Another Day in the Valley

the sky turns grey, with fiery streaks of red,
wood stoves fire up, smoke rises from
chimneys, as the dawn of a new day
begins, a train rumbles through the valley,
the James flowing swiftly beside, they
come more frequently now, pulling miles
of coal cars packed to the brim, on their way
eastward, to Richmond and Washington,
replenishing stockpiles in preparation
for winter, just as they have for
a hundred years;

it makes you wonder,

how much can be left;

in the distance, a hawk soars

above Gunter Ridge, standing exposed,
naked and bare, glistening in the early
morning sun, leaves, three times the
size of a man’s hand, cover the
nearby ground, forming a blanket,
through which the squirrels scamper
to and fro, deer hunters scour the
surrounding forest, searching for
fresh meat and trophies, hanging morning
kills upside down, as the blood drips to
the ground below;

talking about the ten pointer

that got away;

everything remains the same,

as it has for generations, and you
silently think;

why would anybody want it

any other way?

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Past Due

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come you who are blessed by my father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you? The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine you did for me.’ 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. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you? He will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’ Matthew 25:34-46

now it begins,

the time arrives at last,

no more excuses, no more

pretending, no more room

for denial;

you watched, as my children

lay dying, broken and bleeding,

naked and alone, crying out

for justice and mercy,

you smiled as I suffered,

you laughed while I was beaten,

you turned your backs, as I

slowly starved, your pursuit

of pleasure and perpetual comfort,

made you soft and weak,

your greed has crushed you,

your delusions of grandeur

and self-importance, have

blinded you, your lack of

understanding and compassion,

has sealed your fate, your denial

of truth, has damned you,

your destruction is assured,

your chosen leaders have abandoned

you to the grave;

now it begins, your time has

come O Babylon;

payment is past due.

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Naked

When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it. Then the eyes of both of them were opened, and they realized they were naked; so they sewed fig leaves together and made coverings for themselves. Then the man and his wife heard the sound of the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden. But the Lord God called to the man, “Where are you?” He answered, “I heard you in the garden, and I was afraid because I was naked; so I hid.” And he said, “Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten from the tree I commanded you not to eat from?”   Genesis 3:6-11

“You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those to whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him and he with me.”   Revelation 3:17-20

once more you open my eyes,

showing me just how blind

I really am, how wretched,

pitiful and poor I have become,

revealing the evil lurking inside,

uncovering all the filth,

the inadequacies, the incompleteness,

the nakedness;

Lord I am so far away!

I hear Your voice, softly counseling,

gently rebuking, quietly disciplining;

reminding me of the path

leading to You;

Father, remove this darkness,

heal these wounds as only You can,

renew all that I am, fill me with

Your Spirit, bathe me in Your

glorious light;

make me a son

of the living God.

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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 limited

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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life

in the morning, before the doubt,

before the poison, anything

is possible, the world is bright

and new, fresh and alive,

but then, like the morning,

it is gone, as reality sets in;

I wait outside her domain,

like a dog in heat,

I listen to her voice

pounding within,

like ocean waves

on a dark angry night,

she holds me in arms

of shifting winds,

without shape or form;

life is full of wasted time,

wide open spaces and moments

in-between, long, drawn out hours

of insufferable boredom,

highlighted by seconds of

indescribable pleasure;

life is a never ending orgasm,

working and struggling,

building and rising,

working for just one

short burst,

one quick release;

I want a place to hide,

a shelter from the storm,

safety in the wilderness,

a home within the night;.

what words can be said for this?

what salvation, what mercy,

what redemption?

there are places where hope

does not walk, places where love

has no home, where light

does not shine, truth does not speak,

down here words fail,

seasons become blurred;

is it wrong to give up?

is it wrong to let go?

we come so close,

reaching and touching,

knowing and seeing,

hearing and feeling,

so close, yet so impossibly far,

flowing like underground rivers,

hidden, alone;

silent;

fires burn bright, stars blaze

through the night,

yet it is only the shadows

we see, moving through rising tides,

surviving extravagant excess,

hiding among the corners,

day after day we wait,

as miles become like dead stones,

wrapped around the necks

of fools and lovers,

hour by hour we survive,

selling flesh inch by inch,

smiling at reflections in the dust,

crumbling before the edges,

with nothing in return.

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He is There

For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.   Romans 8:38-39

the time draws near,

the journey almost at an end,

home just beyond the distant horizon,

lying only a heartbeat away,

and I am ready;

He is there waiting,

ready to make all things new,

removing the darkness,

wiping away every tear;

the pain will pass,

the doubt will be removed,

the suffering will be no more,

the night will be turned to day,

the joy shall be forever;

He is there waiting,

ready to make all things new,

removing the darkness,

wiping away every tear;

words fade away,

time passes like a dream in the night,

prison walls crumble into the dust,

all things will be as intended,

all things will be made right;

He is there waiting,

ready to make all things new,

removing the darkness,

wiping away every tear.

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My Home

we hide inside our houses,

dreaming of the tomorrows,

imagining the possibilities,

running from the darkness,

mystified by the mystery,

trapped within the illusion,

waiting for the destination;

forever seeing,

but never knowing,

forever hearing,

but never understanding;

if it were up to me,

I would stay in this place,

seeking shelter from the storm,

swallowed up by the myth,

drowning in the depths,

growing cold from the emptiness,

guarding Your truth like a rare

and precious jewel,

but Your grace knows better;

Your will demands more;

I am searching for my home,

but I don’t know how to get there,

so I quietly wait in the wilderness,

running from the ghosts,

hiding from the demons,

praying for a tomorrow;

my home is neither here

nor there, not ahead or behind,

not without or within,

my home is in a land far away,

a whisper on the howling wind,

a flicker in the candlelight glow;

close your eyes, and it is

forever gone;

my home is nothing,

my home is everything,

my home is all there is.

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