She Welcomes You

You, who fed her and you who did not,
You, who watched her play in the fields and kept her safe,
You, who just watched, spit, and laughed,

You, who shamed her and you who did not,
You, who sowed her pretty dresses from ugly sacks,
You, who told her not to come back,
She welcomes you.

You, who took her with you everywhere,
You, who taught her things she never wanted to know,
You, who should not have let her go,

You, who left her when she needed you,
You, who found her song and taught her to sing better,
You, who sought to stifle her spirit,
She welcomes you.

You, who told her to trust their kind plans,
You, who betrayed her; placed her in a filthy pen,
You, who freed her from all your sin,

You, who hypnotized and shocked her mind,
You, who tied her hands and then forced her in the van,
You, who sat for hours; held her hand,
She welcomes you.

And
You, who married her; became her hero,
You, who carried her when she was broken,
You, whom she rescued without you knowing,

She welcomes you.
Grace and peace to you,
Brothers, sisters, friends,
Who loved her well.
Doctors, officers, cruel men,
Who abused her – well,
Grace and peace to you,
She welcomes you.
Truly, she does.

_______________________________________

On behalf of my mother, her heavenly Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ; by the blessings of Grace carried to the hearts of the saints through the power of the Holy Spirit; and in honor of this, her birthday, I want to sincerely welcome you to the Kingdom Feast and the peace she enjoys by virtue of the forgiveness of sins.

Sepia Sunset

Sepia sunset -
Can you taste it?
The Light is like
Golden honey spread thin
On hot bread.

Congratulations, Dustin

Well, old friend, I heard you reached

A goal that most will never see,

The full repair of all you own; each

Mower finally has its filter dust free.

And for all your work you should be proud

Though wisdom says never to say aloud

That your to-do list is looking kind of empty

For free-loading spirits lurk in every crowd

And who knows but they might hear

That now you've got some working gear.

So, congrats, friend, and do you think tomorrow

I might drop by just to say hi and borrow

A few things to put in your aired-up wheel barrow,

Like well-oiled chainsaws or an unloaded trailer?

Some full-loaded nailers or a shotgun-not sawed off?

Perhaps some wild kid clothes or your chipped-dish washer?

What I’m really looking for is one of those fancy sweet-potato unmashers.

And look, friend - if you don’t mind, if you’re able - throw in a few

Six-foot folding tables or maybe that now-clamping wood workbench.

And how about that not-worn-out-wire-rope cable?

Really be best if you already had that wrapped on the winch.

Congratulations, Dustin.  

April Fools

I been yearning for a walk-about;

Ready for a change – time to move along,

Pick it up and put it down, head out

For the stars; Big Long Gone.

I been traveling for a billion years

Riding a hard old rock. It was such a long,

Long trip, but I can tell that now I’m here

That it’s time to head back home.

Gonna leave here someday -

Go it alone.

Maybe live in the wilderness

Where the water falls.

Maybe be the first one on Mars;

The last one alone.

Gonna leave here someday –

Go back home.

I know it won’t be easy now that

I blew through this world so fast.

Burned through the sky like

A meteorite; hit it hard; my life

Spread out across the pasture;

Setting the grass on fire. The light

Is such a curious thing. But sure,

I tried to keep it all together, son,

Every single day, but

I think I may have spilled some

Happiness along my murky way.

But still I feel that’s okay,

It’s all right.

All right.

Gonna leave here someday -

Go it alone.

Maybe live in the wilderness

Where the water falls.

Maybe be the first one on Mars;

The last one alone.

Gonna leave here someday –

Go back home.

__________________

April 1, 2015