Best Sprigs Poems
When I was a boy
I thought I saw God
with the face of a Pharaoh
riding towards me at midnight
in a golden chariot, pulled by horses of burning gold,
they moved downward out of the deep indigo sky
like a stream of smooth flowing lava,
somehow my soul zoomed up to His zenith
and the city of the Lord
was a circuit of celestial symmetry before my eyes,
and here I am as a restless man
massive in megalithic flesh
with bits of divine scroll on my teeth
seeking to speak the strictures of individual sovereignty...
J.A.B.
I never wanted to be your mighty mouthpiece
I never asked to be the morning trumpet
in the troubled town
or the prophet clown
that would be scorned from all around,
I just wanted to be a mason
like my forefathers before me
to build homes and temples
with honest tools that my heart could handle
to have a family that could worship you
with a love that would never need to lean,
but you demanded that I go to Nineveh
speaking to me like some inflexible father
pushing me with the wind
scolding me with a stubborn sun
chilling me in the nervous night
so I ran,
I ran to the sea so I could be me
found a ship sailing for Italy,
but your wrath found me on the water
tossed the ship to tip
and there I was adrift
worried that this was it,
swallowed by a whale
thinkin that I failed
I prayed to you with passion
pled to be undead,
you, oh Lord, brought me back to the living,
your mercy taught me about the calling,
in my second chance
I received my first glance
of this great gift,
to you, oh Lord, I look for love...
J.A.B.
I began composing this composition on April 24th,
and have completed it, through the grace of Providence
at 2:39 am on May 24th, 2017...30 continuous days,
approximately 120 hours of intellectual labor.
This poem is inspired by, and dedicated to
the great men and women of the Old Testament,
and to the divine genius of Michelangelo Bounarroti
and his masterwork of the Sistine Chapel...Justin A. Bordner
Musing in the memory
of how the Seraphim
salted my lips in the sanctuary
with an alter coal
that seared my cruel speech
and soothed my agitated soul
the cherubs pull my conscious back
to the forefront of reckoning,
A man will come to care
for the rough cut and unclean,
the elders will cheat him
soldiers shall beat him
and doubt will nearly defeat him,
in his hour of quiet death
inside an unfinished tomb
the Lord will light up the room...
J.A.B.
Many men and women have tried to ruin me,
but I am like quartz that cannot be removed
from the bedrock of my blessings,
I'll tell you, you haven't lived
until you've been imprisoned in a den of gaunt lions,
it'll test your faith to say the least,
dream decoding is my forte
my Mother said that I was born with my eyes closed
and that my first words were...sleep see...
at this very moment I am
writing an interpretation of a very quaint dream,
A man is walking confidently and quickly
through a cold bright moonlight,
although alone he feels the spirit of Choice behind him,
the path of his whispering passion
leads him to the edge of a stiff cliff,
he looks to his hands as if to judge them,
in his left hand is a pearl, in his right a gold coin,
one of the two must be chosen
the other thrown below,
he weighs their worth
pauses like a panther
and flicks the coin into the cool abyss...
J.A.B.
I remember when Alexander of Macaedon
approached me in Siwa as a supplicant soldier,
he was so young yet so wet with war blood
32 years old and the most powerful king on the planet,
Alex entered my chamber unarmed and unassuming
he was rather like a boy unbruised by fear,
everything in the world was at his command
but there were questions that he alone could not conquer,
he did indeed ask me, about his family tree
whether he descended rightly, from godly seed,
I arose from my seer's seat
my silken green and gold gown
hugging my body thickly off the shoulders,
stepping down deftly to meet his rare eyes,
we stood face to face
like two fires fuelled by eachother's breaths,
I told him to give me his hand
to which he did
because he knew to trust me,
I unsheathed a tiny dagger
that I kept against my stomach
and sliced his fingertip remorselessly
we smiled at one another,
gripping his hand tightly
I brang his finger to my mouth
as the blood dribbled quickly down to both our hands,
the taste made me close my eyes
I was in instant ecstasy,
I knew now what he thought he knew,
and I told him he was not the first nor the last
that another king shall come in the future
whom will complete the Holy Kingdom...
J.A.B.
Yes, I remember the day very well,
I left my cave in Cumaea for the palace of Palatine,
the sun was sullen behind a veil of volcanic cloud,
Tarquin, the final king of the Etruscan Romans
was handsome under his crown,
his eyes were lapis lazuli blue, his beard copper gold,
he was patient with a haughty grin,
I was received in the courtyard of the Temple Mars,
the fluted columns were tall as ancient timbers
and the sky was at war with the land,
even then my beauty was robust
I had the contours of Love's funerary vase
my face was fair as unblemished polished marble
my body smelled of exotic spice,
I came before the king
with business on my breath,
I was proffering my books of prophecy
like a witch who wastes no wonder
in the selling of spells to those suspicious of good and evil,
randomly, as fate can seem to be,
I picked and plucked verses
like wild irises and roses
hoping to enchant Tarquin's tastes
for that which may or may not be,
and although allured by the future on my lips
he scoffed at the price I persisted,
and each time he dared scoff
I threw another album on the fire,
as the ashes of my prophecy
flew quick and quiet all about
I deigned to read one more
which his heart could not refuse
to which he paid me the original price
before two thirds had burned,
For he who wears the inheritance of thorns
the keys of God he holds in palms...
J.A.B.
In Erythrae they say I'm a prophetess
but I am foremost a Poetess,
an ancient fragrance fires my breast,
the cherubim wake eager for journey
lighting my lamp in the breeze of prophetic poetry,
Maternity manifest in Divine quest
Omnipotence picks her innocence
Time begins a Trinity tick
Heaven heaves her body
Eclipse elevates eyes
Roses bleed in celebration
Miracle marches on
Angels avow annunciation
Rain runs down the road to Bethlahem
Youth breaks open to holy birth...
J.A.B.
Sshhhhh!!!
Wait patiently
I don't want the stars to overhear us,
they'll fuss like phantoms
if they hear the future between us,
you know, I began as a palmist in Persia
the money was good, the hand lines were thick
and the future didn't waste time on lies
but if the king's court caught you crusading,
if they heard hersey of heresy
from the palmistry you provided to the people
then they'd cut your hands off,
okay, I found the oracle of the Alpha and the Omega...
J.A.B.
You see me turned
ensconced in my prophecy
my lips murmuring with soft speed
and you wonder what it is that I seek to say,
for I have wept on the road from Babylon
foreseen the rebuilding of the temple
the phoenix of Jeruselum and the star of the Savior,
the tribe of Judah pays attention to my announcements,
I feel warm and wise in my fire orange and thick jade coverings,
the geniuses behind me wait anxiously for my words,
"Not by might, nor by power, but through my spirit..."
I am Zechariah, the zephyr of Trinity's twilight...
J.A.B.
Transfixed by the thunderstorm of raining thorns
I taste the violet vapor that rises as smooth spirit
while my sensitive gaze garners generations of grief,
for those that follow the Savior must suffer like the Savior
and so they shall, feel the iron of violent institutions
their sacrifice will be spectacular
amid emperors and paupers alike,
on my seat of Delphic dreams
divine light washes my fertile face
blond tresses wave from under the hood
of my cobalt cloak, my lap draped in glowing gold,
I hold unborn history in my hand,
my cherubs exhaust themselves
on the years foreshadowed...
J.A.B.
I'm known as the serpent
but I have a name wise and wonderful too,
I loved Adam well before Eve came into being
I remember how his first sunset scared him
I ate grapes with him as roses bloomed at dawn,
watching them hold hands hurts me,
seeing them kiss with fervor
makes me sick with seething sorrow,
look at her shy stupidity
how eager she is for his arms,
she's so voluptuous and smooth,
no, I won't let this excuse for love go on,
Hello Eve, it's nice to see you happy,
how is Adam staying busy...
Oh, Adam is searching for a gift to give me,
he calls it a jewel, says it glimmers like a star...
Hmmmm, he always knew how to find the neatest things...
We feel so safe and strong together...
That's great Eve, tell me,
what's your favorite food here, in this garden...
Oh, the pears are heaven...
Have you ever tried the apple...
Well no, Father said no way,
Adam and I mustn't eat of it,
the apple could get us into trouble, serious trouble...
Why...
Father isn't always clear,
but He said something about good and evil,
innocence and suffering, I don't know,
it doesn't matter, we would never disobey Father...
Oh, I understand, He's waiting until you and Adam
become smarter, more mature, then He'll share...
Geeee, maybe...
Well what happens
when you eat the other fruits of divine creation...
It's incredible, a rush of joy
jumps into my mind,
I feel electric...
The apple is no different, well, except the ecstasy...
What's ecstasy...
Imagine becoming a glorious star
high and heroic, super smart
just for a few moments,
your Father would never even know...
J.A.B.
What have you two done,
I can see the age in your faces already,
oh you're so bold and smart
you silly and naive creatures,
sure, I sheltered you
kept you away from violence, jealousy, and pain,
do you have any idea what happens
in the raw evolution of life,
have you ever witnessed death
can you even conceive it, huh,
you're gonna feel the fire of rage
and the panic of embarrassment,
you're gonna wake in the frost of depression
and age into the shadows,
you're gonna fight for everything
that you need and love
and sometimes even that won't be enough
you and your children are going to hurt and be hurt
in ways that you can't believe,
my darlings, I love you,
but your natures have been changed
from roses to razors,
you will become grotesque gods unto yourselves,
however,
in the wilderness,
you will be able to create, to care, to love
but it will be so hard for you,
so hard to keep your hearts alive,
I'll be with you always,
your eyes are open to judgment now,
go on to the other side...
J.A.B.
When the wine is heavy
and my thoughts are long
I like to sit in slow sunsets,
doing so makes me feel far from death,
I've seen so many beautiful things broken
heard so many hysterical hearts,
I've been a flagbearer for this Faith
ever since my youth knew how to yell,
I get so tired, so tired in this tempest
that tears the tears off my weathered face,
but I keep livin for the light
I keep talkin and movin with the light...
J.A.B.
We are the Ignudi
unclothed, ebullient and energetic,
we lean and lunge, twist and turn
impervious to the imposition of ignominious imposters,
we are an expression of immortal youth
the athletes and auditors of God's court
unbound by banality or bashfulness
we listen and leer at those who stare
looking for secrets in this sacred ceiling,
in our faces you'll see the feelings
of primal awareness unadulterated by apprehension...
J.A.B.
Joel is my name
I am neither jovial or jocular,
I am an intense siren of scorn
strident with shouts of locusts and sackcloth sorrows,
for in my scroll I see the scourge of an army
come to ravage what remains of avaricious folly
their legions surrounding the lazy and licentious
a nation become drought of delight and diligence,
and when justice has lost it's appetite
with our People's brittle yoke
the Lord will return us to our fruitful foundations
while splitting the swords of our aggressors
and scattering their sadistic seeds into unloving lands,
this I view with a straining heart
as the cherubim bicker about my ears
reviewing the records for belladonna's bells...
J.A.B.