way Forward

While looking back on previously published poetry for inclusion in (possibly) another printed collection, I ran across this one that seems appropriate, not only at the beginning of this New Year, but also for the current political climate here in the U. S.! (Who knows? Perhaps POTUS will read it and be transformed into something of a real human being! LOL) Ah, but here it is, from back in August of 2015:

So often it’s so easy to misunderstand and reprimand
When there’s really no reason for words out of season;
We assume and fume and leave no room for the benefit
Of doubt; never consider we may be wrong, agony prolong
So unnecessarily because we’ve failed to give charity
And beckon clarity for sake of peace instead of caprice
In broken harmony as we release anger and animosity
From paucity of heart; we can be so small when we should
Stand tall in character and integrity with better dignity;
And so much strife would fade in play of fife and flute
Of happier days and higher ways, in serenity and amenity;
Would not this be better than bitter rancor and soul canker?
Perhaps we begin with open ears to hear and eyes to see
In the other our true sister, brother, father, and mother
Rather than unsuspecting foe ready to deal death blow…
Oh, how suspicious we can be when we’re not free
To live and love without attrition of suspicion of ill-will!

You Create

There is only emptiness, the great void as if all had been destroyed,
Nothing employed throughout time and space in pace with nothing;
And all is hollow, surrounded by some numinous shell that is hell…
But then you speak and the sharp peak of light appears here
To sear the darkness, and something begins to take shape
That the nothing can escape, and there is suddenly living life
Filling time and space with the chime of the divine sounding
And pounding, pulsating throughout the fresh air so free and fair;
So, too, you speak into those poor souls caught in mere existence
In persistence of lifeless churning in the void of empty moments,
Breathing the power of life where there was only death by the hour,
And then it is the flower of spirit rises from the ashes and blooms;
You create what is great as your own self-given mandate of love
From above that shoves aside the emptiness with its high pride…
You create and satiate the gnawing appetite for truly alive life…
Yes, you create … You create

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Shelter

O shelter from the stormy blast, hold me fast;
Quick! Speedily take me neath your covering,
Hovering over me against the tempest raging
And engaging all humanity in utter calamity
With no break for mercy’s sake – we quake –
O hide me and abide with me, (do not chide)
And save me from the rage all around about
That writes itself on each page of our history;
O shelter from the stormy blast, hold me fast!

Radiant Beloved

You are more radiant than the sun, my Beloved,
And I have only begun to sing of your beauty
When my voice takes wing in duty to our love

You deserve more adoration than bright roses
And the light reflected off the mountain lake
At the sight of which I but tremble and quake

You are fairer than ten thousand doves, my Love,
And from above the stars finely shine upon you
So wonderful and true — their service your due

And the moon sings in tune with all the heavens
So leavened with your presence, O my Beloved,
So I dare throw off every care for I am yours . . .

Shield on the Battlefield

Raise up the blood-soaked shield of faith on the battlefield,
And do not yield to the enemy, for your destiny is sealed
By the God of heaven and earth, in whom you have trusted,
To whom the surety of victory belongs for which you long,
And this has become your battle song sung long and strong;
He is your Beloved, in whom you live and have your being,
Seeing all from small to grand and tall, every inch of ground,
Hearing every sound, even the pounding of your very heart;
And your Beloved has given you the better part of his own,
Even as he has sown seeds of love, joy, and peace . . .
Look to his banner and fight on in the light of his bright face!

There Was This Boy So Regal

There was a boy of ancient lore, who walked so regally through every door;
He was ruddy and strong, wise and as stately as an eventide song sung long;
He grew in stature and knowledge, and naturally knew what to do each day,
As he perfectly balanced work and play, and would say only what was right
In sight of everyone under the sun, because even in the dark he lived in light
So bright that many thought he’d been forged as a knight by heaven’s might;
And so it was that on a battlefield fierce he dared to pierce the enemy lines
With but sling and sleek stone by which he alone slew the one giant of fear,
Who stood so near on dreary day, while his people watched with admiration
And sensation as the great, husky foe fell to the ground with terrible sound;
Then did the army gain courage against pain of war and tore into the field,
Led by this brave boy whom history knows simply as David, born to be king

Softly and Tenderly

Softly and tenderly I hear your voice again,
And has it been so long and I so very wrong?
Slight enticements led me away day after day,
Until your face was but a shadowy memory,
And your choice voice but vaporous whisper;
But now how clear I hear your song over me!
Softly and tenderly I hear your voice again. . .

We Cast Long Shadows

We cast long shadows over our own lives,
So long that we belong to those shadows,
Though we imagine we are walking in light
With our sight set high and so we fly . . .

We fly to our own murky destinations
Without hesitation or any examination,
Thinking all will be well (so sound the bell!)
When we have only created our own hell

We cast long shadows, deep and dark,
And in them we hide from stark reality,
But the finality is all the same (and not tame);
We wake up to realize it’s more than a game!

Yes, we cast long shadows over our lives,
And we bury ourselves in their folds,
But when bold comes the light shadows flee
And we can see clearly the bright truth
And then, and only then, can we really be free