At Home And Abroad

So many things
I never understood
Until they happened.
How it feels to live
In wartime,
Or during an outbreak.
Dealing with the panic
And concern that it
Causes.
Now all we can do
Is pray that it passes.
The flu and the war
That are stealing our
Peace of mind.

Taking Turns

Taking a corner
Turning over a new leaf
Taking cover
Turning hope into belief.
Taking chances
Turning around
Taking things into your own hands
Turning out without a sound.
Taking something that doesn't belong
Turning it into something new
Taking action without hesitation
Turning back and seeing you.

Change Of Plans

Some days
Are fun days -
The spontaneous sort.
When you change
Your plans
Because you can
Leave the serious
As a last resort.
Just hanging out
With friends, without.
Enjoying what you've got.

Without

What can I say
Except
That I miss
The reassuring presence
In my life
That you have been.
Going without
A friend for awhile
Is possible.
But it hurts
And it's lonely
And sometimes
You're left wondering
If friends come
Just to leave again...
And then I realize
How much I've been
Blessed
Already,
And that maybe
Her presence
Means God
Knew my loneliness,
And the ache within me.

Moving Beyond

Can we believe them?
Can we believe anyone?
Now that we know
How much is covered up,
Lied about,
In the public eye?
Can we trust?
Can we endure
Knowing such violence
And hatred exist?
Can we escape
Such perilous circumstance
With no hope of rescue -
Just personal will?
Can we?
And should we?
And will we?
The answer is yes,
Because love is
There to embrace us
As we fall.

Integrity

Take it with a grain of salt.
Don't believe without good cause.
Take it at face value, and
Be prepared to take the loss
Of common knowledge
And beliefs,
Of misconceptions played as facts,
Of backward information,
And shocking, gross misdeeds.
Don't believe everything you read.
Ask questions.
Follow up.
There's a gaping hole
Patched with an agenda
In the stories that we see.

Windy Nights

The wind outside
Blows through
And makes me
Shaky.
The building sways
And my heart
Quavers quick.
So now I'll take a
Breath
And calm the
Quavers and shaking.
Start again tomorrow
To stand strong
Despite it.

Chain Reaction

Facing their mortality
Some fought back
Some were calm
Some matter of fact.
Most were terrified
And ran for their lives.
As the years passed
They struggled
In classrooms
With loud sounds -
With anxiety.
But remarkably
With the passage of time
They have emerged
Victorious
Instead of victimized -
Finding hope
Instead of hatred
Each one a link in
The chain
Of past to present,
Dark to light,
Hurt to healing.

What Shines Through?

What do you say
When there are no words?
That is when
A question is a look, and
An answer is an embrace.
What do you hold onto
When distance is too great
And you can't
Bridge the gap?
That is when
Support is a sentence,
And love is a poem.
Either way
Truth is there
Either way
Grace shines through.

What Lives Within

These days and nights
Stress is my companion
And tension lives within
But how do I escape?
These sunny mornings
These pitch-black evenings
Within me, emotions fight
How can I show my face?
Despite all this
I still have hope
Because that also lives
Within me.
A silent lifter of all
The stress, tension and emotion,
And also, of
My head.

Questioning

Can you tell that we are worried?
Can you tell that we're afraid?
Can you tell that we're concerned?
Can you tell we're not ashamed?
Can you tell that we are grasping?
Can you tell that's nothing new?
Can you tell that we are praying?
Can you tell we're here for you?
Can you tell we won't be silent?
Can you tell we know you're strong?
Can you tell that we'll do anything
To keep you here where you belong?

Take A Lesson From The Children

Little child, taken from us
Little child, lured from home
Little child, scared and lonely
Little child, not alone.
Little child, we don't know you
Little child, but we pray
Little child, reunited
Little child yesterday
Little children, bruised and broken
Little children, chained and bound
Little children, stolen, tortured
Little children, lost and found
Adam, Jacob, Jessica
Corinne, Elizabeth
Shawn and Ben and Tamara
Polly, Jaqueline.
Little children, all were taken
Little children, some returned
Little children, hug them closely.
Little children...
Lesson learned.

Awakening

This morning I woke up
Ready to embrace the day.
I lived and loved.
I pushed and shoved.
I am Tuesday's child.

Bedtime

Feeling sore, and
Feeling lazy.
Feeling hot, and
Feeling hazy.
Feeling short, and
Feeling cranky.
Feeling bed
On the horizon.
Feeling better
Than I have been.
Get some rest, and
Wake refreshed
It's what I like to do.

Live Life Abundantly

What more could I ask for
Than time with family?
Actually,
What more could I ask for
Than time?
Because it's not a guarantee
And though I don't stop
And appreciate that
As much as I should
I am now.
Because this could have easily
Been our first holiday as less
Than a whole family.
But we were all here today
Talking about places of old,
And potato canals
And even if nothing of substance
Was said,
We were together
Which is the deepest substance
Of a family.

Repeat Performance

Who says you have
The right to ask
When you have done
So much hurting.
Who says you have
The right to know
What's really
Going on with me.
You don't really care
So why should I share
Anything of substance
With you?
Take your selfish nature
And your insensitivity
Pack yourself a bag
And walk away again.

Suggestion

Lost on an island
Far away
Where pizza's gone
And the sky is grey.
Where monsters exist
As black as smoke,
Where polar bears live
Under heavy white coats.
Where the dead are alive
And the hurt are fixed.
Where there is time-travel,
Others, and all kinds of tricks.
Onto the island came
Doctors and con-men,
Users, the spoiled,
Torturers and salesmen.
All came here to
Live, only how will it end?
Put them back on a plane
And lets start again.

A Celebration Is In Order

Taxes are over
So I'll do a jig.
I'll celebrate the loveliness
A million ways.
No more papers
Or thinking too hard
Or stress about money
Or being faced
With my incredible lack
Of common sense.
Taxes are over
So I'll fly a flag.
I'll have a party,
I'll bake a tax-cake...
Or maybe I'll just
Have some hot chocolate
And take a break.

Perspective

Awake to dreams
But I am not
Asleep to suffering.
Yes, I see the gray
But I cannot
Ignore the sun that waits.
Such beautiful dreams
I'm known to have -
Such powerful truth
I've learned in the dark.
Such optimism
I've embraced with the sun.

Still Here

When you were a child
I held your hand.
Before you grew up
I let it go.
I let the distance
Grow between us,
And now I don't know
How to cross it -
Yet, I won't hesitate to be
There if you need me.
Maybe we should both
Need each other
A little more often.
And maybe
Just maybe
Buried deep down inside the man
Is that little boy.
So give me your hand
We'll bridge the distance.
While we wait out the storm,
Let's pray for the sun.

How Can I Help You?

The question should never be
What can I take?
It should be
What can I give?
Not because of obligation
Or religious reasons,
But because we are human -
And as such -
We need to take care of
Each other.
Because we would want
Someone to be there for us.
Just because it's
The right thing to do.

What Have You Got To Lose?

I could lose an arguement
I could lose a friend
I could lose a prized possession
I could lose the end.
I could lose a thought or thing
I could lose my mind
I could lose my brother
I could lose my time.
I could lose everything
I could lose it all
I could lose myself
If I let myself fall.