The Last Posting: American News/Sandcreek/Haves and Have-nots/Where Now America?/Babylon/A Midday Dream/Wept

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Murfreesboro

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.   Ephesians 6:12

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead they put it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In this same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and praise your Father in heaven.   Matthew 5:14-16

I watch their ignorance,
I listen to their hypocrisy,
blinded by fear,
guided by hate,
they have perverted Your message,
they have stolen Your love,
they have made a mockery of
Your mercy and grace;

they make me angry,
they make me ashamed.

But then You remind me
that the problem is not them,
that there are forces at work
much deeper than the weakness
of flesh and blood,
that Your love is much bigger
than their fear or my
self-righteousness,
that You poured out Your blood,
gave up Your life,
because we could not,
that my life was bought
not for condemnation but forgiveness,
not for darkness
but light,
that we are to shine
before men,
that they may see our good deeds
and praise our Father in heaven;

that they may not see us
but the glory of You within.

Thank you Lord,
You are the Beginning,
You are the End,
the Truth and the Hope,
the Way and the Light;


Everything.
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Doctrine

That if you confess with your mouth “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved. As the Scripture says, “Anyone who trust in him will never be put to shame.” For there is no difference between Jew and Gentile – the same Lord is Lord of all and richly blesses all who call on him, for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Romans 10:9-13


So this is what the Sovereign LORD says: “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation: the one who trusts will never be dismayed.” Isaiah 28:16

And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has said, among the survivors whom the LORD calls. Joel 2:32

One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Christ? Save yourself and us!” But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”    Luke 23:39-43

My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay own his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command. I no longer call you servants, because a servant does not know his master’s business. Instead I have called you friends, for everything that I learned from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit – fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name. This is my command: Love each other.   John 15: 12-17

For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear.   II Timothy 4:3

Total sanctification,
speaking in tongues,
baptism,
special discernment,
gifts of the spirit,
mysterious new doctrines,
emotional roller coaster rides,
puffed-up words
that fade with the dust,
self-declared knowledge,
man-made wisdom and
vanities of the heart;

one truth,
one Lord,
one kingdom;

in the end,
all that will be left
is love.

“I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise.”

For now we see with imperfection,
peering through a fog shrouded mist,
unable to find complete clarity or understanding,
one day the fog will roll away,
the doubt will be removed,
we shall see through eyes of perfection,
we shall know perfect truth;

we shall experience perfect love.

Lord I am so unworthy,
I am so inadequate,
go away from me
for I am a sinful man,
tear out my sin-filled eyes,
burn my lips and tongue
with hot burning coals,
let the whole world be silent
before Your magnificent
and holy presence,
let every knee bow,
let every heart confess,
that You and You alone
are Lord and King;

that to You
and You alone
does all glory belong.

Lord, let me escape false teachers
who no longer follow sound doctrine,
rabid dogs who know not truth
nor allow others to follow its path,
fading mists speaking vain words
for itching ears to hear,
let me walk in Your light,
let me live in Your love,
let Your will be done

forever.
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One Flesh

For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.    Gen 2:24


“Haven’t you read,” he replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ’made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become on flesh’? So they are no longer two, but one. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”    Matthew 19:4-6


Has not the LORD, made them one? In flesh and spirit they are his. And why one? Because he was seeking godly offspring. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith with the wife of your youth. “I hate divorce,” says the LORD God of Israel. “and I hate a man’s covering himself with violence as well as with his garment,” says the LORD Almighty. So guard yourself in your spirit, and do not break faith.   Malachi 2:15-16

What began so small
has become so great,
what once was two
has been joined as one;

one love,
one life,
one truth,
one flesh.

You are the one
my heart desires,
you are the one
who makes me whole,
when you laugh I laugh,
when you cry I cry,
without you I would be lost,
without you I would be alone,
without you I would be incomplete.

No one but you and I
understand this great and magnificent miracle,
this deep and hidden mystery
that our life has truly been,
a beautiful, wondrous, blessing of God
for which I give continual thanks;

what God has joined together
let no one put asunder,
as it was in the beginning
so shall it be in the end.
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300 Miles Away (Please Wake Up America)

Up in Knoxville the Vols are taking the field,
down in Tuscaloosa the Tide begins to roll,
out in Gatlinburg they’re packin em in
for a big Dollywood weekend;

while 300 miles away people die.

All across the nation plans get underway,
for backyard barbecues and family trips to the beach,
as supermarket shelves are stacked in anticipation
with more than anybody could possibly eat or drink;

while 300 miles away people die.

Stunned by what they are seeing,
people watch the news and shake their heads,
calling in 50 dollar pledges,
vowing to make a difference;

while 300 miles away people die.

In Washington, in Jackson and in Baton Rouge,
fingers are being pointed as the blame game begins,
all across the nation the great debate rages,
filling the blogs and chat rooms with wisdom and advice
from every self-made expert the internet has to offer;

while 300 miles away people die.

Please wake up America,
we are all to blame,
we are all guilty,
we all watched and waited from afar;

while 300 miles away people died.

More than homes and people have disappeared,
more than dreams are shattered,
more than a way of life is gone,
part of a nation has died with them.

Now is the time to stop the
finger pointing and blame,
now is the time to stop worrying
about the pursuit of perpetual pleasure,
now is the time to reach out
and love one another as never before,
now is the time to trust in the One
who can heal all things,
now is the time for repentance;

please wake up America,
before it is too late.
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Hell

Anyone who is among the living has hope – even a live dog is better off than a dead lion! Ecclesiastes 9:4


“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. But whoever lives by the truth comes into the light, so that it may be seen plainly that what he has done has been done through God.” John 3:16-21

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare. 2 Peter 3:8-10

Don’t be deceived , my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.
James 1:16-18

Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. Daniel 12:2

And if your eye cause you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ Mark 9:47-48

“As the new heavens and the new earth that I make will endure before me,” declares the LORD, “so will your name and descendents endure. From one New Moon to another and from one Sabbath to another, all mankind will come and bow down before me,” says the LORD. “And they will go out and look upon the dead bodies of those who rebelled against me; their worm will not die, nor will their fire be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.”
Isaiah 66:22-24

“Then he will say to those on his left ’Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. Matthew 25:41

And you, my son Solomon, acknowledge the God of your father, and serve him with whole-hearted devotion and with a willing mind, for the Lord searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts. If you seek him, he will be found by you; but if you forsake him, he will reject you forever. I Chronicles 28:9

I pray that everyone who is led to this page will read it. I know that most will not, or they will read part of it, or skim through it without really thinking about it. But I hope you will read it and think about it and ask yourselves questions about it.

In previous entries I have discussed the truth of Jesus Christ and how you must either accept what Jesus says about himself or you must call him a liar (see ‘The Truth About Truth’). That there is no middle-of-the-road, or ‘neutral’ position. Jesus was not simply a great prophet or wise man as some religions would have you believe. He was either who He said He is, the Holy Son of God, and the only way to the Father, or He was a liar. The choice to believe or call Him a liar is yours, that is how free will works. For those of you who are parents you understand that you cannot force your children to love and obey you. No matter what you do, in the end the choice is up to them. This is exactly the relationship God offers to us through His Son Jesus Christ. Although He could probably force us to obey Him through intimidation and fear He does not, instead He leaves the choice up to us. He does this because He does not desire a relationship with a bunch of mindless robots. He desires a relationship based on love and trust, just as parents, we desire a relationship with our own children based on love and trust.

What I want to discuss is another ‘truth’ or reality of scripture and that is Hell. Many of you would prefer not to think about or believe in this concept because it is a hard truth to accept. But the scriptures are very clear, and Hell is a real place according to the word of God, so again, you either accept it or you call the word of God a lie. One of the things that makes this concept so hard to accept is that it is hard to imagine how a God who is love can send someone to a place of eternal damnation. First of all Hell is a place prepared for the devil and his angels (or demons) (Matthew 25:41). Second, God does not want anyone to go to Hell (2 Peter 3:8-10). He wants everyone to come to repentance and accept His free gift of salvation through the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ (John 3:16-21). Unfortunately, because of free will, not everyone will accept this gift, but the choice is ours, so when our physical life on this earth is over, our spiritual life will either be spent for all eternity with God or in the place prepared for the devil and his demons. That place is Hell.

So what is Hell? Lets think about this for a minute. What makes life on earth tolerable? Is it the misery and the suffering, the evil and darkness? No! it is the mercy, the compassion, the love, the goodness, the light. So, where do all these good things come from? The answer, in case you don’t know, is God (James 1:16-18). So what is Hell? Hell is everything that God is not. It is the evil, the darkness, the misery, the suffering, the absence of mercy, compassion, tenderness, love and perhaps most important; hope. So in effect Hell is the absence of God. Hell is everything this world would be if the presence of God were removed.

For now the world is a spiritual battle ground. This is why both darkness and light coexist. That is going to change one day, whether it changes during our lifetime or not is really irrelevant. We are all going to die a physical death, and when that occurs, for us, the battle is over. We will be judged by the choices we made during our life. We will not be judged based on our good deeds, because by God’s standard we have all come up short. We will be judged by whether we accepted the sacrifice provided for us or not. We will be judged by whether we have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, or whether we belong to the devil by not accepting the only Son of God (John 3:16-21). We will be judged by our choices. We will either spend eternity with God and His mercy, love and compassion, or we will spend eternity absent from God, in the place prepared for the devil and his demons, where only evil, darkness, misery and suffering exist. The choice of where you spend that eternity is up to you.

There is so much more that could be said about this subject. I can only hope that I have stirred enough interest within you that you will look into it further. You could choose to ignore this altogether, but by doing so understand one thing; you still have made a choice. I hope you will not choose to ignore this because quite frankly it is the most important decision you will ever make in your life. I can assure you of one thing: if you do seek answers they are only a prayer away. If you seek God you will find Him. (I Chronicles 28:9).
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Nancy Wagner

When I was younger, I was going through a particularly hard time in life. I was drinking rather heavily and wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue down the path it seemed I had taken. One night I wandered into this little club in Orlando, drunk and very depressed, and watched this beautiful, young singer perform. She was like a breath of fresh air when I wasn’t sure I would ever breathe again. I went back and watched this angel sing several more times and gradually found the strength to continue on with life, but I’m not sure if I could have if it were not for the comfort and strength I received from her music. Later I wrote about that experience. Many years later I stumbled across this artist completely by accident and became friends with her, discovering that she is as beautiful on the inside as she is on the outside. Nancy, this is for you, I know you have no idea about the ways your music touches people and moves them, but it does, thank you for being you.


Nancy Wagner

When you pass thru life alone,
traveling at twice the speed of sound,
sometimes you forget how much it hurts
to come crashing too the ground,
when you travel the lonely highway,
one face looks like all the rest,
and feelings are but faded memories
locked safely in their hollow chest.

You opened that chest
through the beauty of your song,
arousing the passion
which had laid sleeping for so long,
bringing soothing warmth
to a heart grown cold,
slowly turned to ice
by the pain it could not hold.

If I could take you back,
I’d show you where I’ve been,
but I’ve come down this road too far
to ever go back that way again;

so sing on gentle lady,
sing on into the night,
give me a little more strength
to face the morning light.
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Colorado Gold Mining

Oh Colorado,
what delight you took in misery then,
lying shattered and ruined
yet there remained time,
as the future appeared
so full of endless dreams and possibilities,
in the middle of ancient temples
ripe for the ransacking.

In the morning
you walked into the
dark and empty streets,
waiting for a Denver sunrise
which never came,
boarding a bus for the ride to Greeley
which never seemed longer.

The pawnbrokers had little sympathy
for lost love and broken memories,
offering only a pittance,
but you were glad to take it;

even dead men
have to eat.
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Size Doesn't Matter

In the morning
it all seems so different,
thoughts and ideas
from the night before
fade away as if
they never existed at all,
and all that is left
is the realization
that it will never be the way
it was supposed to be,
that there is more
which will never be found,
but in the final analysis
even that means very little;

put some AC/DC on the headphones
to put it all back in perspective.

Watched a show
on Bob Marley and the Rastafarians,
thought about my life
and all the time wasted,
thought about how much time
might possibly be left,
came to the conclusion
that it really wasn’t an issue,
because it was never a question
of quantity,
it was always a matter of quality,
just like the myth
guys have been telling themselves
for centuries:

size doesn’t matter,
(yeah sure).

Turned up the AC/DC,
size may not matter;

but volume
sure the hell does.
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Discipline, Perseverance and Other Voices of Insomnia

I never had much respect
for middle of the road,
it was always the extremes
that captured my attention,
the ones out on the edge,
pushing it right to the limit,
leaving it all on the field,
nothing held back;

this is what I admired.

Most of the good ones slipped away
like killers in the night,
discipline never a strong point,
perseverance not a possibility.

I browsed through one of his ‘posthumous’
books the other day,
I almost bought it but eventually
put it back on the shelf,
the words seemed to fit but somehow
it just didn’t feel right,
it felt a little too ‘perfect’,
a bit too ‘contrived’,
more than coincidence.

I imagined his widow sitting down at a table,
throwing a bunch of words together
whenever the bills were due,
claiming to have some secret vault
full of previously unpublished material,
then again I could imagine him
speaking from his death bed,
giving her specific instructions:

“feed it to em slow baby,
give em a book a year,
that’s all there is
but it should be enough,
if you spread it out.”

Either way,
I put it back on the shelf,
I didn’t want to be guilty
of supporting fraud,
I’m much too ‘clean’ for that;

much too ‘dignified’.

Later I will go home,
write all these words down,
the thoughts and ideas
springing up from that short
book store glance,
wishing I had bought the book,
knowing the words really belong to him,
wondering how he knew he’d be
inside my head 16 years later,
while sitting at a kitchen table
at 4:12 in the morning.

You were the greatest Hank
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Vapor

This life is but a thin cloud of vapor,
disappearing before our blinded eyes,
lingering within golden rays of light,
forever hidden inside the hopeless lies;

truth is meaningless without You.

Gently beckoning,
the voices quietly call,
swallowed up by the mystery,
vanishing into these shadows
living within us all;

with You I am not afraid.

Traveling through this endless night,
we can never be the same,
like stars disappearing out of sight,
we can never escape the blame,
monsters of our own doing,
followers of the broken and lost,
creations of false expectations,
we continue to pay the cost;

only You can save us now.

Like forgotten memories we fade,
never to rise again,
not knowing where we’re going,
unaware of where we’ve been,
empty shells grown cold,
silently screaming at the madness
lurking deep within;

every hair is numbered,
not a sparrow falls without Your will;

I am ready.

Once again I fail,
once more You pick me up,
once again I stumble and disappoint,
once more You patiently wait;

all I’ll ever need is You.
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The Clock is Ticking

Walking this beach,
there is a feeling of incompleteness,
restlessness,
unfinished business;

paupers,
waiting for the axe to fall;

so much suffering,
so much dying,
does anyone deserve this?

Like a side of beef
she leads me to this place,
selling me to the highest bidder,
giving up without a fight,
no resistance,
no struggle,
only shame.

There is a depth here,
untold symmetry,
flapping and unfurling
with the newborn sun,
words come easy,
light and free,
no longer encumbered
by stones of inertia,
shooting through the unlimited
nighttime sky with
a touch of innocence;

there is a depth here.

This boiling sun
is no longer a home,
this raging sea
provides no relief,
old bones come home
to roost,
the clock is ticking;

time is running out.
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Common Ground

Old letters locked away
in forgotten chests;

once there was a chance for you and I,
a chance that we could meet on common ground,
perhaps find a small bit of mutual understanding,
a place not too much me and not too much you,
a place somewhere in the middle,
but now that chance is long gone,
time has grown short,
you are where you are and I am where I am;

with too much space in-between;

still we had some moments,
playing catch in the backyard,
fishing in Canada;

you were my dad
and I was your little boy.

I sometimes wish it could
have been different,
somehow better,
something more,
but it was good enough;

thank you dad,

for being there
when I was not,
for being strong
when I was weak,
for accepting the shit
that was not deserved;

you were always the man

I wish I could have been.
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The Great Day of the Lord (Zephania 1:14-18)

"The great day of the Lord is near - near and coming quickly.
Listen! The cry on the day of the Lord will be bitter,
the shouting of the warrior there.
That day will be a day of wrath,
a day of distress and anguish,
a day of trouble and ruin,
a day of darkness and gloom,
a day of clouds and blackness,
a day of trumpet and battle cry
against the fortified cities
and against the corner towers.
I will bring distress on the people
and they will walk like blind men,
because they have sinned against the Lord.
Their blood will be poured out like dust
and their entrails like filth.
Neither their silver nor their gold
will be able to save them
on the day of the Lord's wrath.
In the fire of his jealousy
the whole world will be consumed,
for he will make a sudden end
of all who live in the earth."
                                            Zephania 1:14-18

The Hard Path/Psalm 23

It would be easy now
to give in to the hate,
pick up the cause,
rally around the cry,
join in the fight;

the injustice,
the hypocrisy,
the inequity,

so easy to hate.

Much harder to love,
forgiving the trespasses,
putting down the ego,
swallowing the pride.

You did,
letting them lead You to death,
despite having done no wrong,
allowing the mockery,
the suffering,
the humiliation,
the separation;

out of love.

I am trying Lord,
it tears at my insides,
it goes against
everything this world
has taught me;

but for You
I am trying.

Fill me with Your spirit,
be my shepherd,
remove the want,
make me lie down in green pastures,
lead me beside still waters,
restore my soul,
lead me in paths of righteousness
for Your names sake,
even though I walk through this valley
filled with the shadow of death
I will not fear evil,
for You are with me,
Your rod and staff comfort me,
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies
You anoint my head with oil,
my cup overflows,
surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me
for all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in Your
wondrous house

forever.
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Haves and Have Nots

“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off? I tell you, he will see that they get justice, and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on earth?”           Luke 18:7-8

It’s easy to turn your back

when you’re one of the haves;

have a job,

have a home,

have money,

have food;

have affordable health care.

Easy to believe the lies,

give into the fears,

buy the stereotypes:

they’re all lazy,

they’re all immoral,

they’re all looking

for a free lunch;

they all get what they

deserve.

So afraid of losing

something that belongs

to you,

some of your hard earned

treasure,

all the things

you sweated and slaved for,

all the idols you fall down before

and worship;

all the things you sold

your soul for.

The have-nots of the world

are beginning to rise,

they’re not going away quietly

anymore,

they’re tired of the abuse,

they’re no longer content

with the crumbs,

there are things

bigger than themselves;

there are things worth dying for.

The children of men hold their breath,

a final sigh before the meltdown,

a silent pause within the maelstrom,

their hearts failing from fear,

their love growing cold,

meeting in secret places,

waiting for what is to come;

like a thief in the night

it sweeps them away.

Trees smolder and smoke,

bursting into flames as

tires begin to steam,

their rubber melting

to the highway surface;

no where to run,

no where to hide.

Like abandoned wells

their water runs dry,

they sit withering in the sun,

wandering through the wilderness,

lost and alone;

the day is here,

the time is now.

Your mercy endures

to the end,

but who shall hear the message?

who shall accept the grace?

when the Son of Man returns

will He find faith?

..
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Irish Lullabys (from Lifesongs 2)

Here's a few more from the past with an Irish taste to them:



I Knew You Then/I Know You Now

I knew you once before,
in a land far away,
we danced to the music
of a Celtic beat,
drinking pints of dark, sweet ale
until we fell laughing
within each others arms,
making love
until the new day dawned;

I knew you then,
I know you now.

There was another time,
another place,
lying on a fresh forest floor,
your long dark raven hair
falling down
around my face,
the smell of your womanhood
filling my mind and soul,
the taste of your precious lips
like delicious honey on mine;

I knew you then,
I know you now.

Do not forget,
listen for the voice
calling within your soul,
leading us back
to a place
that only we have seen,
only we have known;

I will know you then,
as I know you now.
_______________________

W.B. Yeats

Welcome old friend,
come in from the cold
and rest awhile,
I recognize your voice,
it is one I have heard
many times before,
the accent
was a little different
then
from what it is now,
but still
it is the same.

We have talked often
you and I,
during that soft
and painful transition,
as I tried to hold on
to the dark and dying night,
and you patiently waited
for the pale morning dawn.

You must tell me old friend,
have you found that precious
light of a new day
for which you waited
and searched
for so long?

Ah well,
nor could I
hang onto the darkness,
but what difference does it make?
it is in the trying
that matters most,
you and I
were never born
to live in the black
or the white;

it is the cracks in-between
where we belong.
____________________________

Dancin to the Chieftains

Round and round we go,
faster and faster we spin,
the beat of the drum,
the rythymn of the fiddle,
making our hearts grow light,
the flute ringing out
like a lost
and dear old friend,
ah these days
will last forever,
for they are all that matter,
sweeter
than the sweetest wine,
soft and tender
as the fairest young lasses
lips,
for surely we have passed
this way before;

if only in a dream.
.
.

O Eire

In May of 1995 Dodie and I went to Ireland where we spent 10 days driving around the countryside in a rental car, staying in bed and breakfasts. I wrote a lengthy and detailed (and rather interesting and witty) (if I do say so myself) account of our adventures there in an article titled ‘Irish Holiday’. However it was lost forever in the great computer crash of 2003 and I had neither the memory or the energy to recreate it (it did teach me a valuable lesson about backing up files though). All that has survived of that Irish trip is this one poem.


For those of you who know something about Irish history you know that Ireland has been invaded and conquered many times. The truly amazing thing about that history however is in the fact that in every case, instead of turning Ireland into a slave country of the conquering nation, the conquerors were assimilated into Irish culture and in most cases became more Irish than the native Irish who were already there. This was written with that in mind.

O Eire

O Eire,
who could taste your sweetness
and not cry out for more,
who could stand upon your cliff tops,
or walk the banks
of the river Shannon,
and not feel your mystic magic;

your hills
breathe with life,
so young and fresh,
but with a wisdom
so ancient and old.

O Eire,
even the mightiest invader
is overwhelmed
by the power of your beauty,
succumbing not to your sword
but to your spirit,
taking not their lives,
rather
taking their souls,
making them prisoners
to that
which they had come to imprison;

O Eire.
.
.

What We Have Become

This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy. Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good. Traitors, heady, high-minded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.

I Timothy 3:1-5

It’s easy to mock now,
no more barriers,
no more inhibitions,
godlessness the avant-garde,
cool, hip, chic;

truth irrelevant.

Poetry has become an abstraction,
a train wrecked shambles,
a self-indulgent journey into
self-imposed decadence,
its only purpose;

masturbation of the mind,

without rhyme,
but more importantly,
without reason.

Snotty, excitable little twits
so full of themselves they can barely walk,
let alone write about things they understand
even less,
fluffy little balls of bullshit,
stuck in the diarrhea of their words,
political correction and self-satisfaction
going hand in hand;

a religion for the masses.

Everyone is a poet today,
everyone a self-made god;
everyone is okay and getting better,
everyone capable of greatness,
everyone a master of their own fate;

it is our culture,
it is our society,
it is our psychology,
it is our national anthem;

it is what we have become.
.
.

Where Now America?

Where now
America?

Your playgrounds and sandlots
lie empty,
as your youth
grow tired and disillusioned,
hanging out at the mall,
gathering in clumps and clusters,
wearing hundred dollar rags,
wrapped up in coolness,
struggling to be ghetto,
jaded with knowledge,
dripping with sarcasm;

nobody’s fool.

Ice flowing through their veins,
filth dripping from their lips,
incapable of genuine laughter,
void of dreams,
growing old
before their time.

South jersey farm boys,
full of TV bravado and
James Dean machismo,
daddy’s good little girls,
playing MTV hoes,
busy being
trash-talking, lil-bitch wannabes,
joking about
giving blowjobs for a dollar.

Generation X,
childhood gone,
innocence lost,
forever;

where now
America?

Where now?
.
.

Babylon

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven. He had great authority, and the earth was illuminated by his splendor. With a mighty voice he shouted: “Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great! She has become a home for demons and a haunt for every unclean and detestable bird. For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries. The kings of earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” Then I heard another voice from heaven say: Come out of her, my people, so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues, for her sins are piled up to heaven, and God has remembered her crimes. Give back to her as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done. Mix her a double portion from her own cup. Give her as much torture and grief as the glory and luxury she gave herself. In her heart she boasts, ‘I sit as a queen; I am not a widow, and I will never mourn.’ Therefore in one day her plagues will overtake her: death, mourning and famine. She will be consumed by fire, for mighty is the Lord God who judges her. “When the kings of the earth who committed adultery with her and shared her luxury see the smoke of her burning, they will weep and mourn over her. Terrified at her torment, they will stand far off and cry: ‘Woe! Woe, O great city, O Babylon, city of power! In one hour your doom has come!’

Revelations 18:1-10

O Babylon;
land of opulence and luxury,
kingdom of self-indulgence and lust,
home of instant gratification and decadence,
you use until there is nothing left to use,
you take until there is nothing left to take,
you lie dying in the filth of your own greed;

where is your pleasure now?

O Babylon;
trampling on the backs of those who have less,
stealing from those without the resources to fight back,
killing under the guise of righteousness and the greater good,
how long can the hypocrisy remain hidden?
how long can you pretend
the misery and suffering doesn’t exist?

how long O Babylon?

O Babylon;
surrounded by wealth and excess,
your children grow restless and bored,
turning to technology and machines,
ashamed of a legacy stained with innocent blood,
unable to reconcile the truth
in the name of liberty and justice for all.
.
.

A Midday Dream

On a bright blue morning
I saw the end,
as the city went up
in flames,
you turned to me
with panic in your eyes,
screaming “WHY?! WHY?!
I said we must not
cry,
so when it is all over
we can face the truth
and say
we remained
human beings.



…..Be still
my tired,
beating,
savage,
heart,
your day of rest
will come
all to soon.
.
.

Out On The Fringe

 Out on the fringe
there are no easy roads;

they all look the same,

words become blurred,
friends become foes,
and no one knows the darkness,
no one understands the loss;

no one sees the damage.

Out on the fringe
babies die before they are born,
seeds are destroyed before they
have taken root,
thorns choke
without compassion or mercy,
players die without ever
getting in the game;

everything is lost.

Out on the fringe
failure is not an option,
it is a guarantee;
still there is the hope,
waiting for the change,
holding on to the possibility;

all things are possible
for You;

even this.
.
.

Discipline

Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways” declares the Lord, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.         Isaiah 55:6-9

Once more,
You open my eyes,
once again,
You hold up the mirror
before my wretched and pitiful face,
revealing inner things
I could not see on my own,
showing the conceit
of all my preconceived ideas,
humbling the lofty and haughty spirit
by which I have walked,
crushing the self-righteous throne
upon which I have sat,
deflating the egotistical vanity
living inside.

Proving that You alone
know the hearts of men,
making me understand
that You, and You alone,
have the right to judge,
that there are ways
which seem right to a man,
but in the end lead to death.

Lord forgive my selfish pride,
have mercy upon my wicked ways,
guide my blinded eyes,
lead me down Your holy paths,
use me for Your righteous will,
teach me Your perfect ways,
rebuke my errors and mistakes;

discipline me as a beloved son.
.
.

A Message For My Daughter

Be young my darling,
for as long as you possibly can;
reach out
and grab everything
there is to grab;
lay all your fears to rest
while there is still time;
never look back
with pity or regret;
be bold and beautiful
like the sun and moon;
shine like the stars
through the cold black night;
but most of all;

be all the things
I never could.
.
.

Double Dipping (from Lifesongs 3)

I could have been a poet,
instead
I became a dad;
I could have been a rock star,
instead
I became a nuclear operator;

I still like the strangeness
though.

When you’re a dad,
you don’t have the time
for deep reflection
or avant-garde things,
you don’t have the balls
to take chances
or stray too far
from the beaten path,
same could be said
of a nuclear operator;

I guess I’m doubly
f****d.
.
.

Getting My Kicks

We all have problems,
some worse than others,
some not so hard,
some more than anyone
can bear.

I know what they really think,
that’s why I never go back,
at least here
no one cares
who or what I am,
besides,
in most cases
what they think is actually true,
I am strange,
I know that,
I’ve always known that,
that has never been the problem,
they don’t expect me to be strange,
it catches them off guard;

that’s where the problem comes in.

I am very good
at presenting this straight-laced persona,
I suppose it is deceptive,
but that’s what I have to do to get by,
I can’t wear it forever however,
sometimes I have to remove the mask
just to be able to breathe,
that’s when the silence and funny looks begin,
sometimes I don’t care,
sometimes I don’t even try to pretend,
sometimes I just look them straight in the eyes
and remove the veil,
just to watch the amazed looks
on their shocked faces,
then I hurry and put it back on,
so they are never quite sure
if what they saw was real or not;

we all got to get our kicks somehow.
.
.

The Way It Should Be

I returned to the home of my parents
for a few days last week,
back to a home where I once lived
but have been gone
for over 25 years now,
while I was there I attended
my 30 year high school reunion;

it was very strange.

I’m not really sure why I went,
or what the point was,
once I was there I realized
that I spent 4 years with these people,
and 4 years seemed like such a very short time
compared to the years which had gone by,
but it was interesting to watch how quickly
everyone (myself included) returned to the roles
played back in high school,
there were so many things I had planned to say,
about places and things I have seen and done,
about all the words I have written over the years
to make up for the words which were never spoken
when I knew most of them,
but instead I became the big dumb-ass,
smiling jock again;

as if nothing had ever changed.

Most of then had ended up
exactly as I assumed they would,
lawyers,
college professors,
business people,
husbands and wives,
fathers and mothers,
grandfathers and grandmothers;

dead.

I suppose it would have been better
if I had gotten falling down drunk,
but I had already done that the weekend before,
drinking vodka and beer until I passed out,
and I’m only good
for about 3 or 4 of those a year anymore,
so I had to pass at the reunion,
but perhaps if I had
I might have shown them a glimpse
of the person who I really am,
but then again;

perhaps not.

None of them knew me then,
and none of them know me now;

which is probably
the way it should be.
.
.

The Last Song

Lately my writing has become a lot
like my lovemaking,
the desire is still there,
but the potency is long gone,
I suppose the two go hand-in-hand,
there were many times when
words were just an extension
of certain body parts,
so perhaps there is some validity
to this observation,
now the question is;

Can it be more?

I have no answer for this.

The fire is going out
in many areas of my life,
some days I cannot even remember the point,
and that is a very dangerous place to be,
my life is slowly being reduced
to one side of the fence or the other,
no more in-between,
no more middle-of-the-road,
no more shades of gray,
no more lukewarm,
hot or cold,
black or white;

life or death;

life changing decisions
require life changing choices.

There is much I could say to you,
but nothing can undo the hurt
I caused you,
nothing can bring back the life
I stole from you,
nothing can make right
the wrong,
everything has come down
to this moment,
the last poem,
the last word;

the last song.
.
.

Possibilities

There is a silence here,
it grows like a whisper,
a quiet, controlled pause,
a small, knowing glance,
a foreign substance
speaking a language
all its own.

We have become a nation of whores,
selling our children to the highest bidder,
devouring their inheritance
for a pittance,
accepting the consequences
with no thought for tomorrow,
trapped within the madness
of the method,
replacing character with content;

an ends justified by its means.

Blind guides,
false prophets
in love with the sound
of their own voice,
forever searching
but never seeing,
forever finding
but never understanding,
unaware,
unsuspecting;

sometimes knowing the answers
is not nearly as important
as imagining the possibilities.

The light of a new dawn
begins to break,
I am leaving this dark place,
going to a home never known,
what tomorrow brings
does not matter;

for You will be there
to make it right,
You will be there to wipe away
every tear.
.
.

Decisions on a Day Off (from Lifesongs 4)

Woke up this morning;

decided whether to shoot up
or not;

decided whether to be a killer
or not;

decided whether to become a bum
or not;

decided whether to be a rapist
or not;

decided whether to be a hero
or not;

decided whether to quit my job
or not;

then I took a shower,
ate breakfast,
washed the car,
drank some tea,
played video games,
watched some tv,
did some grocery shopping
and wondered;

if I’d made the right
choices.

Woke up this morning
searching for a place
that isn’t for anyone
but me,
somewhere
where decisions

don’t make a difference.
.
.

Double Whopper (from Lifesongs 3)

“You really need to take better care of yourself”
she said,
“I’ve been looking at cookbooks,
trying to make up a grocery list.”

"I am hungry” I said,

“Not now!
you know, chicken, asparagus, stuff like that”
she said.

“I was thinking more like a double-whopper
with cheese” I said.

“Why didn’t you come out and tell me goodnight
after your shower?” she asked.

“Because I knew
if I waited long enough,
you’d come in here and ask me that,
then you’d start rubbing my chest,
and we’d end up having great sex,
we go through this every time,
I just eliminated the middle step”
I said.

“You think so huh?” she said,
as she began rubbing my chest;

I still want that
double-whopper
with cheese.
.
.

Pushbuttons (from Lifesongs 3)

Sports, sex and food,
those are about the only things in life
that have ever really interested me,
and I’ve only been good at two of those,
well okay,
I used to be good at two;

now
I only do one well.

Technology?
bores the shit out of me,
and on top of that
I don’t really understand it,
yet somehow
here I am,
a highly trained technician,
in a highly technical field,
pushing buttons,
watching red and green lights
go on and off,
thinking about
the leftover steak in the refrigerator,
and the secretary with the nice ass,
or how my daughter can improve
her basketball game.

Sometimes I imagine life
living in a stone cottage,
overlooking the ocean
on the western coast of Ireland,
writing whatever comes to mind
all day long,
then walking into the village at night
to drink a few pints
and tell a few lies,
stumbling home
to crawl in bed with a good woman,
big and soft,
who moves with passion,
moaning out of control,
and keeps the house clean;

excuse me,
I gotta push a button.
.
.

The Prize (from Lifesongs 1)

In the silent darkness,
winter’s stiffness takes hold,
as yesterday’s warmth
gives way to tomorrow’s cold,
the mist of time shrouds itself
within a veil of unseen sorrow,
as mighty gentle giants
throw stones at posterity,
crumbling it to the ground
to make room
for another concrete monument,
the children listen to the voice
of their colored god,
and it tells them who they are,
and where they’re going,
and how to get there,
and why it must be so;

and it helps them to forget.

Who can know
these depths to which they
have fallen,
who can understand
this darkness
growing within.

The sun begins to set,
storm clouds gather upon
distant horizons,
ancient fires blaze once again,
laying this land to waste,
like giant behemoths
rising from the night,
leaving little margin for escape,
doomed from the beginning,
they never stood a chance,
seven hundred feet below
the end quietly waits
in a world all it’s own;

just like the prize
in a cracker jacks box.
.
.

Lead Me O Lord

Lead me O Lord,
by ways I have not known,
guide me along unfamiliar paths,
turn the darkness into light,
make smooth the rough
and rocky places.

I turn to You in sorrow and humility,
contrition and repentance
cloud my troubled spirit,
forgive the iniquities and transgressions,
remove the darkness inside my soul,
fill me with the hope of Your presence;

restore the joy of knowing You.

All things are possible
for You mighty Lord,
no task too difficult,
no request too great,
no mountain too high,
You who created all that is known,
You who command the wind and sea,
You who were the first,
You who are the last,
in You shall I place my trust,
in You shall I find peace,
be my Savior,
be my King;

let me be Your servant
forever.
.
.

All I Ever Need

Change my heart O Lord,
remove the darkness lurking within,
take away this lonely emptiness,
save me as only You can.

I know the inadequacies,
I feel the uncertainty and doubt,
I try to hide the incompetence,
I hear the rage scream and shout.

Inside I am as dry bones,
my voice broken and unheard,
my skin burns with unquenchable fire,
my spirit longs for Your Holy word.

Open my eyes O Lord,
reach out Your mighty hand,
remove the temptations of this flesh,
help my carnal mind to understand.

Allow me to overcome
all which keeps us apart,
deliver me from evil,
purify my wounded heart.

Heal my broken soul,
cleanse my every thought,
sanctify every motive,
by Your precious blood have I been bought.

Fill me with Your love,
walk with me for all my days,
teach me Your discipline
show me Your righteous ways.

You are where I want to be,
Yours is the voice I long to hear,
Your love is all I need,
with You I will not worry or fear.

Without You I am nothing,
with You I have all I will ever need,
You are my Savior and King,
through You I have been forever freed.
.
.

Faces (from Lifesongs 1)

People with knowing faces;

all my life
I have fought
those smug, smiling faces,
as they assign and condemn others
to a pre-arranged destiny,
casting them like characters
in a pre-determined script.

They appear to know more
than they could possibly
begin to understand,
about a life
they have been taught to live
within transparent plastic containers,
they become very nervous
when someone comes along
who sees through the charade,
grinding their molds
into dust;

just to watch the amazement
on their boring, predictable faces.
.
.