Reading or Writing

Deciding to read or write
To cause inspiration
Or instill fright
To write in cadence
Or from a vision I see
In either case it comes from the heart of me

Am I deeper or shallower than I think I am ?
Are the places I have taken my stand
Important in the land?

Have I built on rock?
Or will what I have said and done
Sink into sand?

I depend on the justice of the creator
In the end
All knowledge is held
By the great arbitrator
And if Christian faith is infused in all I say
The truth is
I don't know how to think any other way

Is my poetry basic or profound?
Does it hit the reader like a lector on a stage?
Or is it read
Like folks sitting in the round?

Does it echo like a drum circle
Beating rhythm below the trees?
Does it have the reverence?
Like clicking boots in empty cathedral
Their volume diminished
By padded pews
Hitting bended knees

Does it permeate the night
Like spirits diving under dark ocean waves?
Does it cut the heart with laughter?
Humor sometimes is the only way to say
What needs to have its say

It might be more profane
If it was my darkness that found verse
I can't find wisdom
In the parts of me I know are worst

It is wisdom I seek
Separation from Adam's fall
You might be tired of me posting
But I like playing with words
So I am having a ball

Goodnight

Splashed by the fires of Hell

Splashed by the fires of hell
Because you bowed low
To help those not well

Bound by the grime of Addiction 
For souls on fire
Every daily task is consumed in
Perdition

The cool face cloth of grace
Soothing balm for the pours of the human race

Fever fleeing slaves to sin
Earth is made Heaven
Where compassion begins

Consciousness Lost and Gained

I fainted last week
Lost consciousness
And fell flat on my face

It happened in the worst possible place
In front of my family
Where I have always been strong

A rock
Without a crack
Went splat
I did not feel it coming
And I don't remember the fall
I think that is what bothers 'me'
Most of all

I broke my daughter-in-laws lamp
Which of course she did not mention
Because my daughter-in-laws
Are straight out of heaven

Too much work
Too little water
Way too little sleep
Dehydration
We are sure
But I never thought
'I' would hit the endurance floor

I have lived life well
And I am content In my own skin
But now
I want more living
As 'old man' time begins

So I am soaking up water
Like Bacalhau
And some day I might be
Gumming my food
Lookin like a Damn
South Dartmouth milking cow

I have zero fear of death
But I am no fan of pain
I hope like my parents
I die with intact brains

But if delusions should take control
And the hours I put in take their toll
I will be dreaming of bbq
With my family and friends

A multigenerational reunion
Parked on streets of made of gold
With all present and accounted for
By the Lord above

A time when all that fades and ages
Will have  passed
And all that endures will be
Faith Hope and Love
At long last

Swagger Courage and The Cradle

I saw Swagger
Courage and the Cradle
In my three grandsons today

The swagger of Charlie
Was seen in a perfect spiral pass
Shoulder pads and helmets
Provide strength that last

The courage of Wesley
Whose four year old vocabulary
Could not muster
"FLOATIES"
"Please Mom, No"
Jumping into Uncle Brian's arms
"Now that is a blast"

Liam's strength seen cradled
To his mother's breast

Holding your children's children
Simply the best

To look into eyes projecting
Two generations of life
How does such a small soul
Carry in the Cradle
All that me and his parents are!?

Calling my kids out on the timetable
Of their own grandparentage
Brought me to tears
Laughing out loud when they said
"Wait Dad, that is not too many years!!!"

Bold grandboys are they
Each in their own way
Going to be a blessing
To call them Men one day