a paraglider
sails over me
I, green with envy
he, mocking me
I was helpless,
I was shining.
You were knowing.
and bestowing.
When my steps were unsteady,
you held my hand.
You were ready.
Age is just a number, you said
grinning broadly like a
little girl repeating a loving fib.
You wanted a protector,
a guardian of devotion.
But I am not your Paul Bunyan,
the mighty timberman in your dreams.
In my twilight, I remember so many
mighty forests burning to cinder.
Frailty disintegrates the will.
Big-strong-protecting-men wilt with age.
They offer their pleading eyes,
longing to be cradled.
Maturity is mortality ticking.
I was helpless,
I was shining.
You were knowing,
and bestowing.
When my steps were unsteady,
you held my hand.
Beyond Despair
despair
heavy, discordant
stomping, injuring, impeding
stamina, outlook, impulse, dreams
refreshing, aiding, inspiriting
priceless, heartfelt
hope
Furocity - it boils within the very vessels in essence
Bursting esteemed love, susceptible in it's unwavering
Vulnerability
Purity abreast of angelic fortification so easily crumbled
Shattered as splintered crystal fury slashes altruistic tracts
Lively divine power, immeasurable, snuffed by frailty
Resentful vengeance's suffocating unrelent.
In June I sought the desert phlox
That I might smell its homesome musk
It quivered like the desert fox
Foraging in the lonesome dusk.
smallest of glowworms
shining at their very best ---
brighten up the earth
12 December 2022
Fearing that our diversity may doom society.
We have worn out our discolored disguise.
Mental doodles have a limit in their entirety.
Leaving behind a youthful dream and surprise.
My work has been tainted by society.
Placing screens in front of trusting eyes.
Creative content requires time and satiety.
Hearing evil howling and looking for a prize.
I'm powerless, waiting for such a deity.
Miracles of modest nature need to arise.
Persists throughout daily anxiety.
Descriptive accounts that debated the size.
Written: December 2nd, 2022
not the banyan trees
dried twigs hold the dragonflies
often carefully
few fallen feathers
form firm foundations for Finch's
fantastic furrow
a leaf on waters
becomes great lifebuoy
for a drowning ant
17 August 2021
I am complete when I am worthless
I am unrivaled when I am weak
I am unequaled when I am dependent
I am acceptable when I seek.
The one thing that You can't see
Behind the barrier in which I hide
Obstructing your vision and your sight
Is my incessant and flippant pride.
I am pardoned when brought low
I am free when plans get shattered
I begin to learn with much sadness
I transpire, beaten and battered.
How can I turn your face towards me?
When will you return and reappear?
Where can I go and you'll be found?
How can I draw you close and near?
My character is honed when I surrender
My candor is present when I give up
My maturity grows with a tender heart
My clarity emerges with an empty cup.
A warrior's confidence is his strength
And his training supports his mind
But the champions efforts are short-lived
If he is not with You aligned.
I am upright only when humble
I am virtuous when I decrease
I am pure when I forfeit
I am guiltless when You Increase.
Castles in the sand
Are built in front of the sea
As waves come ashore
Familiar victim dancing in the damp darkness
Seeker made, marked, miles of skin
Fashioned into the perfectionists puppet
Tool, temptress, tornado
Fraudulent construction, masked self destruction, every mile mattered
Prison, power, machine
Dumpster of record
Entertainment, goddess on screen
Supporter, tyrant, jester in one
Pretty, pitiful, puppet of miles
Interpreted easily all or none
Oppressor mesmerized by the liars light
Mute, mime, servant in the night
Hope’s Frailty
Alas among the tools to cope
the frailest one, I find, is hope
a fibrous strand of silver thread
just out of reach, just up ahead
gossamer in sun lights glow
bejeweled in clutch of falling snow
yet still I search for other ways
lost in a cruel conundrum haze
sad ifs, and buts, and “should-a-beens”
lost in the mist of “wheres and whens”
Hope – soft solace of the weak
belies the words of those who speak
lacking knowledge of the scope
of ever distant, fading hope
to lift the head and clear the eyes
return our world to its right size
John G. Lawless
©2/8/2019
monstrous sound slashes silence
the bellow of a giant beast,
or the flutter of a thousand wings
elevations and indiscriminate creed will not heed
sinister stirs the mix, the rise of wicked’s extravagance
black feathers flutter and bewilder against the palest frontier
the mock of a starlings flight, the fall in a sparrow’s might
countless sullen wings unfold, to rally their squadrons for show
a mobbing cry meets a redeeming sky,
their rising tones mimic heaven heralding high
contrast to the core, countless black rap-tor destroy
the fading blue sapphire display
a rebel twist in the storm suspends them again, harbingers dawning
a verge of wonder, stands close
the small dark outlines, bask a golden shine
peripheries slight motion, a graceful shimmer
perched as an alert, the slight snap of fingers
a single feather cascades, turning in the elegant dance of a ballerina's descent
laying at the step vaguely pointing to the entrance,
the pride of a black bird,
there is no place for an Omen here,
the last frailty, is my secret near and dear
Terry D’Arcy-Ryan
Precious Life is a Flower
Unfolding to the Sun;
Cast a shadow 'cross its petal,
Poof! Its bloom is gone.
The frailty of my body reminds me
Of my weaknesses and mortality
It reminds me of my limitations
Of my dependence on God's provision
When ailments take my voice away from me
When my hoarse voice can't sing of Your glory
My heart lifts up to You a silent song
It's You who's helped me sing all along
The frailty of my body reminds me
Of Your strength and immortality
One day, You will make all broken things new
Restore this world with the freshness of dew
In Jesus, we are a new creation
We're citizens of a holy nation
Though we're not perfected, let's fix our eyes
On our true heavenly home in the sky
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