Things for Now

You left one morning to go on a permanent run.
Did you remember your keys?
Did you remember your path?
"It all led here! It all led here!"
You shouted at the end and then pressed on.
You shuddered through the cold and sweated through the heat,
Laughed with the thunder and got lost in the silence.
There's art in the challenge and beauty in the trials;
By the way you wear your worn skin so well.
What was it like running beneath the falling embers?
Those crimson sparks that drifted like snow.
What was it like running long after the path ended?
I'm proud that you made your own.
Oh how you fell and fell and fell again
With each one further than the last.
But still you keep rising
And still you keep running.

Things for the Past

Forgive
Forgive
Forgive.

Your dreams were last night,
Just fog come morning.
All those wars you lost yet you still fight,
Just set down your rusted weapons.

Don't hold
Don't hold
Don't hold yourself under water.

There was silence in the snowfall,
A heavy, pressing purity.
Tried and true mistakes were made,
But that was then, where to now?

Keep moving
Keep moving
Keep moving ahead.

You may feel like damaged goods,
A little bit bruised, a little bit travel worn,
But think of all the sights you saw
With all the people that came along the way.

It's time
It's time
It's time to head towards home.

Evening

Watch people as they end out the day,
All the tired soles walking over the ground
And heavy coats over shoulders wear the walkers down.
Who do you think they go home to,
Those with tired hearts.
Did they make a difference that day,
Or struggle to stay awake.
Are their homes alight with love and life
Or are the lights simply off, too tired to care;
House of the living or mausoleum for the past.
Oh you tired things, is this where you expected to be?
Are you fitting your scenes? Are you waking from haunted dreams?
I hope you have something to lean onto at the end of the day;
Be it a dream, a passion, or a someone.
Lean, lean, lean child,
Lean into this evening.
Sleep, sleep, sleep child,
Make peace with your dreams
And try again tomorrow.

Something Akin to Redemption

I am a mess,
Take this from a first-hand account.
But then again, aren't we all a bit?
I got hearts on my sleeves and head in the clouds,
Feet were hardly touching the ground and that's my fault.

Please look past those old crooked teeth,
To the sunlight streaming in.

I'm a festival, I'm a parade,
I'm too scared to move out into the street.
You're such a kindness with strangers over your head,
Thanks for showing I can settle down with the unknown.

Driving into the dark, is this how it's supposed to go?
"Never knew before so I had to make my own way."
And I am reassured and continue on.

I can hear the wolves calling.
At night, proudly between the trees, beneath the stars.
I can hear the wolves calling.
They're calling a challenge and I must press on.

Things I Fought For

I found myself smaller and smaller against the blue.
Alone at the bottom of the world,
Nothing else in the raft but faith and fate.
So I took a risk and broke out the oars, saying,
"Honestly there's gotta be more to see than this endless sea."

So carelessly and irrevocably I started to save me
But not once did I imagine a design so grand and fearfully made.
This raft a patchwork of measured words, reverent deeds,
And whispered prayers of "Hope this works",
Carried me further than I could imagine.

Did not love the hardships,
Nor question the validity of the difficulty,
But appreciated the current that dragged me to where I ought to be.
If this is all just a metaphor for growing up,
Why did it have to be tested by such a rough sea?

Saw angels and demons in the waves,
Found the fire in my throat,
Took open risks on open seas,
Coped with salt written into open memories,
And pulled in the wind with the possibilities.

I fought for myself.
I fought for myself.
I fight for myself.

Our Chorus

Oh how you burst, old friend.
Catch an eye, caught a spark,
Outside, in the dark.
I swear I can hear our laughter,
Further ahead, further on up.
I promise I can do my best,
To let you know you're being cared for.
This story has had quite the cast of characters,
So I step back to see the whole tapestry.

Now I am struck by these moments passing on.
Fall trees, falling leaves, golden on the ground.
Lines of magnificent adults forging words for one another.
Lonely intersections full of past and present possibility.
A man offering a chestful of support for lover's tired head.
Wordless, breathless airport reunions sequel anxious longing looks.
Snow falls on this silent night, holy night, a world at rest.

So be at peace; be still when you sleep.
Find the right words for each person
And guard your heart from a bitter erosion.
Share but not steal, be honest to heal.
Rise each day, place determination in your steps,
Boldness in word and deed, and over all of these,
Hope.

Brother Moon

I may have come first,
Content to go nowhere fast.

Holding this orbit,
Meant to last.

Sun stands still,
All else moves.

Time may ebb and flow,
Depending where you stand.

Different paces,
Occupying different spaces.

So I as Brother Moon, will give my best,
Lighting the dark along with the stars.

Sometimes I may be half here,
Quarter, sliver, gone, not for long.

Wait out my dark and I'll wholly shine.

So even when I'm not 'round,
You can still seek me out,
And don't wait to make myself known:
But wherever you roam
I won't be far from home.

Familiarity

All is lost and found,
I hope.
I miss the places I used to find myself;
Sights and sounds and smells still pull me back.
A lightning strike, a wave of Déjà vu,
Clap your hands it's gone. 

Momentum

Never has movement been so slow;
A glacial act of growth;
I have been swept along with so much to show.
Empty fields amounted to empty space.
Watch the mile markers and milestones recede,
Stored alongside everything I think I need.
That's the thing about momentum.
You're stuck when you're still in place
But once you start moving it's quite hard to still the wheels.

Alone on the open road.
Stop. Caution. Storms ahead.
Slow. Merge. Lane change.
I guess we should press on.

Loaded down with the luggage I deemed essential,
I think I packed too much.
A suitcase here,
Traveling bag there,
Laid to rest along the way.
Now I begin to swing out,
For miles

miles

miles.

Beast

A city is a strange beast.
Feed it and it will sprawl,
Groaning as it stretches towards the next horizon.

A concrete earth.
A gridlocked forest. 
Sights and sounds and fury

Among the hardness there remains mystery.
Unexpected gestures.
Uplifting spots of graffiti.

I like the way nature can break the gray.
Luminous billowing pillars beautifully hurt the eye
Over parks built for respite.

I wish you could see the lights,
The creature's neon restless eyes,
Keeping me from sleep at night.

Have you ever watched a city beast sleep,
As it huddles near the mountains' feet,
Speaking huddled roars in dreams of distant shores.

See the cells in the veins,
Moving in vain thorough fare and thoroughly worn,
Perpetual motion and infinite breaths.

Humans are humans and here's the beast we made,
Bricks and concrete and tired, bleary eyed scenes.
The beast, the machine, man and his dreams.

Who has been tamed,
We or the beast?