Bless each palo verde bloom –
     Those cuplets kissed by the sun
My vision wants to consume
     That thus have raptured my love.

See how they speckle the tree
     With a burst of yellow bright
And upon the branches flit
     By the wind that blows nigh –

Leading me not to consider
     The force behind nor why
But to admire how they arch
     In reverence to the sky.

~~~~~~~

My mansion awaits in heaven -
More cozy than earthly cathedrals -
Where I will retire of provision
And I can keep and admire its halls -
Skipping down them and back again.
A new and vast era nigh draws -
A gold key I'll take from His hand.

~~~~~~~

Just as sleep bested my eyes -
   There came a looming presence -
Strange and full of mysteries -
   That alit upon my rest.

There wasn't a familiar word
   Sufficient for such trespass
So silence was the measure
   For my unexpected guest.

Time was also dissolved;
   Every thought - every breath
Was confounded by a love
   I scarcely struggled against

But the hour was growing late
   So He flew off to find a heart
More predisposed and awake
   And gave me over to the dark.

~~~~~~~

One Christmas, death showed up
To rip the bonds apart
And they, who were stunned -
Said their good-byes
Hastily at the tomb.

That same Christmas -
Another family opened their arms
To a transfigured man
Who wiped his eyes
And ushered him home.

~~~~~~~

I saw a woman emerge from a shadow
   With a sly demeanor and look about.
Her sequined dress was aglow.
   She didn't know I was also out.

I watched her remove a silver shoe
   And stick her foot into the mere –
One of the darkest ferrous blue –
   As if testing the temperature.

Her dress was even more brilliant -
   After a countenance of approval -
When she crossed the bleak horizon -
   Careful not to soak her lunar veil.

~~~~~~~

What love is this
That spellbinds me
And keeps me returning
To read scripture?
Older I will get
And wiser I will be
'Til these times end
And I've endured.

~~~~~~~

THE ELUSIVE LADY

The Moon became quietly jealous
     One night when I surveyed Venus.
The usual glory reserved for her
     Went to the dancer with Perseus.

At first, she passed for a star
     Sparkling high above a church roof
But as she moved down further
     Her ample speed gave proof.

Outgoing clouds didn’t shroud
     The evening sky of cerulean blue.
Enchanted, I stayed around
     To observe her quick rendezvous.

Fair Venus shined like a jewel
     Like one worthy to be set in a ring.
Because she was so beautiful
     She sent a jaded Moon waning.

The wide net of the Milky Way
     Was cast and had failed to pull her in.
She outshined the Dog Star
     And had evaded sly Orion

And as the Sun moved below
     He teased her with stealing her glory.
She lusted for that power
     And disappeared after him shortly.

Tho’ I know her general stream
     And her light is brilliant and dense –
She’s been gone. I haven’t seen
     The Elusive Lady since.

~~~~~~~

When pillars fail
When walls break
My angel can bear
The unknown weight.

If darkness prevails
He comes striving
To lead me down trails
I've never been.

~~~~~~~

A rose gave up her secret
     Of its origin – of its beauty –
In the shadow of her crescent –
     Fiercely hushed once to me.

She told me of a plan of love
     And a Master Gardener who
Has a touch of silver that betrothed
     The rose to the morning dew

And described a plane in between
     Nothing and a foundation –
The design of which is unbreached –
     That lies in an unmeasured dimension

But her exact words were lost
     To the enjambment of my memory –
Moreover – my comprehension lapsed –
     Found lost inextricably.

~~~~~~~

STAR OF WONDER

Star of wonder, star of power
Bluest of steel blue
It shines at the midnight hour.
More wondrous than Regulus
Its eight points burst forth
Beautiful and careless.
Calling moths to flight
The bowsprit lantern burns
Inspiring them to a new height.
It wades through the black sea.
Turn your face this way –
Shine on me, shine on me.

~~~~~~~

Always, a change of plans
     Interrupts my tranquil course –
Set forth by circumstances
     It appears, for the worse.

I resent it, I begrudge –
     It chips away at my mind –
Finally, I'm forced to oblige
     And surrender my time

But once by hushed words –
     I learned of a blessing:
What seemed a dreadful recourse
     Placed me in a better setting.

That's why when the Thief flees
     You shouldn't be too upset
For the Divine may be
     Watching out for your interest.

~~~~~~~

Hiding in an empty room
To have a minute with myself –
I sat on a plush chair
And sank about as low as I felt.
Heaving, I lied, saying
In my head – All is well.

Ticklish electricity then
Stirred the surrounding air.
Slowly, I felt the sensation
As of a fly entangled in my hair
Except two little tugs followed.
I turned – alas – nobody there!

~~~~~~~

How capricious it is
To follow the tail of a comet
And skip across Saturn's rings -

To wade in endless streams -
Cloaked in ether's blanket
Of midnight fantasies -

Where I've other lives -
I'll never completely tell of them
But to the Pleiades.

~~~~~~~

Oh, star – brightest star –
That's first in the sky –
I don't need advice;
I just need an ear.

Nobody else must know
But I feel terrible.
You seem quite capable
Of fighting evil's blow.

Shine for my heart –
Let your fire burn my strife
With resilience tonight;
Shine on with luster.

The sight of you is crisp –
Your wisdom is your silence;
I lay this up to heaven
And trust it upon your lips.

~~~~~~~

When long days drag on me
     And my soul cries in the dark
Then I speak my prayer in sleight
     And He slips it into my jar.

Prithee – give it wings to fly up
     Beyond to the sapphire throne –
Leaving me amidst where I am
     Yet I do not feel alone.

Someday when time is cut sharp
     I'll retrieve it from Whom I belong
And finding a full jar of prayers
     Know that I was never alone.

~~~~~~~

JULY 11TH, 1991

Time, as I felt it, stopped
As the Sun gave up its power and waned
But for an interval. I was lost –
Called away from the mundane.

Given like a vision from God –
I was shown one of absence
Contrary to a comfortable thought
But at the mercy of physics.

I am One with the Stars and Earth
And all Things of eternity;
That doubt of universal birth
Was overshadowed by gray reverie.

~~~~~~~

Heaven must be a library –
   An acquaintance in boredom said –
With many open levels that are airy
   And plush carpet on which to tread

With sliding ladders on the aisles –
   Coffee on tap and a poofy chaise
On which to read the gilded titles
   And infinite time to waste.

I replied I'd love to meet her there
   To help explore the nooks and crannies
And she promised me she'd share –
   To my surprise, spaces such as these.

That way, every now and then –
   She could break from reading
And come find the alcove I'm in
   To see how I'm doing.

~~~~~~~

There exists no place
Outside the Lord's grip -
From the outposts of space
To the eclipse of a pit -
He's never far away.

~~~~~~~

Music starts my little church
   And bids us goers "come forward" -
Timid and cleansing at first -
   Bringing voices to one accord

Then Chris's voice waxing loud
   And the piano's tempo
Make the atmosphere bound
   To become a crescendo

When our song meets Him above
   And the sweet chorus repeats.
Did such music greet Asaph
   At the foot of heaven's gates?

~~~~~~~

TRIOLET #1

For the favor of people and greed
I will not bring shame to my namesake.
A believer's crown, they don't esteem;
For the favor of people and greed
They lie and do a hideous deed
But take heart – enjoy what's good and straight
For the favor of people and greed
Will only bring shame to your namesake.

~~~~~~~

See there marches Orion
     With Sirius close at his feet
Tarrying not long in the air
     To begin the midnight hunt.

His quickened breath congeals –
     His boots crunch the fallen snow –
His eyes attempt to discern
     Between tree and furtive shadow.

Mark the occasion and time
     Of this harvest moon's fair
And note the dog's primal talent
     For smelling blood and fear

Not to bring down a mighty elk
     To quarter and tan its hide –
What they instead come upon
     Is Aries in a clearing field.

~~~~~~~

God never promised you and I Eden –
Only thistles, but even a thistle
Will grow tall in shaft and be edible.
Was that not sufficient for Adam?

~~~~~~~

Like gold of Havilah
   God is true and straight.
I can exhort Adonai
   For His tender heart.

Be it ambivalence
   Or the hour of drear
Wherever prayer is
   The Lord abides there.

Royalty and rivalry
   May erupt with hate
But He will take my leave
   Untouched by the flame.

~~~~~~~

So that you shall be blessed
I pray more than you are aware
For you because you are
A friend of many friends.

May age not break your stride.
Remember all of your days
And on your tongue have praise
For those on whom you relied.

May God look down and see
You at play like a child
And like a parent smile
When their child shrieks in glee.

I pray that the crazy ways
Of this revolving world
Neither make you deterred
Nor dim the light in your eyes.

~~~~~~~

Oh, joy! at the night sky
And the wonder it declares.
How flirtatious! How they flare –
The many stars on high!

There's Castor and Pollux
And Rigel and Betelgeuse
And look! – Aldebaran bids adiós
As he swaggers west.