So Great

Lord

Anxiety and vexation

So great

My prayers – inaudible

My shaking – invisible

My belly so empty

That I cannot eat

My heart so thirsty

That tears cannot fall.

Lord

So great.

____________

1 Samuel 1:12-18 ESV

Her Treasure

For mold - too new,

For rust - too dry,

For moths to fly

And for men to climb, well -

These hills are too high.

For nights, a light,

For most - too white.

For thieves, a sight

Too bright for us to steal,

But for her - so right.

For her treasure,

Her heart,

Is for heaven.

For Love is sure,

Her heart

Is for heaven.

________________________

For Grace and her girlfriends

“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."

(Matthew 6:19-21 ESV)

Philae

I’m here,
One sore shoulder leaning
Against the rising edge of day,
Still drowsy from my sleeping
In the shadow of your dream,
Still waking from the night,
Still wondering why I have heard
Nothing from you.

But now, even if I heard something –
Got a word from on high;
I’m not sure I could leave here –
Not sure I can even move.
I may be sitting in a canyon –
Wouldn’t know it if I was.
I couldn't do a thing about it –
Can’t imagine where I’d go
To find you.

I’m here,
One-more older, settling
In this carbon-blacked crust of clay,
Still listening for the soundings
Of life and all that might mean,
Still waiting in the quiet,
Still wondering why I have heard
Nothing from you.

But now, even if I heard something –
Got a sign from on high,
I’m not sure that I’d believe it –
Can’t promise you I’d leave.
I may be resting in a kingdom –
Wouldn’t know it if I was,
I couldn't do a thing about it –
Can’t imagine how to want
You any more.

I’m here,
Getting colder, curling up
Beneath the spiral Rosetta,
Still longing for your sending
Or your last word to end me.
Still hoping you were right,
Still wondering why I am hurt
By nothing from you.

____________________________

Inspired by the comet lander, Philae, and its patient wait in the shadows of comet 67P for its solar batteries to charge enough for it to resume communications with its makers via its “mother ship”, the orbiter spacecraft, Rosetta. Rosetta continues to take valuable data as it circles around the rocky comet in a spiral pattern.  It was said that even if Philae were sitting directly over evidence of extra-terrestrial microbial life, it wouldn't be able to do anything about it.

Coincidentally, on this date in 1799, the Rosetta stone was discovered by French soldiers in Egypt. The Rosetta stone, used in conjunction with the Philae obelisk, was an essential key in deciphering the Egyptian hieroglyphs.

Judith

I see in Master’s paint thy Art intent

And hear through ancient pane thy voice content.

Judith, has thy work, painful labor, spent

Brought thee peace; Understanding, even yet?

What seest thou, Woman, that thine eye enthralled,

Is so keen to cut through this earthly pall

And pierce the Veil of being, uncovering all

Inside that fills Man’s rusting love offal?

With stare and wonder that smiles dangers hide;

Rapt, curious, thou calmly set aside

Translucent layers of his lovely guise,

Until Truth, piece by piece, lies undenied.

Holofernes, late, saw beauty - amazed,

And overturned, he dreamt thy mind dazed

By rich wine, smooth form - not Calling obeyed.

Judith, what Hope lies ‘neath thy shredding Gaze?

_________________________________________

Judith Beheading Holofernes - Caravaggio

Go Back Home

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; the Big

Long Gone.

I been traveling for a billion years, 

Riding a hard old rock. It’s 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 been burning through this world all right; 

Red eyes in a trance – trying to

Make it by;

Lit it up and hit it hard, spread out on the plains; set fields

On fire.

I been going on my murky way; 

Trying to stay intact; to hold this life

Together.

But there comes a day I’ll get tired, Son, and I know that time

Grows near.

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.

______________________________________________

Lyrics for my friend Brad Koehn's song "Go Back Home", April 26, 2015

Original poem, "April Fools" , April 1, 2015

Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Springs

It’s raining again - April in Denton.
I’m shaking again - quakes in old downtown.
The world is smoking – Chilean volcanoes.
And I still got nowhere else to go
To get away from thoughts of you
And find some peace.

Light’s dripping again – filling the big bowl.
The roof is leaking – shakes are getting old.
I’m still asking why he attacks my soul,
But I still got no one who loves me so.
Just can’t take my mind off of you
And find some peace.

Water is falling again – it’s raining me in.
I’m dreaming again of mountain springs.
Flint’s breaking again – wilderness of Sin,
And I still got no fox hole to crawl in
To hide from a life without you.
I need some rest.

Chorus
I need some rest amidst the storm
Some comfort from my troubles.
I need to sit with someone warm
And enjoy
Some peace in all this turmoil.
______________________________________________
April 24, 2015

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the Lord,
at the presence of the God of Jacob,
who turns the rock into a pool of water,
the flint into a spring of water.

(Psalm 114:7-8 ESV)

Am I a Slave?

I wondered aloud,
Am I a slave or am I a freeman?
Who holds on to my leash
And won’t let me go?
So, I turned around
To see I was dragging a loved one
To be sold outside the gate
For a few shekels.