I really only know
the surface of seasons:
the green and bloom,
colorful brittle,
and blanket death --
While science
informs me, of
soil fitness, to nourish
beneath and trim above --
I am yet not
entirely convinced
as to the longevity
of love? Should I believe
more the prophets and
priests or the lawyers and
judges? She was no help.
I relied on my strength,
I relied on my own understanding,
I relied on what I believed I could do—
And I failed.
I undermined myself,
I hated myself,
And I continued to condemn myself.
But You, O Lord, were patient.
You continued to love me,
Even when I hated myself,
Even when I thought no one
Would ever come to love me.
But You proved me wrong.
From beginning to the end,
You loved me.
And all You ever asked of me
Was my surrendered heart.
All You asked of me was to surrender,
And You said You would take care of it.
I was unsure,
And I still am.
But I remembered Your goodness,
And I remembered Your miracles.
So, despite my doubts,
I chose to trust You.
Wait for the Lord, all you His people;
why do you hasten so?
Be like a wise farmer who tends to his crop,
or the birds of the air
who search for nourishment.
For what would be their profit?
If not the racing of their hearts,
bringing them to their end.
So trust in Him,
like the blind trusting their cane
to guide their steps.
Sometimes I fear
I’ve never known you -
like a leaf might think
it knows its mother tree
from spring
to summer
to fall—
ing
into winter’s
cold, hard ground,
severed from the branches
that once nourished it.
Caught in a season
where familiarity
finds itself face to face
with formality,
and transition
resembles exile.
Maybe one day what is left of me
will sink deep enough
to find something I could never see
from the branches -
where darkness can decipher
whether I never knew you,
or whether knowing you
was never supposed to mean
I wouldn’t fall.
Squirrels in the branches rustling the leaves,
Scurrying up the trunks of the horse-chestnut trees,
Lightly dancing through autumn’s browning shroud,
From branch to branch, thin branches bowed.
Hunting through the leaf litter, gathering the nuts,
Through the furrows, ditches and cuts,
Head on a swivel, survival’s a must,
Autumn’s bountiful harvest banked in trust.
The cycle of life roaring against the age,
Before winter arrives with its icy cold cage,
Transforming the landscape, hiding the bank,
Its fingers grasping, tugging the veil.
Where once existed deep reds, yellows and browns,
White has taken over and frosted the ground.
Many will live but others will perish,
Before springtide appears and winter is vanquished.
New life arrives in bitter green shoots,
And once again scuttling come reds and greys,
The gnawing, the nibbling, the reconnaissance of trees,
The cycle repeats as seasons march on.
unseen personal problems
unsuspected by others
yanking her emotions
she keeps them hidden
her actions cause consternation and concern
confusing behaviors are misinterpreted
she is misunderstood, but keeps her secrets
trusting no one except herself
have I enough?
Adding up the cause,
Because the cost, is gathering
Sum bodies hungry
Justice and cause
Lucrative
Makings of large sums of money
Yet! improvised lacking to show subtenant sustenance
Plenty of no food, nor drink other elements
Though I need to live and survive, even without seeds?
have I enough?
9/30/26
Written words by James Edward Lee Sr. 2026©
Heart racing, mind searching for answers.
So stuck. On the brink of tears.
Yet He remains good.
The need to control, the need to know.
Holding my breath for certainty that won't come.
Yet He remains good.
He holds my future in His hands.
With hope and purpose in His plans.
And for that, He is good.
deny darkly courtship fluctuating could be grammatically sham slobber their peculiarity !
(Weekly Magnetic Poetry Challenge • September 28–October 4, 2026)
The writ barks
and bellows diktat
iron cudgel poised
to macerate multitudes
for the folly
of one man
who sings flat
plays his game
amid howling hordes
and rises valiant
in the storm.
I beseech the sun to
undress the stars,
to pull the velvet off the
night
and let the dark spill into
morning.
Let light be reckless, let it
wander
over rooftops, over quiet
kitchens,
over the places I hold my
breath.
Strip the sky of its secrets,
sun.
Lay bare the constellations I
named for hope,
the ones I traced with
shaking fingers
when sleep wouldn't come.
Let them be naked and
ordinary-
not myths, not wishes, not
promises.
Just points of fire,
Just truth without the ache
of distance.
And of the stars blush in the
daylight,
let it be for me.
Let them remember how I
prayed to them,
how I begged the dark to
keep them safe,
how I finally learned to ask
the sun
to set them free.
So shine.
I undress the night.
Show me what's left
when I stop looking up
and start living in the light.
I’ve tried my hardest
No, you haven’t
Yes, I have. I really have
No, you haven’t…
When a man says
He’s tried his hardest
but he hasn’t achieved
His lie no one should believe
Turtles on the beach,
From burrows called by the moon,
Drawn to the sound of the sea.
Morning comes too soon.
Shadows of curved trapezoids,
Appear on the sand ahead.
Now they're caught between,
Never born and surely dead.
I'm struck by an unknown rush,
At ten years of age.
Golden laughter leads me to,
Put my feelings to the page.
Found after recess,
With everyone standing there,
Subjected to ridicule,
Love stings those who dare.
Who claims life or love is fair?
Through the silence, through the fears;
Quiet my heart, my mind make still,
Help me listen for Your will.
Like Samuel standing, waiting there,
Ready to hear Your voice in prayer,
When distractions fill my day,
Clear my heart and lead the way.
Create in me a heart made new,
A heart that seeks to follow You;
When You call, let me not flee—
Give me courage to faithfully be
Your willing servant, strong and true,
Ready, Lord, to follow You.
Teach me, Lord, to love and care,
To see Your image everywhere;
To serve with joy, to bless and give,
To shine Your light in how I live.
Let me not speak of love alone,
But make Your love through me be shown;
Let kindness guide the path I take,
Let every choice Your heart awake.
Though fear may rise and trials start,
Give me Samuel’s faithful heart;
Let my life proclaim Your goodness, too—
A living witness, Lord, for You.
So when You call, my answer be:
“Speak, Lord, Thy servant is listening—send me!
Enigmatic entropy endeavours the devouring of my depressive tendencies
In the form of an effaced anonymity
Pledging a tender hand to thwart the destruction of my anatomy
Distraught estrangement of in-autonomous tailing tellings
Shall cast this faceless stranger astray
Beyond the smooth syllables of an identifying name
For these hounds that thrash in the thick of sleep
And so do weep of singularity in accompanying company
Shall chase, shall gnaw at the face, the hand that feeds the freer frailty of freedom
And chaff this chance of a chance to escape
These samsaras of silence for the requiem of a dallied day
Dancing and dashing and prancing and thrashing
In the estranged fixation of this strange savior
That wilt know not of my inner ills, beyond the disfigurement of mine own outer mutilation
K.M.P
18//9//26
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