Companion

The crushing, the disappointment
the times when little is left to say
when the jerks of this world rear their heads
to jeer in our face

But a ray of light in a dark place
a warm nudge, a smile, an empathy
an affirming touch
and the dark can do little to stem the tide

I'll walk a thousand terrible pits
face more trouble than these meager nights
with that ray of light
and still walk joyful through the end

I've seen the looks on their faces
as the world caves in around
and the silence rocking the air
the words that won't come

I've felt the stagger
the thought that this is really how it is
the knowledge of a hope dashed
and the numbing sting after

But with that glimpse of dawn
arm in arm on a long road
I think perhaps
I could face a lot worse

Thank YOU

Thank you, though the words aren't enough
being there when I'm uneasy
not leaving when I stumble

Thank you, for keeping me in check
for trusting when I betray
for laughing when the outlook is grim

For listening and pushing
encouraging by prose and by poem
but most of all by deed

This season is a miracle
of laughter and joy, cold and warmth
a time to reflect and see our blessings

And Blessed indeed am I
when the cold outside chills
but the warmth from my companions never fades

So thank you,
little you know the good work done
but grateful I am indeed

Give Thanks

The food, and the people
they gather around
laughing and cheering
embracing their loves

Raise a glass this day
for a day of true thanks
sit not with the vial
of bitter and dark

Given the Joy of a life worth living
for meaning and reason,
for hope everlasting,
for love and adventure!

I'll raise my hands and my spirits
for more than a bit
we've got more than the world
more than a bit

Waste not the day
embrace those around
thankful, yes cheerful
cheer a cheer of happiness

A Thaw

Crunching along, boot into snow
knowing not which is this way that I go
but warmer this day than the last
and more easy to bear the dark of the past

This day it is trouble, not easy to do
and my conflicts are sticky and messy like glue
but I smile a bit in the face of it all
I know it is coming, the cold winter thaw

Unshaven and messy, rugged and sore
bloody and patched, the body is tore
my hands are gripping, aching and strong
feet, they move forward, on a road that is long

The snow drifts down, just a little, late frost
unafraid of a danger of a path that is lost
a stroll in the white, in the green, and the gray
lost of its fury, the late winter's day

A grin and a wink
we're off in a blink
determined to live the best that we can
light to a dark, a desperate, cold land

City on Fire

The glow burns bright
daylight has come
but the clock ticks late
and many still walk in dreams

The flames, red, rising
the sirens off in the distance
watching from the rooftop
the city is burning

Who will save those in danger?
Who will come for their rescue?
For we sleep through the flames
unaware of the danger

Come with me
for The Adventure calls tonight
and though we walk through the flames
the people need help

A tough task to go at alone
the searing heat, the blaring noise
but come along and I think we'll see
that we are called

I can't promise comfort
the flames will burn and sear
but I'll crack a joke from time to time
in the face of the grim and the dark

No tale is too hard
for a laugh and a grin
a love and a step
and the siren is for us

So come to laugh and dance
to seek and to save
to battle the rising tide
they do not know He waits

We will show them our King
for only He can rescue
it may be that we go to our doom
but the Story is worth the chance

Fist Pumping Joy

Let us take a moment
to raise our hands in the air
for that fist pumping joy
for He is good

Dark days we are in
but bright are our companions
they've got our back

Our stories
one day, the most wonderful of stories

Rejoice

Spiritual Rugburn

Night after night
the warriors go to war
morning after morning
their bodies feel the toll

Quietly, the door shuts behind them
they feel the weight of the world
but also the joy
for the Joy is with them

Down to their knees
face to the ground
determined to do what they can
to get through these dark days

Battered and torn
mentally worn
their knees ache
the blood rushes to their head

But still they are unmoved
lost in the conversation
seeking The Wisdom
and feeling the ache inside

Oh! How difficult it is
to fight here in the body
so to our knees we must go
and seek the answers

Far too impossible a typical day
to face it without those worn knees
that have come to be known
with the monks of the past

But let us follow those brave and bold
down to our knees, determined to be
fighting for life and the truth
clutching tight to The Love

First Scent of Christmas

The snow drifts down constantly
the year round as we trudge
forward through the storm
determined to make our way

But this time of the year
the snow falls just a bit lighter
the snowflakes glisten in the moonlight
and our work is not quite as heavy

We are all walking this road
with a different set of companions

some have found love
walking hand in hand in the frost
others walk alone
though He walks beside us all

some walk together
in a chuckling community of hikers
some clutch tightly to their best friends
determined to see the end of this road

But all seem to walk a little bit quicker
with a cheer in their step and a lightness of heart
as the November sun starts to set
and the bells ring out from the distance

Ballad of the Everyday

Soundtrack:
Tisbury Lane by Mae
-------------------------

A song in the heart
worth far more than gold
for the everyday is slow
but the everyday is where the victory is won

We will bicker and fight
sit down in the dark
sad thoughts surrounding
but looking longingly beyond

These trying times give us hope
hope to spread to others
the darkness reveals the light
and the story to tell

Come and chat and smile a little
hear the tale of a good friend
of her triumphs and defeats
and see her adventure

Hear the piano trickle
as it mingles with the scene
for life is all music
even the everyday

One day we'll all be gone
just stories on the wall
a name to tell with a wink and a nudge
and a song to sing

Valued souls, each of us
she, you, I
we play to the tune of the everyday
with hope of day extraordinary

One Step Forward...

One step forward
and two steps backward
the way progress goes
on rainy days like this

One step forward
and one step closer
each step is more
though little we see the progress

One step forward
is the way things start
though many steps are left
and long is the road

One step forward
though the journey's end is uncertain
and our path is blocked
by the fallen rocks

One step forward
hesitant as it may be
as we remain unsure
of this current direction

Yet one step forward
for though I know little of future things
I know that I must keep going
one step after another

A Task Completed

The joy, the freedom
to know a task is done
a trial is passed
a day has begun

Happy are the days
and even the nights
to feel the suns rays
and be free of that weight

The day looks better
and the nights are brighter
for happy is a task completed
to make our burdens lighter

Why do we put off things?
Yes, procrastinate.
Worry is all this brings
instead of a pack light

The Long Road

Incredible this world is,
so full of life and color

What are we that walk this Earth
that He would take favor on us?

Yet there is so much to turn us aside
so much to devour our attention
We stuff our faces with entertainment
and starve from real sustenance

I want His great plan
and little else
but in the moment
the painting is blurred and dripping

Take pity on me!
For I am far from the ideal
staggering and stumbling daily
only to be picked up again

Isaiah knew the things he spoke
for we are of unclean lips
and unclean lives
yet He calls us home again

These filthy rags that are the little good we produce
they do not satisfy
to replace the shining robe
we have been given

Oh Glory above!
Your brilliance,
it is too much to behold
I cannot fathom your mind

Oh God you are my Cause
Strengthen my body and spirit
for the road is long
and the path curves out of sight

My boots are muddy and my sleeves are torn
the dirt has long since caked onto my hands

Yet I feel alive on this road
walking stick tapping with the rhythm of my feet

It is good to be surrounded by the mountains
even knowing the climb that is ahead

As if the World Will Burn

Looking about, taking it all in
they carry on and about as if I am not there
I walk along anyways
attempting a few vague smiles

Do they notice? Do they care?
Some may, most don't surely
they are not looking, they are not speaking
they cannot detect when they are not trying

There will come a day
when I look back on these seasons
with the Great One
and we will laugh and cry together

But that day has not come yet
and no one knows how short or long it is
until then I must love as if the world will burn
the very next day or the next hour

Yet numb is my heart and hard to breathe
when my love goes out and does not return
and I fail and fall, flat on my face
still, He picks me up and tells me to walk again

These days I feel like a marionette
He compels me forward, I am barely able to walk alone
but slowly I am learning
and though there is pain now, He comforts me

I will sacrifice it all if it is His desire
my Maker and my King
but for now he merely asks me to keep walking
and the hurt does not dissipate

There will come a glorious day
when I wake in the morn in my bed
and sleep that night in His embrace
but until then I will keep walking