The Kingdom in the Magi’s Heart

A Small Book of Verses

Tevada Pay-Pey

Copyright © 2023 Tevada Pay-Pey All rights reserved

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.

Cover design by: Tevada Pay-Pey

Printed in the United States of America

 

 

Table of Contents

[1]

[2] – On the Word of God and Mercies for the Spouse

[3] – On the Matter of the Spouse

[6] – On One’s Heavenly Relations

[7] – Untitled 7.92 (Again)

[8] – On the Greatness of God’s Mercies

[9] – On thy Americas Meek and Humble Times

[10] – On the Hopes of the Humbled People

[11] – On Christ’s Loving Hand and Companionship

[12] – On the Strength of the Meek

[13] – The Alms of a Frightening Moon

[14] – An Encouragement

[15] – On Fixing a Mirror

[16] – A Prayer of Healing

[17] – On the Nature of Our Labors

[18] – Against Temptation

[19] – An Observance on the Voice

[20] – An Observance of the Wife

[21] – On Pagan Forefathers

[22] – On Forty

[23] – On God’s Voice and Proverbial Lives

[24] – An Encouragement on Wooden Tongues

[25] – Observance of God in the Lives of People

[26] – Prayer for an Ungrateful People

[27] – On Acadian Boredom

[28] – Matter of Distant Spouse

[29] Prayer of Thanks for a Nation Restored

[34] – Untitled 7.034

[35] – Prayer of Thanks and Free Will

[37] – Prayer for the Lord’s People

[38] – Untitled 7.036

[39] – On the High Nature of God

[40] – On the Sacrifice

[41] – Untitled 7.037

[42] – On Rising to Love and Transient Things

[43] – On Being Separate Among the Separate

[44] – A Story of Envy, Hypocrisy, and Open Eyes

[45] – On God’s Paintings of War and Peace

[46] – On Good Dreams

[47] – An Apology for Ungratefulness

[48] – Untitled 7.054

[49] – Verses of Thanks

[50] – Verses on a Love

[51] – An Embarrassing Confession (Thank the Father for His Patience)

[52] – On Company, Charity, and a Dumb Wise Girl

[53] – On the Vexations Caused by Wisdom and Wishes for Sons to be Better than their Fathers

[54] – On the Washing of Sin and its Taint Across all Times

[55] – On the Matrimonial Vows and the Spirit of the Land called America

[56] – Tale of a Dream and Thanks for Dreams

[57] – On a True Soul

[58] – A Praise on Labors

[60] – On the Washing of Iniquities

[61] – Prayer to Silence the Damning Drums of Intellect

[62] – A Blessing for One’s Wife

[63] – On How a People are Paid in Death and Life Beneath a Silent God

[64] – On a Prayer that Increases the Potency of Prayer

[65] – On Dealings of Temptation and Acedia

[66] – On the Seal of Jealousy

[67] – On a Way Between a Man and Maid

[68] – On God’s Living Proverbs for which He calls Man

[69] – On God’s Good Purpose

[70] – On Birds Taken Care of

Sinuous Vexations in a White Lab Coat

Sinuous Vexations in a Black Lab Coat.

Consolations of a Gilded Crown

Instruction to Bleating Lambs on Effective Labor

Instruction on to Bleating Lambs on Time and Place

Instruction to Bleating Lambs on Industrious Labor

Instruction to Bleating Lambs on the Mode of Life

 

 

 

[1]

 

Pray, the LORD speaks to us both night and day.

He is with us always, as we sleep and wake.

In darkness, He is there, in light, He is there,

The LORD makes a purpose for every time,

He knows His body in both darkness and light.

So though a man may dig deep into Earth,

We pray, we hear, and so know the LORD our God,

So that He is with us even unto the pits of Sheol.

 

 

[2] – On the Word of God and Mercies for the Spouse

 

God, thy word is like a fire,

Heat on my skin to be admired.

Still, just to think that my energy

Is without end. I am blessed Lord, yet

Pray for my outlet, my wife.

I go into her garden and we have fruit.

Yet, at times I find myself there long.

To think on the charge you gave us: Make life.

Well, loving our spouse is a part of that.

 

Thank you Christ, for I am blessed to know her.

By my eyes she is most beautiful.

By my mind and heart she is.

Her skin is white as sculpted ivory.

Her figure, like the hour glass.

Her two breasts are like ripened plums,

Full and soft, with good taste.

She has arms that are long and slender,

And her legs are lithe.

Her hands are with soft touch

And her eyes are filled with joy

That are brightened and glimmer like the stars.

From her mouth is spoken wisdom.

Her face, a perfect composition.

All she is, a gorgeous painting.

And I confess, her hair is as lustrous gold.

My wife’s hair, with its colors of autumn

Is like silk down the length of her back,

A field of hay stretched beneath the blue sky.

My hand goes to grab, and it is lost in its shape.

And when we kiss, her mouth tastes like milk,

And her tongue tastes like honey that is warm.

 

I really don’t know what to say.

My Lord, I am blessed. I am grateful.

She was so cute when she told me,

“I will make you happy for the rest of your days!”

Maybe she said it in a different way.

However, that was how I heard it.

 

 

[3] – On the Matter of the Spouse

 

In the chambers of my childhood home

I got to know her in all sorts of ways.

Her milk honeyed tongue, her sweet pleasured face.

I knew the heat from her seeking mouth,

And I saw love in her sky-colored eyes.

The hair behind her back was with autumn’s hues,

With the most full length and width to rest on.

It was as a bed of hay in the Summer

            That is without end.
By the touch of her soft white hands

I am most delighted. Her being’s divine.

I am humbled to know that she is mine.

I have come into her gardens

And by our care we’ve born fruit.

Her two breasts are as ripened plums

That are soft and sweet to my taste.

Her belly is as a field of clouds to lie on.

Her skin is as white as porcelain,

And her neck is as a sculpted tower,

Where soldiers station themselves to guard.

She sits in my shadow  

And by her love and by her work I have joy.

By my work, our work, we both know life.

By our love, we have life and we have much joy

From which the fruits we taste thereof.

I have tasted her fruit as she has tasted mine.

In the days where Earth and Heaven come to pass,

God, I shall ask her again, “Will you be mine?”

 

 

[6] – On One’s Heavenly Relations

 

I thank God because he brought

A girl who understood.

Though I had a wooden tongue

I am glad she understood

“I love you,” those words

Which often don’t mean a thing

Where but by action it’s translated to speech

That kind spoken by Babel

 

Now, I confess, I care not for this song.

What’s the point? There is no point

If interpretations be always wrong.

Just know that between us I am grateful

To have met one such as you.

By your muse, God has me renewed.

And know that there’ll be a day

Where to heaven you’ll go on your way.

And I will stay and I will pray dear,

That we will meet again.

 

And when my soul has left the Earth,
I’ll fly through all the stars to search.

When I see you right by God,

I will ask you, “Do you know me?”

If at that point the answer is no,

Then that’ll be fine with me.

It is fine to be ignorant

Of an earthly love that was.

Again, with me I’ll have you rise in love.

Again, I’ll have you gasp and cry “Dear God!”

In eternity of eternities,

That is where we’ll be.

And I will ask you again, “Will you be mine?”

 

Now I know it may not be right with you.

That in God’s land I’d still try to be with you.

And trust me when I say this.

I speak not in a longing way.

I just look forward to the day

When I can spot you as divine.

 

Safe and secure in a heaven without pain,

Pain that we don’t ask for.

I pray that’s where you’ll be,

In heaven truly free.

Then when I come meet you,

I would cry to know,

That in all the world,

You would still choose to have me as your groom.

Know that I am but one…

 

So forgive me dear for being

A man so sentimental.

If I did not consider you in these terms I’d …

Well let’s not speak of it.

You may say, “Love, that is far too needy.”

But you must understand that if I did not need

Then I’d … it is not of God to value love

Like the meat that we eat.

I could be like that … very easily.

So please, I’d prefer it if you’d make it hard for me.

Or at least, very easy to choose you in all the world

Rather than have me make love to all the world.

 

 

[7] – Untitled 7.92 (Again)

Praise God,

I am as the wind who comes and goes,

While you were as the wild’s rose.

Though I went far through distant lands,

You were always there to greet me with your hand.

Your roots being deep,

In that garden you have always stayed,

To greet me there for all my days.

I am glad to have known you,

Wild rose of God’s creation.

By your soul you speak true,

Not trimmed, but honest with your thorns.

 

And through your ages I’ve delighted

To see your beauty across all seasons.

A tough plant you are,

You were always made new,

With each frame of time,

Your person begat something divine.

By God, by his painting’s stroke,

There was always new art to find.

While I journeyed far and wide,

I was always grateful,

For your spirit that shines,

 

Those petals, those thorns by the vine,

All I see is an expression,

Reflection of what’s inside.

On lonely days where I make my rounds,

Flying across the world to God’s need,

I am comforted, grateful for these memories.

That I could know you and you could know me.

 

… Do you know now? This garden we have kept.

It has grown so vast. Your children,

They who have grown by our work,

They number as the grass.

They sprout up as life where there was no life before.

Like you, their roots are strong.

They can withstand any storm.

… I have joy … seeing them grow.

I know them not like you, but I know.

They also change through their seasons.

They are also beautiful. They also age.

What is born from love is lovely.

 

Forgive me, why is a passing wind sentimental?

It is enough that I have watched over this garden.

It is enough that I have loved,

That you have bored all my suns and storms.

Maybe, when I retire from my role,

I can set forth to meet you again,

In a new garden, a new Eden.

Please … allow me to thank you.

I am grateful. You gave me a place to stay.

 

            You gave me a reason to pray.

 

Listless was I until I found you.

 

Wild rose in this garden!

Oh how people trample through!

War! War! Fire! I can’t let this happen!

Peace! There must be peace in this land!

Then when the crops are good and the sun is plenty,

 

People shall rejoice and this rose shall grow!

 

So tirelessly I would work …

Bring rain if there were fires,

Be a muse for men to inspire.

All around I would work …

Prosperity, peace, I would bring,

So we could worry not about any thing.

 

It is all so amusing thinking back.

How could you know all that I’ve done.

You were a bit blind in our garden.

How could you ever understand what it was like

For me to blow hurricanes in an army’s path,

Exercise God’s wrath against evil men who’d try to pass,

In to the Paradise we’ve made to burn the grass.

 

Barbarians! They stamp on through.

As a traveler I saw how they worked.

They will take a good thing:

Farms, villages, happy towns, monuments,

Libraries, cities, happy families,

People who laugh, people who smile,

The glorious work of civilizations,

The humble painting of God’s creations!

            … They bring everything to ash!

Much of what I knew was left to rot.

            … There … in a snowy land I saw,

            … So many people who did no wrong.

What happened to them?

            … They passed.

Without protection, Death flanked behind them.

… Death took them
            … By force, by flame

            … By bomb, by plane

            … By beaten hands and bloodied sticks

            … Shrapnel through lung

            … Necks that were hung

            … By hunger

            … By fear

            … By pointy knives

            … By holes in eyes

            … Anon, anon, anon

Look, sometimes I would put a fire out with rain.

After that day, it depended on my mood, by God.

Yet, my dear, you gave me reason to care.

All that I have seen, all that I knew …

How could I let the same happen to you?

 

And, I suppose that’s the mystery … why you?

Goodness … where was I on that day in winter?

When I cared for nothing, I did nothing.

I meandered … I wandered.

I saw what I saw that day, and just watched.

 

            Why you?

 

Out of all the beauty I have seen,

Out of all the gardens, all the plains,

All the pittered grass of this world …

           

            Why you?

 

Honest rose with thorns? Many roses have thorns!

What about you was so special! You’re not special!

I have seen many plants and many flowers.

I have seen many grown and many wither.

Did I ever tell you? Many roses I have trampled!

By my work … I cared not for them.

They, the lot of them suffered on my whim.

You were not special … so why you my dear?

 

This is all beyond belief.

            … That I could have love so much

            … For someone so ordinary.

What caused it?

… What caused you to be the prettiest rose in my eyes?

     Why over you should I have to cry?

     Why over you should I want to die?

     What is the life of the wind?

     A perennial can live long and die,

     But by God what of this, this wind?

     Breath—air, Breath of Life!

     I stay for the children.

     It is what I have told myself,

     Yet, at times I just wish you were by my side.

     You know … I wish you could see them—

     Not up there, but here, with me.

Forgive me dear, for being so selfish.

I am a selfish, selfish man.

All the good I have done,

It has all been for me,

For my own reasons. Do you agree?

 

I take care of them, but it’s all for me.

By God, I am far too happy to call myself religious.

There should be a crown of thorns on my head

Or some nails stuck through my hands

Yet by God I am so, so happy.

 

It can’t be right. I have joy. I am happy.

I have labored, and they too are happy.

Their lives are fulfilling.

They dream dreams and achieve.

This can’t be right, but I do not care.

Let the wise men suffer—they ask for it!

I only asked for what I wanted,

And I am so grateful that I received,

I got what I asked and so much more.

I can go on and on …

Say, should I pass, would you care for more songs?

 

You are as the wild’s rose

Toughest flower that I know.

By your side I knew

What it was like to love,

To give your life for God.

 

I saw you through all snow,

And all the winds that blowed.

Wild rose that was by my side in life,

Who put honest thorns in my side,

In the days where we were wed,

By your comfort I was bled.

 

It was fun,

To know you as my one.

I was glad,

To see your face all cute and mad

In grief and joy.

It was fun,

To know your beauty when sad.

By your tears,

I lived to be a better man.

So … I’ll be glad,

That you lived—that you passed.

I can laugh this time,

In memory of how you lived.

 

Thank you dear

For being in my life,

For making yourself my simple and cute wife!

This king has been crowned by his queen!

 

Each night I have good dreams

That are like a tower without end in Babel’s eyes.

In the skies above, can we love again?

 

Well by my vision I know

It is God’s greatest gift we lived,

So now, let us pray, for the resurrection where I can say,

 

“Dear, it’s me!”

 

(Let us pray that we can love each other again. Amen!)

 

 

[8] – On the Greatness of God’s Mercies

 

Praise God.

We are thankful for your grace.

We are thankful you died for this race.

Through your death we have rose to life.

The meek inherit their right

To grow strong through their God that is Christ.

 

It is not always easy

To live and to work

For your mission that brings us mirth.

But you help us carry the torch

To bring light to this world.

 

Where children have cried tears

They are made happy in time.

Where the flowers have died,

New life do we find.

Full gardens, churches, apartments.

By your hand we are mused.

We march and become our own heroes.

 

And yes, life can be tough. That is fine.

Let demons be our training fodder,

Tests for our strength.

Each battle we get better.

Your servants grow stronger.

Who cares if the door is slammed

Or if the lock is jammed?

By your glorious hand all people know

The majesty of you Lord.

 

Let there be builder’s hands.

Let there be singers in the bands.

Let the writers write their songs

And the mute have their voice.

Healed are we through grace.

It be a blessing to raise the weak.

 

Stronger you have made us

Through your compassion and mercy.

To our lost brothers and sisters under God

We do as you have done,

Giving spirit to the lame.

 

Praise God, Christ, you are great.

By your cross, you’ve made all our fates.

By your name we are cleansed of shame.

By your glorious work, we do the same.

We give glory unto you, our God, for all our days.

 

From the Peters to the Pauls,

To the Johns and the Marks,

We march to continue what you’ve wrought;

Healing the sick, preaching good news.

By the word the people are equipped

With a sword to cleanse all evil.

We cast away all devils.

Unto you Lord is our thanksgiving.

Without number are your blessings!

 

 

[9] – On thy Americas Meek and Humble Times

 

Dear Lord we pray for the power to save

The people that we care about, make our own way.

Our home is on the brink of great decline.

Our children are prepared for harder times.

 

And when comes the days of tears and strife,

They will lift up their hearts to make new life.

By our seed and by our faith the nation’s saved.

The Americas flies past its Babylonian stage.  

 

As the meek became strong it was God they praised

For leading them through all their harshest days.

‘Deliver us,’ they prayed. They found a way.

For mercy for our sins who else can we praise?

 

Now there once was a time with crime on the rise.

People turned away from God and became as flies,

A sinning race destroyed by their pride.

They looked to idols and by deception, died.

 

We asked them, ‘For this people will you die?’

They answered, ‘For what people do you ask?

Our leaders have abandoned us.

They sold us out for gold. We have no help.’

 

But they’d add, ‘We do have pleasure. We have mirth.

We have grave images of pretty girls.

To remind ourselves of the life that they had robbed:

A good wife, a house, and worthy jobs.’

 

They’d despair, ‘Why die for a nation that’s gone?

The Americas of my Grandpa is not the same as now.

The men have grown weak and they don’t believe

In God or anything that once made us great.

 

Oh how great it was that God gave us this land.

That we fought and won against those native bands.

We drove them out and we’d do it again.

Convert warring savages into Christian men.

 

Why is it so bad to love your country,

To pay heed to the ones who made you safe?

Without my grandfathers’ guns we would have died,

Got our skins cut off by or sacrificed

By all those warmongering or marauding tribes.

Sir, you know what it’s like to have one spit

On your ancestor’s grave cause they knew not

Of the love they had to volunteer, to protect,

And to carve a future for us hungry mouths?

 

Surely, our leaders would rather have us die.

Our old enemies have risen.

We rebuilt them as friends and they turned their backs.

Indignant, they call for reparations.

 

What can we give? What can we give?

They’ll take our money, then they’ll take our homes.

Then, when we are weak, they will take our heads,

They’ll perform the will of their fathers, those men of old.

The wars will start again and there will be dead.

God have mercy for it’s already happening.

 

Please, don’t talk, let me have my drink.

Today, my daughter got mugged on a bridge.

Got mugged by three black dudes. Christ, it’s always

Black people round these parts but we can never say.

 

I mean, look, you’re one of those people aren’t you?

Cut me some slack, I have relatives in Liverpool.

If it were there, she’d have gotten stabbed

By five Irish kids with knives, all of them white.

 

Every nation has their problem population.

We’re just not allowed to talk about our problem population.

… F— forgive me, you’re ah—maybe I am racist.

God help me. I do try to judge them by their character,

 

And these men of character gave my daughter

A black eye and left her in the snow to die,

All for one twenty dollar bill in her chewed up wallet.

I always told her that she should have carried.

 

But then again, she’s a thin as a reed,

And her wrists, she’s got those pencil wrists.

And, her whole life she’s been kind as a puppy.

Should have been a man there to walk her home.

 

I should have been there to walk her home.

What kind of father am I? I’m a weak man too.

Bad husband I am also. They… I lose myself.

I should have kept that girl by my watch.

 

But, back to our nation, it is far gone.

Better to drink here in the latter days.’

 

Surely, surely, their hope was decided at that time.

Yet, there still was a hope in their hearts and minds.

 

Pray, we invited them to pray,

To stoke the flames of Wisdom’s truth,

That which their fathers knew in olden days.

We would say…

           

            ‘Pray, one nation under God, indivisible

            With liberty and justice for all. Amen.’

 

And then we would be blessed to remind them,

To gift them knowledge of what you have written.

 

            ‘The kingdom of Heaven is within you.

            It matters not what the kingdom is called.

            As long as the nation, our states have you

            Then we will have a nation blessed by God.

            Blessed are the meek for they inherit.

            Knowing the sin of weakness they repent and grow strong,

            Strong as the angels and soldiers of Heaven.

            We pray this for you, die for the kingdom within.

                        Amen.’

 

During those times, people walked without purpose.

Yet it was by your old promise Jesus Christ,

The one you manifest by the founding of our births,

That the meek men of hard times be given life.

            Thank you Jesus, God. It was, is done. Amen.

 

 

[10] – On the Hopes of the Humbled People

 

By the hand of the Lord, we inherit

The wrath and mercies of God.

By our family’s creed to maketh life

We have come to serve this world with all God’s might.

 

As the vines that grow between the concrete,

We do our work in all places and times.

We rise up again and again evermore.

The snake can try to stomp us out, but it’s

A useless affair. Again, we rise again.

 

A forest may be burned down to its last tree.

Yet what of its seed, carried by wind and storm?

By that which is planted they do survive.

The forest which is burned, again it’s alive.

One young root grows. It plants its seeds.

For the loss of its home it does mourn,

Yet by God’s word and hope it believes.

 

‘Look forth! At those lands without number!

Oh instruments of life, see what that is.

What once is dead is meant to have life.

What once has life is meant to have death.

As it is written, all things must come to pass.

Yet, there is what is eternal, that be God.

That which be life can not be dead forever.

Go forth! Make fruit for the land.

Let no man, no man’s envy stop you.

With God, with our Father, you shall stand.

For God, and for you, do all that He commands.

You wish to make disciples, to teach?

Sabai, disciples come to you when you have.

Furthermore, as there are those who teach in life,

There many more who teach past their life.

The lives of people are as parables and proverbs.

He has written them all before their time.

If you have learned His way from dead men, you are their disciple.

So who but the Father can know how much more you’ll teach

By your life here on Earth and unto Heaven?

Blessed is he who believes. Their inheritance is great.’

 

 

[11] – On Christ’s Loving Hand and Companionship

 

I am that I am. Please understand.

Man with no name. A chameleon.

I’ll dress the way they want, but never fit in.

Who can I be but what my people need?

By God’s merciful hand is how I lead.

Though no man or woman may understand me,

It is my joy to march for the Kingdom within me.

In this world, though I may sometimes stand alone,

I know I’m not alone. He’s with me always.

All those who are in my way do falter.

They either fall or join me in your cause.

Those who once paid you no heed give you heed.

It is by our work that they are relieved.

Thank you Lord that the world is to the meek.

They be meek and they rise and find their strength.

We seek and we find. We ask and we receive.

You answer us in all times

Whether it be by speech or silent leaves.

            Amen.

 

 

[12] – On the Strength of the Meek

 

Who can understand the plight of the meek

Save for God who sees

All their pain, and all their wispy tears and fears.

There be a man who follows the widest path

            The path trotted on by multitudes before.

He cries, ‘They said I’d be rich, but now I’m poor.

The preachers said I’ll have joy but now I’m sad.

Who can be glad, knowing evil men are glad?

Doth the preacher know not what they say?

If life be a practice for one’s own death,

And if we be dead in this life for our own salvation,

Then why give a fig, care about life at all?

For newborns have their lives and have sinned not,

Why not send the babes before sin it does?

If life be worthless compared to heaven’s bounty,

Then would it not be death we’d rather see?’

Tugged every way the meek be tied to their leash.

The word of their Lord is used against them.

‘The meek shall inherit the Earth.’

As it is written, the preachers use thy words

            To make deceptions.

So the meek stay meek till the days of tribulation.

And in those days they find they have no strength

            To save their loved ones.

Yet, for all the people which be close to God,

All those people who listen for Christ’s voice,

They know the truths of what is written.

            By dreams and by prayer,

            By His words, by His silence,

            They see, they hear, they touch, they know

            Of all that He has told.

            His wisdom and His strength are for them.

‘Blessed are the meek for they shall inherit the Earth.’

God has suffered his cross and is therefore resurrected.

            So too doth the meek suffer.

So too doth the meek claim their resurrection. Amen.

 

 

[13] – The Alms of a Frightening Moon

 

So cute and simple is my God-fearing bride.

Praise God, I am the only man who sees her

Bare and eager on moonlit nights.

Her body and soul is for me, her husband.

She embraces me as I embrace her.

We are raptured in delight; me and my beloved.

I see her in every skirt and dress.

By her pleasant touch and voice I am blessed.

There is a world of queens and models and concubines,

Yet my beloved is one: she is mine.

She be a model who poses for my eyes only.

As my wife, she loves me as her Lord,

With all mind, with all heart, and with all might.

As my wife, I love her as His church.

For her, I’d surely die. For her, I’d surely live.

I lead, and she follows me beyond the stars.

By the fruit of our seeds and garden,

Our house gains inheritance beyond the wind and sea.

We be as the plants and leaves which grow on any soil.

By our vows to God, we keep ourselves true.

Our happiness be our children’s Heaven.

Our separation be our children’s Hell.

            Such is the part.

Till death do we part. There is only one out.

Nonetheless, we had no reason to worry.

Loving, staying faithful be very, very easy.

I be, was, and am a God-fearing man.

She be, was, and is a God-fearing woman.

Both of us, with all our heart we praise God.

Why, we talked about it much… Heaven for us.

Heaven for us would just be a lot of

Hugs, kisses, and petting

With walking, shopping, eating, making art, petting dogs

            And… all manner of lovely breaks in between.

Ah, praise be to God for my lovely wife.

We do fight, but that’s its own sort of fun.

An eternity, where I get to mess with her.

She could fall out of love… what a futile thought.

            She rises in love again.

Or, maybe, we both agree to forget

            So we can rise in love again.

Though I pray, that again it is a lovely story.

 

 

[14] – An Encouragement

 

Thank you God for taking care of me.

I once lived in a world not for me,

A place of death and tragedy

            Where no one was free.

Lord, we lived as slaves in chains back then,

No control over our emotions.

We made a world without freedom

            Where all people cried.

Our tears would power our energy,

Keep us working through the night till three

When the rising moon became that which set.

We thought we had no choice but to be a bee.

We walked like ants, mindlessly to factories.

            And I cried,

‘Oh Lord, what is the point of this life?

To work long, then get a wife I don’t like,

To receive the sons I crave?

Is this path before me the only way?

Where went the hope of my future days?

I see what the people have.

            They have what I seek.

They are handsome and strong and loved and well-bred.

            Why was I born weak!’

Then on my most rainy days,

I laid on the floor and stared at death.

Then by your breath, I took your word,

From you, to Job, to Paul, and the saints,

I saw who was born for inheritance.

The man beaten by this world

            Inherits his prize.

The man who has pain

            Learns from his pain.

It matters not what they do.

It’s a task to keep a godly man down.

When beaten in the arena

            They just rise again.

I could only stare death in the eyes.

            ‘Not today,’ I said.

And it was then that that old friend of mine fled.

Why give up when all the Heavens

            Be cheering your name?

Against all one’s competition

            Who is to blame?

How can one sit and cry

When one doth carry one beyond the sky?

Anything that speaks otherwise be lies.

 

 

[15] – On Fixing a Mirror

 

In the review of this episode

We realize this is not our whole world.

We be as men whom their neighbors gift.

We be as men whom their people love.

How could a tool of Satan

Convince us that we are without love?

Absolutely ridiculous!

We will admit that the painting he devised

Was devilishly hilarious.

By the gift of our prayers,

We travel to a world of God’s.

The scientist considers the evidence,

Those world lines be absurd!

The only truth is that we are blessed!

He whom God loves shall escape them: the evil.

We can only ask God for his forgiveness.

For a time, we thought ourselves without blessing.

Now we see that we are loved without condition.

How! How in this light could we be tricked!

No matter—what is written is true.

Everything that hath been has been. No thing new.

By God, we receive the greatest gifts.

And by all means, we are grateful to receive.

It was a fun visit, that interim sadness.

 

 

[16] – A Prayer of Healing

 

Thank you Lord, thank you Christ, for we are healed.

We had a week of battle. We got cut,

But by your power we got healed. We steeled

Ourselves back. In you Lord we are fulfilled.

We march on to fortune. We have our portion,

An ever-growing wealth, an every-growing health.

So it is done. Thank you. Amen.

 

 

[17] – On the Nature of Our Labors

 

Praise be to God, we accrue thy blessings.

We receive thy gifts and all thy glory.

The work which you’ve prepared; all of it is good.

We live life on Earth like we live in Eden.

All our labors are joyful and easy.

We receive much while working very little.

It is done. Thank you Lord Christ. Amen.

 

 

[18] – Against Temptation

 

Don’t you know? You’ve put fire in my heart.

How careless are you? To smile and glance

At a virile man, young in his years?

And to see you practice your ballroom dance?

You think us stupid? We know who you dance for.

It’s all a feeling. We know by our gut.

By a dream perhaps, you and I can speak.

Pray let God make the room. You and I can speak.

I can only thank God for letting me feel.

Our appreciation for beauty is real.

Still, I would like to know the you that is real.  

 

 

[19] – An Observance on the Voice

 

By prayer and fasting we hear your voice.

Oh highest LORD, thy voice be like a fire.

We feel its burn and so then we are turned

From the meekest to the mightiest of men.

Love, wealth, and honor we doth receive.

A new Paradise comes by our fruits and our seed.

We have labored little and we have much.

So, it is done. Thank you Lord Christ. Amen.

 

 

[20] – An Observance of the Wife

 

Pray, the heat of her breath sends me to bliss.

I am risen to love by her seeking kiss.

Dear, I call her. Her tongue tastes like honey

And her mouth is sweet like milk. Her two breasts

Be perfect and are well for babes to suck.

By our LORD, I am glad she is mine to keep.

I taste of the garden where the river flows.

By the shade we sit, resting on the grass.

Beneath my shadow she tastes of my fruits.

We be as two doves in the season’s time,

Cooing in their nest in Paradise divine.

I am as a bucking stag upon his doe.

By our Lord, I am grateful that we love each other so.

She desires me as I desire her.

So by the word of God our marriage be true.

 

 

[21] – On Pagan Forefathers

 

LORD, we pray they find their way.

Those sinners who don’t know your name;

In all past, present, and future times

We pray they are with us in the line.

Pagan though they’ve been,

They lived by your hand and were blessed.

Thy statutes were written upon their hearts,

So they followed it and were saved,

For you save all the righteous and do away with the wicked.

Mercy, mercy LORD for those without thy name.

Their fathers may have forgot,

Yet all their sons have sought you in their hearts.

Mercy upon us LORD, we former pagans.

Generations upon generations,

All who have come before us,

By thy infinite mercy LORD, grant them peace.

How can we have that ingratitude to our name,

Be okay with them lost in Hell while we rise?

LORD, you have lead us to salvation by

Allowing their lives,

All their lives which have passed, and lived to make us.

Please LORD, even if it can not be,

Then for our peace, for them let us plea.

We pray to have more than just ourselves past the gate.

We thank you LORD for thy mercies by thy name.

So it is, and was done. Thank you Christ. Amen.

 

 

[22] – On Forty

 

A pattern, a pattern, a patten.

Forty years, forty years, forty, forty.

Praise God, LORD you like your numbers.

We are grateful for thy word and law.

By your eminence we are humbled.

We are not worthy to be gods, yet you’ve made us gods

            That shall die like men.

Thank you LORD. Every day we know more love.

 

 

[23] – On God’s Voice and Proverbial Lives

 

Oh God we thank thee for thy voice in our lives.

By your hand, by your word, we are given life.

So by the sun, by moon, by waking and sleep,

We praise you, and bless you for all of time.

Let our lives serve as proverbs for all of time.

 

Your children have mirth and your children do weep.

Their sadness, their happiness, all have a purpose.

Every thing is beautiful in their time.

 

So through times of war, times of peace,

Times to feast, and times to starve,

Times to live, and times to die,

Our souls give praise to God for all of time.

 

For you have made our minds and souls.

You made us as gods divine,

Yet we’ll die just like any man,

The rich and the poor.

We can only be grateful to the LORD

To live a life such as this.

 

 

 

[24] – An Encouragement on Wooden Tongues

 

Dear LORD, I am grateful for the help.

Though I have a wooden tongue

There is someone who can sing our songs.

Though my voice is good and crafted by your hand,

It’s been out of practice. It can hardly land.

So when what I wrote is sung, I am glad to know

That our praise can be shared

Across all lands and times.

So in time, I’ll keep on thy path.

Our voice be trained. We can sing our sayings.

Pray, it is done. The creations of the LORD be beautiful that way.

We thank the LORD for all our days.

 

 

[25] – Observance of God in the Lives of People

 

Oh my LORD we praise your works,

We thank you for thy hand.

You be with us to the end of time

To bring salvation to all lands.

By your voice we understand

Our work that is be done.

By your hand we are a people,

Wealthy and with faith.

By faith we work and we are paid.

We praise you all our days.

Repentant sinner’s exalted,

The humbled man arises.

Our gifts are before us.

By our prayers they are saved.

They cast themselves before you LORD,

The rich and the poor,

They who slay Belean drakes,

People who be lame.

By you all repentant men are saved.

High LORD, we praise you for thy works,

That you should grant a place

For man in highest heavens.

In the passing there be thrones upon thrones,

One for all the righteous.

As Heaven be joined to Earth,

There will lay foundations

For ruby cities and emerald castles,

There’ll be rivers and springs,

Where the waters have taste like fruit.

Yet, we are blessed as now,

That now, you have a care for man.

Oh LORD, you fill our lives on Earth with mirth,

And make beautiful all our days,

Whether it be in war or in peace.

To you, our LORD, we be grateful

For thy highest works.

We receive gifts by your angels,

And raise those that are just.

From temptation we’re delivered.

The LORD leads us through our paths.

 

 

[26] – Prayer for an Ungrateful People

 

Oh LORD, how can we pray for a people

Who feel they do not need you?

There are those who are saved

And those who are not. What then?

Dear LORD, what can we do for this ungrateful people?

In prosperity they have abandoned thy ways.

            Lost in play are they.

They think they can afford to leave your side.

They think they can afford to transgress thy law.

            Mercy! Give them time!

What is made holy, what is humbled will rise

To sweep the unrighteous away.

The grateful people be kept.

The strays are swept away.

Let it be known the way,

To save thy lost people.

 

 

[27] – On Acadian Boredom

 

I am bored, so bored, life feels like a chore.

I can not force my anger nor care for a stranger.

I wake up, I drink tea, and then I simply be.

I worship our God Christ, who be angry and nice.

Once, he cleansed that temple. By God he whipped them good.

Then on his cross he saved world,

Because he so loved the world.

If I did not know better,

I’d say he was bipolar.

 

Yet, we be watched by his eye under the moon and sun.

At church our hearts beat for those sisters of Eve,

They who tease with eyes and lips, while praying like nuns.

Why be like that, one asks? Why make it hard

To choose one as their one?

God gets it, good men are sometimes scarce,

Which makes the paths to marriage sometimes dark.

There be broke men, fat men, and men who dress like women.

Woe to the man who be tricked by a brother wearing tits!

Pray, there be solutions that our God has thought.

Pray all the woes of romance be tied up by God.

We can only thank God for giving us ever-increasing portions.

            Life be great.

I love our wrathful God so much as our merciful God,

And I am grateful he loves me too.

Wrathful me, merciful me.

What a fair gift, oh Lord,

That you give thy people love no matter what

            Anywhere and everywhere.

Hah, but we do love our children even when we punish them.

So pray, that you have mercy on me LORD, a sinner,

And that I learn thy lessons.

 

 

[28] – Matter of Distant Spouse

 

Forgive me dear, sometimes I am a man as cold as ice.

I tear my gaze away. At times, by your side I’m not there,

But please my lovely dear, don’t be cut by trifling fears.

A part of you is always on my mind.

For us, for our family, how will I provide?

What work should I do for that child in the womb.

Please, have no worries, dear. Do not cry when I

When I shut you out or close my doors,

Or leave our house for times where

Many days and nights do pass. Please understand,

It is hard to work by the woman you adore

Cause you distract me too much with your eyes and your touch.

The hug from behind short circuits my mind,

And when you whisper in my ear the sweet things you plan I—

Don’t you know that I have to labor?

These labors have worth like golden cities.

I can not labor when I’m warm in your embrace.

Please, your cute face is divine. I’m so glad it’s mine.

To kiss it clean is like a blessing from God.

Then there’s that play with canned whipped cream—

Ah, Lord, I should not air that kind of laundry.

Yes, this is right. Dear, sometimes I am cold

            Because I love you dear.

For our sakes, I labor and get us Heaven’s gold.

 

 

[29] Prayer of Thanks for a Nation Restored

 

A people who have truly subdued the Earth,

This mistress that we have spurned,

By our fault we lost our Paradise,

Yet by our faith upon our Earth was Paradise found again.

There be cities high and low,

Gardens of roses in sky and sea,

Guarded by Arcadian palaces of gold and jade.

The people give bodies to the spirits of dreams.

The work of creation lives through our golden age.

In the place of doom is hope,

An Apocalypse lost for a Manifest Destiny

Where creatures build upon the Earth

            For the peace and joy of all.

A devil may try to pervert nature,

Yet it is the Paradise which the Lord has prepared

            That all be returned to.

Lord, no matter how far from thy commandments,

            A people may try to go,

It be the work of thy hands we all return to.

Beyond the desolation of starvation and abundance,

Thy people keep an eternal hope that is fulfilled.

What is of the LORD is to stay on Earth,

What is not of God, all of it be cast down to Sheol.

 

 

[34] – Untitled 7.034

 

I caught him, my love (that cad!) ogling other girls.

Does he think I can not do the same?

There! A boy with lovely cheeks!

I stare at him—he is handsome like you!

My love, he thinks he can stare at other girls,

Those harlot maids who wag their boobs and ass?

Well, I can stare at other guys. How’s that!

Yet… God what is this feeling in my chest?

Why do I feel so much for this one man?

I stare at them, but I’d rather stare at him,

Even in spite of the jealousies he causes me.

God, you made something different about him,

Or so at least, I’d like to imagine.

A man, with so much ambition fulfilled.

He receives great health, great wealth, and blessings.

There are many men, yet of him there is but one.

They wave. He waves back. They smile. He smiles back.

My spouse, should you really be doing that,

Even in the name of ‘hospitality,’

When your spouse is tugging right are your—

They are pretty like me… they are pretty.

Am I not good enough? Good enough for him?

Those girls who seek him are very pretty,

And I am just me… pretty, pretty like them.

By God, what makes me special enough to

            Horde his attention?

Would it be right for me to wave, dear Lord?

Would it be right for me to smile, dear Lord?

When I wish him sitting next to me, in

            A theater perhaps,

Watching Shakespeare, or some other bard, perhaps,

Where the room is dark and I can hear his breath,

Where we sit leg to leg or foot to foot,

With shy, wistful hands that may or may not touch,

Where I hear my heart pump and feel my chest rising,

Ever-so-slightly where I’d glance my head to see

His face, and those hands which dare not touch me.

I’d be happy as he played the gentleman

Yet a part of me would not mind if he…

Ah, Lord, I smack my face just thinking it.

 

            Wait, why am I speaking as if—

I am his wife, damn it! He should look at me!

 

He is a handsome man. I am but a maid,

One out of many, many pretty maids,

            But I am his!

Likewise, he is one out of many handsome me,

            But he is mine!

However, we continue to glance at each other,

Play those fun games between man and maid,

And as I think, I realize that this was just it,

            All a little thing.

By our hearts, we share unspoken words, compliments.

All those times I’d glance at him as he’d glance at me.

With each look I knew he thought me pretty.

And though I am not vain, each glance from him

            Makes me feel happy.

Yet, I found him staring at other girls.

He stares at them and then he stares at me.

And I know that yes, he finds them pretty.

Why! I toss and turn on the bed while

Thinking of the question ‘Am I good enough!

Am I good enough for him? Wait a minute!

He shouldn’t even be doing these things!

If he’s actually thinking of cheating then I’ll—’

I wish I could wave and smile to my love

            As other girls do.

I wish that those were once again, special occasions,

            Something new

Whereupon this wife would cause her husband’s

            Spirit to rise

With nothing but smiles or the batting of her eyes.

But now look, he draws within himself, he’s enticed.

I am delight to his eyes, yes, but so are they.

And I realize now that I’m one, but not that special.

Who is he to walk, looking at ads, or pictures,

Which contain images of beauty that is not mine?

Just the fact that even considers an image,

Even if he saws no, it’s still enough to cause me sorrow.

And he smiles at me, but it’s a practiced smile.

He loves me well as any man should, but

He still views others with traits different than me.

In his heart he is cheating. He knows it and so do I.

So, what am I supposed to do, LORD?

That I am to live my whole life with a man

Who will keep on desiring others besides me?

Yet what point is rising up my love?

            Was the time ever ripe?

A man can have many wives, and one favorite wife.

Lord, please tell me what I ought to do. Please,

            Tell me how to pray.

Daughters of America do not rouse up my love.

Pray, that he receives blessings ever-increasing.

Dear Lord, I dream of him upon our bed

And I dream of the day that we are wed.

Lord, my loves comes upon me like a buck

            Upon a doe.

Thank you Lord for allowing me to express these thoughts.

You lead all your people, us in your ways.

 

Hah, this man, I find him hard not to hate.

Lord, why is it one man for a woman, and one woman for a man?

If love were free, if I could pick and choose,

Then I wouldn’t have to hate him for taking another,

Because then I’d have another, and then another just like him.

Thy kings had it all figured out.

With many wives, oh perhaps for me, many husbands,

I would never have to feel this jealousy, this hurt

Every time I see him having thoughts of another girl.

If I could just have them all, then I’d be free from this pain.

But who Lord, why Lord this thought, to strike against thy ways?

When the beauty of my youth wanes, and I become an old maid,

How then should it be possible then for him to love me in all his days?

Oh, by you, God, he may stay by me, but he’ll always want,

He’ll always want to give himself to another maid,

Some maid who I once looked like, a maid just like me.

Then it will be you, our God, keeping us tied, not love,

Not a love between me and him, but your love God,

That un-humane, un-earthly love called selfless love!

 

I profess, Lord, can I pray that he loves me for me,

And not just because of you, God?

Let him stay with me not because thy law says so,

But because he actually wants to stay with me!

Please, let not the phrase, “I love you,” be said in vain.

Don’t make him stay with me because

He loves the law of God more than himself,

Please Lord, do not rob him of loving me.

 

Alas, I am a bad woman. Why am I like this?

God, I profess, I think I want to be worshipped.

To have him love me, and solely me,

Why yes, what better way to prevent an idol

            Out of those daughters of Eve

Than by allowing man to multiply wives?

For whereby, when man takes many women,

He realizes they are nothing

As the rich man with many gems and pearls

            Realizes they are nothing.

Lord, I am not special. He has no reason to love me

            More than any other.

And I am an evil and vain woman,

Wanting to be worshipped and loved,

            As the rivers in the desert,

For whom the heathen makes as gods.

With a heart like mine, how can I be his wife?

The way I am, it seems I’d drag him to Hell with me.

           

Lord, I am sorry.

Please, I am nothing. Just grant me peace.

My husband, I am to love him as my Lord.

Should he love me as His, your church?

Oh, how can a mere man be my Lord,

And I, how can a mere woman be his church?

So be it. Lord, as you command, he is my Lord.

So be it. Lord, as you command, I am his church.

Whatever those two terms mean, I submit to thy Word.

 

 

[35] – Prayer of Thanks and Free Will

 

Thank you Lord for ever-increasing wisdom.

I am gladdened to hear thy voice in my soul.

You allowed me a portion that is great.

This house sings praise to your name in all days.

We are grateful for the Word and your cross

That bears all our sins by the work of thy blood.

By you God we be renewed in our souls.

We’re grateful you have consideration for us.

You have made us in thy image, made us as gods

Who will die like men, all the rich and the poor.

We know that your hand could wipe us all out,

And for that we praise you for keeping our lives.

That we would be conscious to right all our wrongs,

And prove that there’s justice in liberty.

By freedom we have great lives we can live.

By your call, our Father, we are glad to serve.

 

 

[37] – Prayer for the Lord’s People

 

Lord, for thy people we pray for health, wealth, and blessings.

By thy righteous hand, may they be in want of no good thing,

For the people who walk in the way of the Lord

Prosper in every thing that they shall do.

They pray for righteousness and their prayers are fulfilled.

They ask and they receive. They seek and they find.

They are made mighty in war, lovely in peace.

They give thanks to you Lord in all of their feasts.

The tie between the Lord and His people

Be like that of a groom and His blushing bride.

In all their days they are faithful to one another.

In all their days they know mirth, joy, and laughter.

By the light of the white moon and yellow sun,

They are always with each other by heart and by mind.

 

 

[38] – Untitled 7.036

 

Oh Lord, our prayers have done it again.

I asked and I received exactly what I asked.

‘May the kisses of his mouth rain upon me…

Therefore do the virgins love him…’

Praise ye Lord. I asked and I received.

For my love, now, I have my competition.

Including me, the virgins love him,

By the idylls of thy Song.

And they dare to, know that we are—!

So now my heart is vexed imagining and seeing

Him, my love, being tossed and turned between them.

I pray, do not rouse up my love

Oh daughters of America.

Do not rouse up my love till he please.

Ah, Lord, pray, I am a girl who can take action.

The kisses of my love’s mouth upon me.

Though the virgins do love him,

It is I, who rouses up my love when he please.

By all the churches, cities, and villages

            Let my lot be cast.

I am the Rose of the Wilds, she who

            Grows by Placidus,

By the fountains and rivers of living waters,

            Where all thy saints gather.

Though I may have thorns, I pray that my

            Petals fly his way.

I am a maid who can her express her interest.

            I can do romance.

By my beating heart I know my love does find

Me pretty.

Lord, by the night, round the houses and grass

            I have taken him.

By the moon and stars which you have made,

I have taken him to be with me alone.

There, away from prying eyes we speak.

And I am happy as he embraces me.

To know that he speaks the truth when says,

Without words, ‘I love you too.’

Does he think, ‘My sister, my spouse!’

My brother, my spouse. My brother in Christ,

By you Lord I can not lie—I love him so.

My brother in Christ, I love him,

That messenger of God, the angel which be him.

The monks have named him, as have the people.

Walking in your righteous ways he prospers

            In all that he does.

He embraces me and I embrace him,

And I do not, I can not let him go. I cling to him.

So, I lead him to the chambers from which

            My mother conceived me.

My brother, my spouse. I thank God we are married,

That out of the whole world, he had the faith to choose me.

 

 

[39] – On the High Nature of God

 

Oh Christ, our Lord, oh God of the Universe.

By the Heavens of our celestial sea,

The worlds which you make be without number.

Thousands upon thousands of souls.

Thousands upon thousands of bodies.

Each one, by their spirit they be as new creations.

All the creatures of the Earth sing praise to your name.

The morning stars doth sing, as do the ants of the ground.

It is an honor that you should have a care for man.

That you should care for our loves, our trifles, and our vanities.

We thank you Lord for thy infinite goodness

Which the heavenly bodies of the Universe can not contain,

For you have made them all to your delight.

It is a blessing that we should have a portion of

            Thy spirit. Amen.

 

 

[40] – On the Sacrifice

 

Our God, our Lord Christ, how you’ve saved us by thy cross.

By the hill of Golgotha thy blood be spilt.

Oh humanity, thy creation sacrificed

            The God for all their sin.

The blood of our lambs and the blood of our

            Works be not enough.

The collective sin of this world, Though we

Try to repent, do good; it be not enough.

It was one Commandment: Be fruitful, multiply.

Yet, since Creation’s dawn, how many have we killed?

And it be lambs and it be works to

            Repent of our sin

For taking an Earth joined to the Heavens

And tearing it to these realms of predator and prey.

The lion who once slept peacefully with the lamb

Now tears its jaws into the flesh leaping gazelles.

The bull who once grazed the grasses of Paradise,

Loses its substance to plow the Earth as a dim-witted ox.

By man, all the creatures of the of the Earth were named.

By man, all the creatures of the Earth were chained.

They who once were servants, by war and death

            They became as slaves.

And so it was that the Earth was abused,

And humanity sacrificed the God for all their sin.

The infinite good of God’s blood douses the

            Fires of Infinite malice.

By the heavenly creature sacrificed,

The Earth be rejoined to where it once was.

With each passing day we find our Paradise.

The people sing praises to thy name, Oh God.

Forever and ever we thank thee for thy sacrifice.

 

 

[41] – Untitled 7.037

 

Thou hast the fox’s eyes, my love.

Thy hair is as spindles of lustrous gold

That flows like waves of caramel down your back.

My love, thou art fair. Can one be compared?

There be models and there be concubines,

            But my love is one.

Thy breasts are full and pert. They are good for

            My touch and my taste.

Thy belly be as a field of hay that

            Is soft to lie on,

And who in the whole world can I feign

            To call Wisdom?

Wisdom, she who speaks laws of kindness;

Wisdom, she who is a mother of good life.

            Such art thou.

 

Where a wise man speaks accursed knowledge,

My beloved speaks of all blessed things.

We grow close to God, concerning our minds and hearts

            With all good things.

When we feast in the gardens the white of

            Her cheeks grow rose-pink.

She sits beneath my shadow and tastes of my fruit.

And by the chambers which she leads me through

            She doth embrace me.

By the supple weight of her soft white skin,

            I feel love wakened.

How fair is my love! Her love is most divine.

The kisses of her mouth are sweeter than wine!

The taste of her tongue be like honey and milk.

A fountain enclosed be my love. She opens

            Her gardens only to me.

 

 

[42] – On Rising to Love and Transient Things

 

Hello my Lord, I have a thought.

In love and war would I be good,

A good husband for my one spouse?

When the time comes could I propose

Or would I pass her up

Like how I did with every other girl?

I know Paul said we’d need control,

But how far should we control?

I could live in one room till the day I die

Where I’d be celibate for life.

But my Lord, is that thy will?

Should a man live a lonely life?

Live on his own mountain,

To prevent himself from sinning?

One can’t do much wrong in a one man prison.

 

Now, Lord please answer these questions.

I confess I am scared to love.

What if I get hurt?

You know my circumstance, my scars.

I fear the love of woman,

And I know not how to return their touch.

Lord, please answer what I wish to ask.

My ‘Control,’ is it a demon of fear or you who holds me back?

 

I am a man with old plans.

Become a God-fearing man,

Husband a God-fearing wife,

Lead our children to obey,

Have joy in labor that pays.

I know it’s an embarrassing dream,

One that a young child would dream.

I know that many settle with their sin,

But because I know that thou art a merciful God,

I desire the prize of the righteous in spite of what I am.

I care not for diamond rings,

I care not for vineyards or houses,

Or the welfare of the things that are to pass.

I only pray for eternal things,

The spirits and souls that are to stay.

My spouse all fair, without spot,

Who feareth the LORD God,

Who dies for me as I die for her.

My children, gifts from the LORD,

For whom we’d give our lives for.

A body, a people under Christ,

Whose souls are everlasting,

For whom we know fellowship with.

The Earth passes away, LORD,

But thy people are everlasting.

And by the work of our faith, we know our God.

We sow the seeds of Paradise on this Earth.

A Paradise Lost becomes a Paradise Found.

We get the land and then we work the ground.

And from our deaths new life is abound.

Such an innocent tale I pray

Of a man and maid coming together

To take care of each other for all their days.

Under God we live a simple and joyful life,

Where a man provides every comfort for his wife,

And his wife comforts him as he comforts her.

Where a man loves his wife as Christ loves His church,

And his wife loves her husband as she loves her Lord,

With all her might, all her mind, all her soul,

            And all her heart.

For this love of ours we pray our LORD,

I am a husband fit for God, my LORD.

I be upon her as a buck to a doe

Beneath the northern stars when the snow melts to Spring.

 

 

[43] – On Being Separate Among the Separate

 

Sometimes Lord, I feel as though I am stuck between two worlds;

The world of those who have and the world of those who have not.

 

At lunch I was once seated with a group of boys, my bandmates,

Among other peoples.

At lunch, I was once seated with they who sat under stairs.

Then there were days where I ate alone or with one other miscreant,

            On the floor of the locker bay.

Lord, sometimes I wonder whether I fit in anywhere.

            Be separate, you say,

And then we find ourselves separate among the separate.

            Should I be more separate then?

Excuse me, forgive me, it is uncouth to take verses out of context.

Between the separate and the not separate I am invited to both worlds.

A world of busied halls; A world of peaceful silence.

 

To walk a crowded street, alone, without care,

Makes one think it’d be great to be the only one here,

However, that is a wish which takes great consideration.

Life is sacred. It be evil to pray in that way.

 

Messenger, angel of the vine who groweth trees.

Lord, just who are we meant to be?

As your servant, there be people who try

To pull me every which way.

However, I only have one interest: to create.

 

By the work of this pen, a world of yours is made,

And by your gifts, it be our own reality we make.

Lord Christ, you have allowed the monks to name me.

            What do those letters mean?

            Am I as an angel?

            Messenger?

            What letter do I send?

            What is my mission?

LORD, I know thy voice is there; it we hear.

We know you speak to us, seal our instruction by dreams.

Speak to me while I wake, and then I’ll have courage

To do what you think I should do.

 

LORD, you made this world to be saved,

And you made it to be enjoyed.

So LORD, lead us to joy.

By your hand, let us know wealth, health, and love

That be ever-increasing upon us.

Thank you LORD for thy word, and for hearing ours.

 

 

[44] – A Story of Envy, Hypocrisy, and Open Eyes

 

You grew up in a house

In a suburb down south.

Then growing up you tried so hard

To make friends in every group

From the strong to the weak

And the rich and the poor.

If only there was someone there to tell

You that you’d always be their second choice.

Whether it be in love or sports,

They never picked you first.

If there were a tie to move up,

Two people from the same team,

Just you and them,

They’d pick them over you

Just like everyone else.

 

And then you would swear to the Heavens,

At the height of your envy,

‘I am sick of being their second pick!

Lord, what prize does bronze or silver get?

They who gets gold gets land and love,

But of me, the small one,

They don’t even allow me to compete!

So they get their gold without having to prove,

While I get less having to prove everything!

What is this all for, the grades and the sports?

What is the point of all of this

If I have nothing to show for it?

I confess I would like to fight

In boxing or a brawl.

Their pretty faces I would maul,

So they would punch me back,

And I would not care who would win.

If I win, then I’m first.

If they win, then I’d have finally earned my fall.

I’d have my answer from you, God;

That because of my iniquities

I never ever deserved the gifts that I want.

And then this feeling would end,

Of me envying them

Who get picked first for being born.

I feel I always have to work.

Hah, but until that time

I swear to you Lord on this world

I will accept this challenge.

If the world betrays, then I betray this world!

The world chooses not me?

Fine! I’ll choose for myself!

If neither Heaven nor Hell picked me for a team,

Then let me choose between the two!

I decide who’s first pick,

And let them be picked

Whether they like it or not!’

 

So you’d swear, at the height of your envy,

At the height of your delusion.

As time went on the fog would clear

As you realized you were a first pick.

You were a person people picked all along

In friendship and in love

And in all the things you cared about.

Your mistake was taking a dot

Of bad incidences

To paint your whole world with.

If you’d look at the full painting,

That which God made for you,

——, you’ll find love for you everywhere.

Oh ——. Oh ——

Who be raised in ——,

That province in ——,

You have love. You have first pickings.

You just have to see it.

When you were young. Remember?

They came to you first.

You only had to answer back.

There was one, whose name was ——.

——, do you know how much courage,

Or perhaps lack of thought,

It took for them to leave their friends

And sit by you alone?

You were but a child then,

So you paid them no attention.

The two of you exchanged ‘Hellos,’

And that was it! Then they left!

And even after they left

They still tried their best

To be noticed by what could be a new friend. You!

Don’t you realize it ——?

They go off to their second picks,

Because their first pick chooses to be blind!

Open your eyes, ——!

And no matter, you are a hypocrite!

You yourself play games of favorites!

Just do what God commands you,

And quit complaining as a slothful servant!

Your eyes, they be open. That’s good.

You see now, with God’s help.

As an author, you can take many roles:

Scientist, Child, Prince,

How about you add yourself to that mix?

—— —— —— —— ——,

By this prayer, know its truth:

 

I am a child of God

Whom the monks have named ——.

From my seed life is made,

Of trees and forests that

Multiply in every age.

There are stars. Who can number them all?

There be places between heaven’s stars.

Who can number them all?

Of this, we know our inheritance under God.

Your servant, ——, has eyes that are opened.

What —— has written comes to pass.

—— gets exactly what —— asks,

Based on ——‘s truest desires

That all be aimed towards making life

And preparing a fair Paradise.

I chose my company from the God-fearing,

And by the truth of God

I see His full painting.

I know His truth.

—— —— —— knows

Every-increasing wealth, health, love,

And blessings that are upon ——.

Thank you LORD Christ. It is and was done. Amen.

 

Now go, and live life God’s way.

 

 

[45] – On God’s Paintings of War and Peace

 

Oh LORD this word I declare

Your holy works are without end.

Mere man can’t comprehend

The vastness of thy goodness

Nor the power of thy gifts,

Day and night we praise our LORD

For the Creation that He wrought.

We thank Him for his mercies,

That He sees today’s Creation good.

So says the Word of the LORD,

Every thing has been made good in its time.

Whether rich, poor, dead, alive,

We praise God for His goodness in every time.

There be paintings of war and paintings of peace,

Paintings of hunger and paintings of feasts;

As one views them, they find beauty in each one.

So it is that God finds beauty, good in each man’s life.

For so long as there be a thought,

There will be a word.

And so long as there be a word,

There will be a world.

Of God, who can measure the LORD and His Word,

He who prepares works before their time?

Eternal is He, beyond the heavens and Earth.

The creations of God are drawn from His thought.

They live inside His picture,

As dots of ink and strokes of paint.

How marvelous it must be,

To be a viewer then of God’s full art.

He maketh a creation and it is good.

Praise God. Though this world passes away,

His Word will never die

For it is always alive.

[46] – On Good Dreams

 

Thank you LORD Christ for the sweetest of dreams.

They be as love and wisdom upon us

That are ever-increasing upon our souls and minds.

All our interpretations belong to you, our God.

Thank you LORD for leading us day and night.

 

Amen.

 

I walk these paths with music in my ears.

I am so glad to know that you are near.

Our God, our God, who moves the seas and mountains;

You make a joyful life for all your creations.

A time to live and a time to die,

You have made us all beautiful in our time.

We live in your art, and you paint us well.

There is no better maker than the LORD our God.

To God, man be as toys made from flesh and steel.

A blessing, the LORD allows us to choose how we feel.

By His breath, puppets of flesh are gifted spirit.

We are glad He cares for man, who was once just flesh.

Let every living creature praise you LORD.

From the fruits of Paradise they are born.

 

 

[47] – An Apology for Ungratefulness

 

Oh LORD, I confess

That I’ve over react.

I claimed that I was sad

When really I was glad.

 

So glad you gave me life,

So I could see thy light.

So glad you gave me life,

So I could have your gifts.

 

And though I chance to sin,

You lend me mercies to forgive

So that I have life again.

 

And though I confessed envy’s ways,

I was really fine.

I likewise confess jealousy

Over things already mine.

 

So here I quit pretending,

That life’s so bad I’d end it.

Your wisdom let me know,

That I have Heaven’s gold.

 

So here I am praising thy name,

Jesus Christ, through fortune and fame.

And though it may rain, and though I’ll feel pain,

I’ll know it was good by its own time;

 

For your thoughts are not ours,

And my thoughts are not yours.

Only you, God, declares what is good.

So if fortune is to pass alongside our deaths,

Then by wisdom we praise our God that is good.

 

So here it is I write,

That you’ve gifted us life

That be joyful in its ways

By serving you all our days.

 

You deliver us from gloom

To count out good tidings.

And we know ourselves fools,

For thinking ourselves low.

So we’re glad you gave us life,

So we could see thy light.

We’re so glad you gave us life

So we could serve you for our time.

 

We make what you said “Good,”

Paradise on this Earth.

We work to our utmost,

So you may be glad by our faith.

 

Praise God, this is true.

We took a fallen world

And restored it by thy help.

 

And I will do my part

So that the lion may sleep by the lamb

And that man may know Paradise again.

 

 

[48] – Untitled 7.054

 

When you are here, I have want of nothing.

To know you here, makes this life worth its time.

Oh my dear, at the world’s resurrection

I’ll seek your soul and make you mine again

Even though I know we should be as angels.

 

Look, I know it’s not a thing,

That there be wives in the hereafter.

But know this dear, I’d still have you near by my side.

Cause when we die, you’d still be my wife, but one,

That I had for this vain life.

 

So though it’s true that this verse is needy,

Your beloved will confess

It’s his wife he’d like to see

In eternity.

 

Besides, end note, marriage-wise, go ponder,

I wouldn’t be needy if I could love freely.

Lord, I’m petty. Be Solomon for a day,

He had no reason to be jealous.

By the Song though, he seemed to regret it.

In love, jealousy is a virtue to have.

 

 

[49] – Verses of Thanks

 

Oh LORD, Oh Christ, thank you for your help for us.

By your blood we are blessed in all of times.

No thing separates us from thy love.

Through joy, through pain, we always praise thy name

And though it’s not a gift that we deserve

We are grateful you remember us.

Thank you LORD, our God, Jesus Christ

For dying on that nail and wooden cross.

We thank you for the spilling of your blood

So we rise and see the Father by your side. 

 

Amen.

 

——, of written words there is no end.

Do I write this script because I like it?

Sometimes I don’t even know. I just know

That God makes every thing good in its time.

So, it’s in my hand to make what he’s prepared

Even though each word may be considered bad.

 

Amen.

 

 

[50] – Verses on a Love

 

So, there was a man who lived in a city,

The capital of the Northern Star, built by rivers of life.  

He labored little and went very far,

God blessed him with riches as the newborn star

Who fell from the East to rise, planted in Western lands.

By the work of his vain hands, which held his vain pen,

He crafted works of script that were truly his,

That were prepared before as God’s good gifts.

And he stood among the righteous, and prospered as they did,

Making the world not unto devils, but unto God

For whom He prepared his house as a

Receiver of gifts.

I, we pray. So it is and was done. Amen.

As there is nothing new under the Sun,

LORD, Jesus Christ, let us play this tale again.

A crooked creature named ‘Angel’ born by the Eastern blood

Meets a winsome girl and…

 

Amen.

 

By the full moon’s starry light,

I was glad to see her tears,

Knowing she was glad in our embrace

During that Winter night.

To know she’d accept me as I am,

As a spirit and a man.

In the chambers I knew my beloved,

Her scarlet lips sucking in.

By God, her love was sweeter than wine.

Her mouth tasted like honey,

And her hair had the scent of rose,

That which grew by a glimmering lake’s shore.

Her breasts were perfect, pert and full,

Like two hills and a vale in a field of hay.

And her neck was like a tower,

Slender, soft, and good to bite and kiss.

By the light of the moon, I knew her well.

As the reed that shakes to the stormy wind,

There she laid, her figure bent beneath my shadow.

For that night, I thank God,

That we knew and know love in our time.

That all things are possible through Him.

He maketh the crooked straight,

And he maketh a path for a rich man to enter heaven.

And In all our youth, my beloved,

And in all our days of vanity.

Any quality I speak of here,

I am grateful you still have.

In the chambers by the Winter moon’s silver light,

I had my love embraced beneath my shadow.

And with sweet breaths, we sought to kiss in all places,

Whereupon I bit her white neck, never letting go,

            As we knew the fruits of love.

 

Amen.

 

I knew she was the one when I saw her do good

For a person who could do no thing for her.

My wife, back then, she struck me with that kindness.

Here was a woman beautiful in both look and soul.

My heart would be kept safe with her,

And she’d keep me from straying to another girl.

This girl, whose hair turned brown and gold like the Autumn leaf,

She came to me, and so we made a life.

Strange, how that came to be, when we’d usually fight.

Yes… fight. Suppose she was shy, so she could only be a shrew.

A shrew! That type of girl when interacting with me.

I mean, I admit it was quite playful.

Still… ah, it was a miracle of God, how it all happened.

I am just grateful to know my wife day and night.

 

Amen.

 

 

[51] – An Embarrassing Confession (Thank the Father for His Patience)

 

As a man of God I marveled at the fact;

Many pretty girls fighting over me.

I thought this kind of things was for the movies

Or loose men who loved freely, unchaste types.

Yet, here I am to see. They give me the eye

And I didn’t even do a thing to make them mine.

Well, I suppose I do look, I look at pretty things.

However, as a rule, I keep to myself.

It’s no special thing. I have joy in my labors

And I am a man who fears God, or so prays.

Still, what is wrong with those people?

They wanted to have me before,

Yet now that as I continue to follow God

They take that as an opportunity

To be more forward than they ever have.

 

In love and in war, God helps me steer my ship.

But these virgins, they entice, I may surely slip.

Who among them is really my wife?

Is her price not more than rupees?

A good wife, who can find? She fears the LORD.

These girls, they are civil as friends I guess.

It’s just weird for friends to compete over being my top pick.

Oh Christ, Oh Jesus Christ, lead us through this life.

We pick Wisdom in all her glory, her beauty.

Knowing Wisdom I likewise know Madness and Folly.

Pray LORD, I am a man who chooses Wisdom over Folly.

So it is and was done. Thank you, Christ. Amen.

 

 

[52] – On Company, Charity, and a Dumb Wise Girl

 

Praise be to God for fairest company

Who we make to laugh with roaring glee.

Out of breath they cry and their lungs are spent

Because of thy antics and speech that are said.

 

I went into the woods and found a tent,

After kicking some trees upon a hill.

Remembering Christ’s words, I gave up all my bills.

So, oh Christ, they be blessed by their gifts.

 

There’s a girl I know who’s really fun to tease.

She makes tons of faces from smile glee to sneed.

A paradox, she is dumb as brick, yet wise.

She doesn’t know much, but she knows enough

To pick apart a sinful man and make him question his life.

Still, she’s a joy, this girl with autumn hair.

            Her price is worth more than rupees.

            Of her kind, who but God can find?

 

 

[53] – On the Vexations Caused by Wisdom and Wishes for Sons to be Better than their Fathers

 

LORD, today I considered wisdom, madness, and folly.

An image of Hell I saw. It disgusted me.

Considering evil done under the sun, it vexes me.

I am grateful for the good you allow us to know.

Knowing Wisdom, life, I likewise know folly, death as well,

And knowing these things brings much vexation as a man.

 

For in much wisdom is much grief:

And he that increaseth knowledge increaseath sorrow.

 

I am a man who seeks Wisdom, and I am under God.

LORD, I confess that my joys and my sorrows are great.

I thank you for this, LORD.

 

My children, they know as much wisdom as they need to know.

Know too much, and thy joys shall match thy sorrows.

My beloved, I am so glad she is one who is patient with me.

It takes a lot for me at times to consider low and high pleasures.

How could I marry this winsome girl knowing all those things?

Just the thought, the knowledge of Sodom makes me a crooked man,

Yet, I am told that by God I am made clean and straight;

By my baptism my body and spirit are clean and straight.

Who am I to believe? It is you, Jesus Christ.

I may, I have known much madness, yet for them, pray,

            Their days are full of light.

By chance, I caught glimpse of dark pits under the sun.

I have seen the lives of men who slither in the dark.

            The lives of men be proverbs.

Amen.

 

LORD, they are guided to thy most holy way.

They put away madness and fear God the highest,

            Our God the Lord of Hosts.

LORD, at this time I consider the

            Memories of the old man—

Ah, if only, if only he could put away wisdom,

            The knowledge—

Why vex oneself knowing Solomon’s way?

After baptism, the old man died, and

            I took his place.

I am one month old, yet this vessel is of a man’s years.

For this soul, God has circumcised all sin.

So why, I ask, has knowledge of evil remained?

So why, I ask, was I prepared children who may take after me?

If one causes a little one to sin

Is it not better for them to have millstones

Tied around their neck and be drowned at the

            Bottom of the sea?

Why, I caused them to be born.

They are born, and so they be predestined to sin.

Why then, is there a chance that these little ones

            Shall take after me?

Why ask that then, when I know that the enemy

            Has prepared pits for them?

I just couldn’t live on my own mountain,

            And have fellowship with God?

No, I had to rise in love, and try doing what thou hast done.

            You saved me, LORD, a sinner,

And now I am tasked with trying to do the same as you have done.

            How can sinners like me save other sinners?

I can only pray, LORD, they take after their Father who art in Heaven.

Amen.

 

We understand. Through mourning, the heart grows.

Still, forgive us, forgive us LORD, for whining.

Why LORD, if knowledge causes my iniquities,

If they still be present, why haven’t I died?

            LORD, why am I alive?

Am I made as the wicked made for the day of Judgement?

If so, being that thou knowest all things,

            Why plan for my demise?

Yet, even so, even if I be made wicked by my sin,

            In my selfishness,

I shall still pray for a trash heap to live in

            In the highest heavens.

I am no longer… this vessel is not a newborn.

Oh LORD, oh LORD, what do I do if I

Cause others to sin by my mere existence?

Ah, by Wisdom, by your Wisdom,

It is a blessing to fear, to know joy in labor.

Should they sin, any one sin as a result of me,

Then we pray for thy grace and mercies, LORD.

I am a man, with senses much like those who came before me.

What I find right and wrong is as the same in every age,

From the time of Adam to the time of our present.

Pray, may man know joy in his labors

And the warm embrace of his wife of youth,

All the good works of God.

Thank you Lord Jesus Christ. We praise thy name

            Day and night.

It is and was done. Amen.

 

 

[54] – On the Washing of Sin and its Taint Across all Times

 

LORD Jesus Christ, you wash us white as snow.

Healed from our sin, it’s your glory we know.

LORD we pray for good works you have prepared.
We thank you for speaking to us day and night.

In both waking and sleeping dreams we hear.

            In all worlds you are near.

Our LORD, our God, is a righteous God.

Pray, oh LORD, we pray to have you by our side

            In all our days.

At all times we praise thy holy name.

Jesus Christ, Prince of Peace, Ruler of the Universe.

Now, as I sleep this night, I am comforted.

My wife of youth, our family, gifts of this vain life,

I asked and I received, I sought and I found.

I am grateful LORD, you’ve prepared me for these gifts.

I am grateful LORD, you’ve prepared these gifts for me.

So it is and was done. Thank you LORD Jesus Christ.

Amen.

 

On another note, I’m grateful for these pens and books,

And that I always have a place to write.

My grandchildren, may they come to know the

            Flaws of their founder.

There is no man who does much good and sins not.

Capacity for good often reflects a measure for evil.

Kings either lead their people to wealth or ruin.

Likewise, kings are often inhibited so their people know neither.

Me? In my history, my capacity for good… well they’ll know.

These are confessions made to a court of angels,

Messengers, all of they who are of God.

Whosoever receiveths a little one receiveths me, is it not?

And, why, weren’t all us creations little ones?

Let this be said of me though. My evil

            Is evil across all times,

Likewise my good is good across all times,

And everything that is me belongs to God,

He who is my maker and maker of my fathers.

Children, read his scripture with understanding.

No time is different than any other time.

The fashions of men change, yet their spirits

            Are the same.

Does the name of a man change with new clothes?

            God sees what is naked beneath.

And, many good men are shown evil in the right place.

In my time, people claimed past men were more godly.

Likewise, past men claimed past men were more godly.

The spirit of Sodom finds its place in every history

As the Spirit of God excels it in every history.

As a man brokers an invention out of Paradise

Another man finds his place in the darkest pits of sin.

The world is large enough to fit all wisdom and madness.

Yet, while wisdom is easy to find, it is

Vanity to find more wisdom from the madness one can seek.

Folly is like the whirlpools of the sea

Which man stumbles into by seeking treasure at its bottom.

There is wealth there, yet what use is it?

Why go look and dig up God’s buried chaff?

Wisdom gained by knowing what not to do,

            What use is it?

Wisdom is wisdom, Thou shall not ––,

Still it is vexing … being made sinners by the Law.

The sorrows increase, yet, pray, my joys exceed it.

And, with God, even I find joy in my mourning.

Blessed is this house of mine who follows the LORD.

In this creed we’re blessed: Follow God. Right the Present.

In the body of Christ, we are makers of life,

            And builders of Paradise.

We live not on bread alone, but on every word

            That proceeds from the mouth of God.

So it is and was done. Thank you LORD. Amen.

 

 

[55] – On the Matrimonial Vows and the Spirit of the Land called America

 

In a dream I see her face, my wife of youth.

How beautiful is she, her tears flow like dew.

She laughs, and she cries. Her hair is Autumn’s color.

I pray she’s by my side, lest I die

To sin as an adulterer.

 

LORD, I confess, I worry about this thing.

I am chaste, yet there’s always that “what if?”

What if I break my vows?

What if I go falling down?

Can a man like me stay true?

Yes, I am a God-fearing man,

But fearing God didn’t stop Jesse’s son.

Still, I put my trust in the Lord, the Son of God.

Yes, my bond with her grows ever-strong

As we know each other well each day and night.

As I’m away she thinks of me and

A thought of my beloved enters my mind.

Yes LORD, staying faithful is easy with

The pleasurable love we have, so it’s true.

In my bed, as I sleep I know of her as she knows me.

The illusions of devils are rebuked.

We know our God’s truest realities.

Thank you LORD for leading us to the good.

Oh Christ, it is a pleasure to praise thy name.

For our joyous works, we know prosperity in all our lives.

And, we are at peace when the time comes to close our eyes.

By your hand LORD we jump to a time you’ve already made,

So we may know the glory of God in all our days.

My beloved is as the wild rose who grows by the lake’s shore.

She’s the flower who belongs to all seasons,

Enduring through Winter, resting in the Fall,

And celebrating in the Spring and Summer.

Her joy is in the works of the LORD, Jesus Christ,

And for her family and beloved she keeps her light.

Above all, above all she fears the LORD our God,

And so prays to keep his law, do what is right.

Oh LORD, I am grateful she is a gift to me.

I’m grateful to know her each day and night.

She is so simple, and so cute, and when I am mad

By the sorrows of mine own knowledge

She calms my heart and mind by the wisdom of her acts.

Her mouth tastes like milk and honey, and the

Kisses of her mouth are sweeter than wine.

LORD, thank you. I am hers and she is mine.

To grasp her hair as I bite her white neck,

As we embrace in our chambers I know all is fine.

In our bed, wrapped in her arms, I do know,

This girl, my beloved, I’ll take care of her for life.

To fall in love with the same girl again and again?

By God, to know that, it is a splendid thing.

Sometimes I am cold for a season or spell.

Then she wears a certain dress or whispers wisdom in my ear

And my heart is risen to see her blushing face in every good place.

            Our couch is green.

Lord, if they know, they know.

In all respects, my beloved is peculiar.

She’s as much a mystery as I am to her.

Still, guess that’s what makes her fun to know.

Oh LORD, I thank you for providing for our needs,

And being generous to gift us much beyond them.

I have a healthy body that I am grateful for,

And wealth that is ever-increasing to fund

The works that you’ve prepared.

No man is good, yet by your works, you allow us to think so.

Thank you for granting us this property.

We received it exactly as we asked.

Here, in this village, our children shall be

Princes and princesses walking as servants.

They will know true wealth and freedom under God,

And avoid the devil’s shackles of gold.

 

There once was a man who had much gold, but little health.

Each day he went about his business, coughing in his chair.

Then his heart failed, and lo, if only his gold

Could have bought him another day to live!

 

It is better to be poor with two hands and two feet

Than rich without. A soldier gains much fame,

Yet apparitions haunt him for the rest of his days.

What amount of honor can make up for a full frame,

The body with its limbs, a mind that is sane?  

 

Always pray, and always receive what is God’s.

Read the Scriptures. Know His works to live.

The greatest goods and greatest evils come from the heart,

So we let God into our hearts to lead us in all things.

            The Kingdom of Heaven is Within.

God bless America. It’s a nation lifted by his hand.

City upon its hill, founded by God-fearing people, God-fearing it be.

Those that are for God, they rule America.

The foreign one finds his stay hospitable.

The people are free from the devil’s yoke.

America, all its states, she humbles herself

Before the LORD Jesus Christ, Lord of Hosts.

By the LORD, she is one nation under God.

God made her, God delivered the lands unto America.

When the wilderness raised their bows against her,

It was God who delivered America from her enemies.

By your hand LORD, America fought, and we lived

While mighty kings were delivered unto our hands.

We thank you LORD, for gifting us this most holy land.

Let all the generations of America know the works of God!

So it is, we praise thy name forever and ever.

Amen.

 

 

[56] – Tale of a Dream and Thanks for Dreams

 

I saw it once in a dream;

A pretty girl, resting by the trees.

She was all fair,

And her hair was like the Autumn leaf,

With its hues of gold and brown.

Walking through that field
I didn’t think of much of it then

When I walked up to her side

And asked her if we could marry.

Upon the question, her cheeks blushed

The most rosy shade of pink,

But she very much said yes

And so kissed my lips.

Waking up, I still felt the taste,

And so prayed to God to meet a girl like her.

On that, I am glad to have received.

 

Thank you LORD for our wisdom giving dreams.

They sealeth our instruction for our good,

And warn us away from all that is bad.

By a dream, we realized our soul’s fault.

By a dream, we realized our soul’s good.

By the hand of God, my soul is cleaned of fault,

So we walk ever forward to all that’s good.

We are makers of life and builders of Paradise

Who follow God and so right the present.

Love, and righteousness are for us who fear the LORD.

So it is, we are blessed to know thy Word.

So it is and was done. Thank you LORD Jesus Christ.

Amen.

 

 

 

[57] – On a True Soul

 

Let all who readeth understand.

Many roles are taken,

But there is only one soul.

God has known me before

I entered my mother’s womb.

Blessings go to those

Who see the souls behind their acts.

 

 

[58] – A Praise on Labors

 

Praise be to God in the highest

Who makes our labors efficient.

We labor little and gain much.

So it is true LORD, as we’ve prayed,

We labor little and gain much.

Thank you LORD for blessings in our days.

All the righteous prosper. They learn from thy ways,

Of which there is no end.

I am grateful, that you lead my hand.

I am no thing without the LORD.

You’ve numbered all our days,

So we have thanks, that these days are good,

That we have great joy in our works,

All that you’ve prepared.

They are no thing, these labors we love.

Yet, our lives be gifts from above.

Sorrows, joys, and pains,

Through them all we praise thy name.

This house’s paths are known by the LORD.

So let us keep our eyes to the Heavens

For all tomorrows and presents.

 

 

[60] – On the Washing of Iniquities

 

Good evening my Lord Jesus Christ.

After a day of fasting my spirits are restored.

Some… oh, this is a splendid journey I have.

At the height of external demoralization is

The height of the most internal hope.

Yes, within me, us, are the kingdoms of Heaven.

 

We are blessed by your hand, oh LORD of Hosts.

We’ve been gifted favor by time and place.

LORD, we confess, I am that I am.

I am a sinner, with not much good,

However, I am made by you LORD, so,

I am a creation that is good.

In all times from the time of Adam to now,

We are considered by Heaven’s court.

We keep what is of God and rebuke evil.

LORD, you are my rock, the foundations of our souls.

You deliver us from Hell and the pits of Sheol.

Your hand does lead us both night and day.

It is our sole delight to walk in thy ways.

This world of yours takes care of all our needs,

And gifts us extra good to our delight.

Oh LORD, by you there is no limit on the good of this life.

By you LORD, our pleasures are ever-increasing,

And there are even great joys in our sorrows.

In my search for wisdom,

I have seen much evil under the sun,

Yet I have seen greater good.

 

In a place, in a time, there was once a prince who sinned.

He wrote the foundations of a mighty kingdom,

One that would span from East to West.

He wrote the law of the land.

But he did evil in sight of the LORD.

By his heart, he committed an adulterous act.

After his wife had passed,

He took a young maid and entered her.

Still so, LORD, by thy mercies

He was allowed to repent,

And so he lived out his days as a just and upright man.

 

So LORD, we are grateful there is one judge,

And that thou art the most high and righteous.

The ways of the LORD are perfect, and He does

Much good for those who delight in Him.

LORD Jesus Christ, there be fault in us,

            Those faults are removed.

You have washed us clean from any spot of sin.

            We are washed

Clean of our iniquities, made pure as a newborn’s blood.

In thy trust, in thee, LORD, do we put our whole trust.

Thank you LORD. We praise thy name forever and ever.

Amen. It is done.

 

 

[61] – Prayer to Silence the Damning Drums of Intellect

 

Dear, it is true, I’m a man with much sin.

Knowing what I’ve done, knowing what I know,

I feel I’m on the line between Hell and Heaven.

 

In my heart I sought to know all things,

Seeking Wisdom ‘bove all else,

What man ought to do, what man ought not to do.

Yet, at this point, I know much wisdom,

However, madness and folly I also know,

And thereby sorrow from all this knowledge

Known under the sun.

Whereas I was once blissed walking as the fool,

I revealed my own ugliness by knowledge of the law.

And what? I asked myself, What’s the point of wisdom?

With greater understanding of a Preacher’s words,

What’s the point of wisdom if by the fool

            They have the same ends?

I am wise, yet I am still to die.

I am mad, yet I am still to die.

I was a fool, and I was a sinner.

Now I am wise, yet I am still a sinner.

Fool or wise, I am still a sinner,

So what point was there in me gaining wisdom?

So that I may find new ways to judge myself?

I become more like a man of Scripture’s kind,

Yet I am given also to their good and tastes.

I am made free, to act underneath God’s eye

And I know how much the same I am to

            Men of different times.

When I look in the mirror and see my reflection

I have to ask if that really is God’s creation.

Man has been made good, and my body is

As art, even unto those statues of the pagans.

Yet, what good is it, should there be evil taint?

I am good now, yet what of it all?

My wisdom and knowledge of madness tries me.

The gifts of foresight bring me much joy and sorrow.

            Oh LORD, oh LORD, please help me.

Am I really no better than the demons,

They who know God, yet follow Him not?

How abased am I to even consider

Throwing away eternal joy for short-term pleasures?

You’ve prepared my wife, so simple and cute,

Yet, some days I considered adultery.

And why? She serves me well, and our bed is warm.

Why do I even think about betraying her trust?

And yes, I confess these thoughts, and yes, I repent.

Yet, the work of repenting makes me weary.

And LORD, I ask for thy help, I receive thy strength,

So as I pray I am renewed to keep away from sin.

I jump and steel my self to Heaven’s place.

By thy blessing LORD Christ, I see thy face.

I know the LORD, and I do follow thee.

So it is done, now and into eternity.

Despair is a wisp to my undying Hope.

Satan is rebuked—I am a man who received in spite.

Today, I make life and right. Today, I follow God,

And receive all the gifts of Jesus Christ.

And this truth is true in all our days.

We praise God’s name in all pasts, presents, and tomorrows.

LORD, I thank thee for this experiment in gloom.

Now I know, we experience the LORD’s

            Joy in all times.

In the days of the Apocalypse we do thy works.

Even as the skies darken and seas turn to blood,

This is a house that keeps the faith.

We are yours now and forevermore.

            Thank you LORD.

Amen.

 

 

[62] – A Blessing for One’s Wife

 

Oh Jesus Christ, I ask to see my wife

As I go to sleep upon this starry night.

By this request I brazenly ask,

So I thank thee for thy mercies, I receive

My wife of youth who’s so simple and so cute.

 

Her figure’s like a dancing reed,

Her hair’s like Autumn leaves,

Whose color changes in the Fall

Cross hues of gold and bronze.

Her belly is as a field of hay.

On her breasts I rest.

They are like two hills in the field,

With a vale in between,

And both are good to touch and taste.

 

Yes LORD, in her embrace I find my place.

Her arm wraps around my back, as by her hand

I am led into her gardens to lay on the grass.

Her thighs are full, and her butt supple as plums.

In all her ways, she is fair; she lives in good health.

            There is no spot in her.

 

LORD, I am grateful to see her face night and day.

So, thank you for listening.

You take count of what I have written.

I am grateful LORD, to receive her at your side.

 

 

[63] – On How a People are Paid in Death and Life Beneath a Silent God

 

In my eye I see two worlds that are for me.

On one end are the fruitless ways of sin.

On the other are the gifts of God’s heaven.

Since I see both, I have much to rejoice,
For I know I’m on the right path to be tempted like so!

And though I admit, the sight of evil makes me sad,

The leading hand of God always makes me more glad.

Praise be to God, to greater joy we pass.

By your everlasting mercies, in eternity we last.

So, by our prayers, these worlds are to glow,

Showing forth the glory of thy name we know.

Oh Jesus Christ, who sits at the Father’s right hand,

Thy body and thy people rejoice day and night.

And all evil is rebuked by thy good in the land.

 

It’s as simple as saying, let this mountain be moved.

By our ever-growing faith, we change the world’s mood

From vain despair to fruitful hope

That grows the heart out of mournful sorrows.

The bad news is put away, evil’s rebuked,

While all the works of God are up for display.

Seekers of Wisdom; they are brought to light,

Knowing madness and folly, yet putting

On the armor of God against them.

The fear of the LORD grows within us.

The fear of the LORD is strong within us.

The fool may say, ‘God is dead! He hides his face.’

They say, ‘Where was God to keep the land’s law?

Where was God to keep the whoremongers from the adulterers,

The robbers from the merchants, death from His saints?

God speaks not. You pray before him and He answers not.

In His silence, the law of this land is gone,

So let us sin and have pleasure, get drunk on wine,

And go awhoring after laughing harlots.

Let us stuff our face with mead, with bread, and meat,

So that our bellies bulge and our limbs wax soft and weak.

Because God does not speak, there’s only one truth:

We are gods, so we may do as we please.’

 

Oh, the mad speak much foolishness, and

Their ways drag they and their company to death.

The LORD answers by his voice and silence.

The people offered are given this test:

A soul is born into a land without God.

It may do evil as it desires,

Without fear of punishment. Every pleasure,

Good and evil is offered to its plate.

So why then, should this soul do good

When evil gives its prize without danger to its life?

 

The answer to this is found in God, and endless books.

By Wisdom and Truth, the faithful are led.

Their souls are light in every time and land.

The fool, the mad men, ask at the end of their pleasure,

‘Why do this thing when there’s nothing to be gained?

There are no longer laws against what was evil,

And, in this time we now know that’s no longer evil.

Why not make a test of pleasure in your one life?’

They commit whoredom, and do not multiply.

They murder and steal, and have no gain.

 

But God, the LORD, being a patient Lord,

Shall lead repentant men to light.

LORD, the LORD’s people, all the faithful

            Are judged by eternity.

We do what is good in all times and places.

The LORD leads us to true wealth and riches,

Where by our spirit we sing all songs of joy

From moonlit nights by white-blue desert sands

To the highest towers, cities in the sky.

It is by the LORD that we gain our lives.

 

A people may turn away onto a crooked path,

But it’s the LORD who comes to make the crooked straight.

We pray, LORD, that for they who fall, that their falling

Is ordained to bring them closer to God.

 

By thy tribulations, they know the mercies of God,

They repent, and they choose life over death.

Between the Heaven within and the pits of Hell,

By their choice, LORD, pray they know the heart of saints.

 

Amen.

 

 

[64] – On a Prayer that Increases the Potency of Prayer

 

Oh thank the LORD there’s thy power in thy verse

            And our works

Which we pray is for the highest of goods.

In all days we grow in friendship and mirth.

Thou art I, thou I art, so we grow close.

The image of God is in everyone.

 

 

[65] – On Dealings of Temptation and Acedia

 

A shy gaze was shot across my way.

What was I supposed to say?

I think I saw her wave,

However, my glasses were at home,

So I didn’t really know.

By God, those were strange memories.

For what reason would a rich man like me

Walk amidst such frivolous affairs?

My beloved, she is right here, so simple and cute,

And why, it is uncouth for a man

To be swayed by beauty’s deceit.

What glory is there to have

For being liked by others besides one’s wife?

 

She’s as cute as a button,

And as sweet as a muffin,

But she’s taller than me (a bit).

Must be those Nordic genes or something.

I thank God that my health is taken care of.

I’d still like to have someone like her princess carried.

Her hair is long and straight.

Her figure is slender and soft.

Yes, like them, she is beautiful,

But most of all she fears God.

For me, she’s one of the gifts of God.

Ah, what of Him, our LORD?

 

I thank Christ each day for this life that I have.

He’s kept me alive though at times I wished for death.

Yes, by God, now there is work to be done.

Forgive me friend. You’re right.

By Acedia my work is near forgotten.

Away from me, wife. Away from me, friends.

I receive them as I need them from God’s hand,

Which is to say, as I like,

However, God has the final say,

And it is in all our interests to do as He says.

[66] – On the Seal of Jealousy

 

Why stoke the seal of jealousy on my heart?

Did you just put it there to coal my rage?

No, rather, the seal is meant to stir.

Ridiculous. My love is stirred when I please.

LORD, I pray, in all thy ways, please lead.

I labor small and gain much good.

By thy blessings, we prosper in all we do.

Thank you for mercies on sinners, on me.

We repent and enjoy all the gifts of thy house.

By you LORD, every day and night is joy.

And, as for love between a man and maid,

I’m grateful you’ve exceeded expectation.

I see my beloved both day and night.

For me, she was prepared by thy great care.

Thank you LORD Christ for strengthening my blood.

 

 

[67] – On a Way Between a Man and Maid

 

Why is it that this family receives gifts that are too good for us?

Excuse me, I am just speaking about me.

I’m just curious how a lech

Like me ended up with one such as her.

Given that like attracts like, oh my LORD.

We’re both bad people aren’t we? Two birds, burning with passion,

Yet seeking God all the same, that true love.

So… she is mine, and I know that I am hers.

With just us two, yes dear, I’ll help her forget about the world.

Those who love the world are not of God.

 

[68] – On God’s Living Proverbs for which He calls Man

 

Oh LORD, how merciful art thou, to wash my sins away.

Should I sin beneath thy sky oh LORD, then let me repent.

Who can right their wrongs as a dead man? The dead can do no thing.

Therefore LORD, I am grateful you let me live, so I may do right in all my days.

Let my life be a proverb, for all under thy ways.

Let all thy people learn from the sinners and the saints.

There be righteous men whose prosperity are long,

And there be the unrighteous who do wrong and do not repent.

They rise for a time, and may live well in the sky, knowing the prize of the righteous,

But their works are blotted out from the memory of time.

So, the people know that God keeps the wheat and burns away the chaff.

LORD, pray thee, that you remember me and all my blood.

They, sons and daughters who I have conceived through sin

By the desire of beloved whom I cleave to in sin

Because there is no man without sin, nor woman.

But I labor so they may know thy glory, and thy wraths,

And the infinite grace of thy everlasting mercies.

If I do wrong, cause me to repent.

I do right, let prosperity flow.

Thy work be done on Earth as it be done in Heaven.

Let it be so, so they may know God.

There be nations who forsook God and there be nations who kept thy Commandments.

Fire rains on Sodom and the memory of many tribes are blot out.

A people from Egypt take their form in the wilderness.

A coalition of thirty-one kingdoms are hazed by the one God-fearing people.

A people counted as barbaric topples a nation prosperous in abundance,

A nation who forsook their LORD, God.

As it is with the kingdoms of this Earth,

So it is with every man.

LORD, you have numbered my days, and I know not the days when I be living or dead.

Should I die with my transgressions then I shall know no respite.

However, should I die clean from sin, then I shall walk with you

As it was in the days of Adam, of Eden.

Let it not be thy will, oh merciful LORD, He with the highest thoughts.

Pay a penance for my sins, wash me pure as a new babe’s blood.

By that, we walk in repentance, and we walk with you again.

 

 

[69] – On God’s Good Purpose

 

Blessings to the LORD, He who makes the world

Beautiful in all its time to a purpose.

In joy, in pain, in sorrow,

We praise His name in all tomorrows. Oh Christ,

Who leads our paths day and night,

He grants every man what he prays.

War and peace, famine, and feasts, it’s all to the LORD,

That people pray for what they have received.

So, we pray, for blessings in all our days,

That we know good wealth, good health, good lives,

Ever-increasing in all our times.

In our visions we see new Paradise.

Through thanksgiving, through joy, we’re with our God

            Through the Heaven within.

At all times, our God, our LORD is with us,

And we know His blessings more than the moon

            That changes season each night,

            And the sun that rises.

 

 

[70] – On Birds Taken Care of

 

Drinking tea from the whiskey cup,

Wondering when the time will be up

For this melancholy to pass

So I may know happiness at last.

 

Out the window of one dinky flat,

I see concrete, no slither of grass.

And all the skies painted grey,

But, the pigeons are out to play

So thank God for that.

 

Now once, I took a walk

Beneath a rainy sky.

By some trash in some grass

I found a pigeon that had died.

Its beak was eaten off

And its bones were free to see,

Torn from the place where its stomach used to be.

It lay there, just five feet away from a flock of birds

Singing in the trees.

At that point, I shrugged my shoulders and thought,

‘Well God, suppose it is you who cares for the birds.

Long do we live in flocks for all our days,

Yet the time comes for all to return to the grave.’

 

Now, as I drink my cup,

At the very least I pray

For mercy in this life and the next

So the sight of my grave

Should inspire one to live

Rather than make one wonder why they aren’t dead.

 

LORD, there be men who ask

Why you keep them alive.

Pray, LORD, that you open their eyes,

So they don’t remember much their days

As you speak joy into their hearts.

 

 

 

Sinuous Vexations in a White Lab Coat

 

I

 

Blessings be upon the body of Christ

In all their time, in all their days and nights.

His people are saved by the blood of the LORD.

Against all evil, he gives them His sword.

 

Praise be to God that I found my good spouse.

They’re simple and cute, and they extend my life.

They speak the law of kindness and wisdom,

And is of much delight each day and night.

So it is, I trust in God, I know them, my spouse.

 

II

 

Praise be to God for the dreams of the night.

They be like wisdom with their guiding lights.

A man sees vision of his lovely wife.

So was I upon many lovely nights.

 

III

 

Thanks be to our eyes that see through all lies.

By the sense we discern wisdom and truth.

To have hands and feet are the gifts of God.

A healthy body is ours in both richness and poverty.

 

IV

 

LORD, thank you. I received good dreams this night,

Where I saw Wisdom by my left and my right.

My wife, oh-ho, do I not call her Wisdom?

What then? That’s why I saw her at my side.

 

V

 

LORD, by our prayers, we doth pray for peace,

For mirthful love, joy, and dancing feet.

Unto you LORD, we sing our songs of praise.

By your name, we know good in all our days.

 

VI

 

Blessed are us who made friendship a habit!

By the LORD’s light we burned envy to ashes.

We stand as a people amidst the rich and poor,

Taking count of joy more and more.

 

VII

 

We thank you LORD for guiding visions and dreams

That reveal to us the things that are unseen.

By a dream I knew my paths.

By a dream you’ve extendeth my life as blessed.

 

VIII

 

When my wife is with me, I see her as my only one.

But when I am alone I see her in every one.

Oh LORD, Oh God, who guides my paths day and night,

Protect me from the wayward girl who’ll take me from my wife!

 

IX

 

LORD, I am grateful. We ask and we receive.

LORD, I am grateful. We seek and we dine.

I pray and find my prayers in effect,

So, I am grateful you help lead my thought.

 

X

 

By the gracious pen of one who observes,

The Selves can see and act on what is.

God delights in guiding us through voice and dream.

I am a man who discerns all good seen and unseen.

 

XI

 

Blessings be upon the body of the LORD.

We know his hand. He lights a path in this world.

By Jesus Christ we have joy in our labors

And know life everlasting.

 

XII

 

The waters of life be the blood of Christ.

By consuming his flesh, from sin we’re freed

To live our lives with joy and vanity.

So, we praise our God every day and night.

 

XIII

 

By Christ our sins are washed away.

We see his light in all our days.

We ask and we receive exactly what we asked

Alongside all good things we did not expect.

 

XIV

 

By slumber a man’s soul leaks the future.

He sees events that are passed and present.

So it is that man has a fruitful life

By learning much wisdom each day and night.

 

XV

 

It’s written, whoso pleases God shall escape from her.

LORD… if I am always meant to meet that girl,

Then, pray, I am grateful we were each other’s firsts and lasts.

I knew her as my one. She knew me as her only man.

So it is and was done. Thank you, Lord. Amen.

 

XVI

 

I thank you LORD, you have known me in my mother’s womb.

In all the world, I am the spirit that is me.

So, I’m grateful you’ve made us a gift and blessing,

That my prayers and labors do good on thy Earth.

 

XVII

 

Oh LORD, I thank thee for thy wisdom on me.

I’ve joy in my labors and remember God,

You who have made and saved my by thy cross.

For my own joy, I do what is good.

 

XVIII

 

Blessings be upon the body of the LORD.

They know life and joy by His holy Word.

In the Scriptures they know blessed dreams

And are thereby prosperous in God’s world.

 

XIX

 

Oh LORD, we thank you that you let us pray

So we know what we do in all our days.

We see grey skies and rain from our apartments.

By your hand, we are led to feel goodness.

 

XX

 

Open the door to the LORD, Jesus Christ.

For the good of the world, we praise his name day and night.

In His house we know joy and glory.

By His might we rebuke Satan and Hell.

The angels, they come minister to us.

 

XXI

 

Thank you LORD for giving us time to rest.

Even in our naps we fall to deep sleep

So that you may instruct us by our dreams.

Wisdom, the missions, we are glad to know.

 

XXII

 

As I take the drink of cinnamon tea,

By this night I feel I’m meant to be.

Knowing wisdom, I know madness and folly.

Thank the LORD, I am kept to wisdom.

 

XXIII

 

Oh LORD, we thank thee. You’ve absolved our sins.
On your blood, we confess and live again.

So, praise God almighty, sinners and saints,

And see his visions and wisdom night and day.

 

XXIV

 

By thy help LORD, I abide in thee.

By your hand LORD, I am saved from me.

In his fallen world, you guide us back into your arms

Where we know Paradise again.

And though we are but humans who’ve sinned,

Undeserving of your hands,

We give everlasting thanks for your mercies

On us and all our kin.

By your cross, by your blood, we are known to the Heaven within.

And so we take your gift, we receive.

As God had become like man, so man had become like God.

Save us from all sin, oh LORD,

And we join you in thy place.

 

XXV

 

By the Holy Ghost of God we are healed,

So we march on with all our former zeal

That grows and grows and grows past the morrow.

Thank you LORD, my spirits are renewed.

Thank you LORD, our verves blesses our soul.

May it all be pleasing to thy Word and World.

 

XXVI

 

LORD, I thank you for thy

Infinite mercies.

That you be patient with

A servant such as me.

In all my days and nights

I seek after thy wisdom.

I am glad!

When I make a mistake

You turn my stumbling

To my favor.

So, I am always right

On the journey,

Evermore to the LORD’s house.

And, I delight in all thy gifts

Given to us along the way.

 

XXVII

 

Oh LORD Jesus Christ, thank you for this life.

You leadeth us out of every vain strife.

So many verses, each counted to bless.

Pray, help me sort this organized mess.

 

XXVIII

 

Lord Jesus Christ, I thank you for having mercy on me, a sinner.

None of what I have are deserved for me,

But even so, the Lord our God has his cares for us.

Who am I? Who are we? Only the Lord knows.

 

 

 

Sinuous Vexations in a Black Lab Coat.

 

I

 

This is the Scientist who is speaking:

Alright, enough, I am done with madness.

I am still mad, just not of that madness.

I prefer to know God’s wrath than Satan’s favor.

Let us be mad as our God knows His wrath.

Our minds be filled with good thoughts to manifest,

For our God’s will be done on Heaven and Earth.

 

II

 

So America knew a time of waste

And sadness existed in many men’s days.

What of it? Days of joy counter days of folly.

And, even a fool can choose to be rich and happy every day.

The sun and moon shine bright for those under God.

All our days are made by the soul of what we pray.

In sorrow, there is much joy,

So much as a man solemnly puts his vice away.

There is a man who happily sins to his hurt,

Who says, “LORD, thou shalt forgive me for this pleasure,”

Before dragging his soul to dark and frenzied places.

They have joy then and much reason to repent

When for man, repenting is a weary business.

Praise God, he gives much time to put evil away.

In darkness and light, man seeks God in all their days.

Pray, to the LORD, that one keeps His righteous way.

 

III

 

Praise be to God for all his righteous ways

So that we have joy in all our labors.

By our souls does the Holy Spirit stay

To grant us increasing blessings in our days.

 

IV

 

Peace of the Lord be with you and with your spirit.

My, LORD, to have thy peace feels so great.

What comes after then, save for joys in our labors.

Guess what we males is of the mind and heart.

By your help LORD, soul and spirit unites.

 

V

 

From highest euphoria and deepest melancholia

            Is a whole man made.

By God, we have many roles we can take. It’s His

            Gift we choose our plays.

So, a man may find himself alone in

            A world of sleeping people.

So, he takes to the dead, in books and abandoned places

To meet spirits and ghosts that are living.

He talks more to the dead than the living

And takes joy from things of the past more

            Than the present.

A living man, in love with ghosts. Guess he

Had all of time to love, but even so,

From the present to the past, every where,

            Man lives imprisoned.

For this man, he was awakened, however,

Waking became his new place, his new prison.

What use was it, being one man awake,

Speaking with they who were awake, but dead?

He walked amongst the living, and found none awake.

He walked amongst the dead, and found a place,

            But he was living.

It was not his true place to walk with the dead,

But the dead felt more alive than those who

            We supposed to live.

So, he prayed, that wakened souls attract wakened souls.

Then, during a stint, a place of God where

            Most people go sleeping,

He met her, a girl, who had just recently awakened.

She was a real, human person, beautiful and fair,

            And all humble about it.

By the melody of her voice and laugh,

            The man knew from a glance

That that person, that girl, truly sought God too.

So after the sermon, the man hobbled next to her,

And they talked of many things: of prison, and God,

And how the two of them may enjoy His gifts

            In true freedom and Paradise.

From their joys, from their sorrows in their following tomorrows,

            The two bore much fruit

And enjoyed many gifts from the LORD, God.

It is good that people be simple in their lives.

Much thought causes the soul to drown in sleep.

Pray, unnecessary weight is cut, and we know our peace.\

VI

 

Blessed is the man who discerns from the LORD,

Those wasteful worlds of manufactured rebellion.

The fashions? Progress? Counted before one’s time.

It is a tale for a man who starts

A movement for the soul, a revival

Only to find his ranks filled lambs and sheep

Who bleep what their shepherd feeds them,

Weeping, baa, baa, baa, praise God, praise God,

While keeping their piteous selves

In all the ways that chained them.

They come by, they do as they are told, nothing more.

Rather, forgive me LORD, perhaps a mass of wool

Is a delight to the eyes, so the lone sheep comes by,

And so conforms into the ways of the new flock.

By revival, the shepherd seeks to free his sheep from the mold,

Yet like soap, they are like a cluster pushed into a new bar.

 

LORD, forgive my cynicism, my wanton complaints.

Why, it’s no harm to lead, it’s good for the sheep

To follow their leader’s hand,

But why; there is only one God,

So don’t be a sheep for me, be a lamb for Him!

The greatest servant does not want to be flattered.

And by God, what a paradox, what man is!

They want their wills to be free, yet secure in fate!

What a quaint thing, the amours of lovers.

A young man wishes to choose his wife, yet,

When he finally meets her he says, “It must be fate!”

 

Hah, LORD, there be insanity in considering all things.

So many puppet masters on their strings,

And even so, the master’s arms are stuck to his servant’s limbs.

Those who blaze the trail leave their cities behind,

And so merchants are left to teach others how to be

Like those who left, those who make their cities.

The progenitor is modelled after,

And his followers are like parodies.

But even so, a parody can become its own thing.

At least, that’s what you have proved LORD

Through all made in thy image, angels and saints.

 

What makes a man of God? Is it ritual,

Mindlessly done like eating and defecating?

Is it being more like God? Like the LORD?

Is so, listen to the devil, and eat that apple.

After all, doesn’t God know good and evil?

Don’t, don’t eat apples, and care not for evil.

God is known through man by the spirit God made,

Unadulterated by useless thoughts like

What is good and what is evil.

For every thing, God makes beautiful.

So, when God makes a soul to put into a vessel,

The soul is made beautiful, first and foremost,

And only after is it then polluted with intellect,

Because one is taught to be like God,

When God had already made a good thing.

Though, again, one who copies after God

Can through God Himself become his own thing.

 

Here’s a thought.

So a man teaches another man to be

Like a miniature Christ. Be like Christ!

If God wanted copies of himself running the Earth,

He’d have put Christ and Christ in the Garden.

Though, again, perhaps like a wife, man to God,

Made in God’s image, is like the husband, yet different.

 

Insanity in considering all things.

People want to be themselves, true to their souls,

Yet they also want to copy other people.

LORD, it is thy purpose that people fear God,

And be what they are without deception, but

Many inventions try to cloud the soul.

Blessings, they go to those who find themselves,

Yet devils speak lies the moment one is born.

However, praise God, you’re always there to tell

What we are, and what we’ve always been.

 

There is a place called Eden,

And Eden is a place known in time.

There, we can know our true selves,

And perhaps cry, knowing that

The love we knew on Earth was true as well.

As a man, at least, I’d drop a tear,

If my wife were to still love me out the whole world.

Hah, love is a play on this Earth,

But a part of me prays it’s real.

It is what it is, Thank you LORD for listening.

You bless our thoughts, and take blessed thoughts

            To bless our lives. So it is done. Amen.

 

VII

 

A man has one soul,

Yet he’s tasked with many roles

With one mask for each

That the people can see.

 

And the soul delights in thee,

The many plays,

But sometimes it forgets its true face.

Who am I? I am,

I am, I am, I am.

It keeps on asking, knowing,

Seeing itself between passing roles.

Still, blessing to those seeking their self.

God, he reveals in a dream,

The person you are when you’re really free

To choose between goodness and sin.

With a world at your hand,

He knows if you’d be a hero or a villain

Among many other things.

But, if like all, one has been a villain,

He weeps himself,

And as a great shepherd with his rod leads His lost sheep,

Back to the flock,

Where there are all good dreams worthy to be seen.

 

VIII

 

Blessings to the LORD, He who makes the world

Beautiful in all its time to a purpose.

In joy, in pain, in sorrow,

We praise His name in all tomorrows. Oh Christ,

Who leads our paths day and night,

He grants every man what he prays.

War and peace, famine, and feasts, it’s all to the LORD,

That people pray for what they have received.

So, we pray, for blessings in all our days,

That we know good wealth, good health, good lives,

Ever-increasing in all our times.

In our visions we see new Paradise.

Through thanksgiving, through joy, we’re with our God

            Through the Heaven within.

At all times, our God, our LORD is with us,

And we know His blessings more than the moon

That changes season each and every night,

And the sun that rises each and every day.

So it is and was done. What I write comes to pass.

            Thank you LORD. Amen.

 

IX

 

I pretended to be fool.

Entertained religious men.

Told them about jungle society

Where perverts can grope girls

And get their balls kicked.

Pretty boy gets tired of my nonsense speech.

His eyes thinned, and he dared me to grope girl.

Said opportunities to be pervert are everywhere so just do it.

I am excited. Man has spine.

I follow through and eye pretty woman.

She is skinny, perhaps lacking confidence.

Remember wisdom. Remember wife. Remember daughters.

I told the young woman she looked really cute that day.

Her eyes light up, because I am a handsome man.

Thank you! She says. My heart smiled.

Then she left. Our conversation returned.

The men I entertained wonder what happened.

Remember Christ. Remember wife. Remember daughters.

Remember character of man I want my daughters married to.

Gentle man, simple, barbaric, with manners,,

Open about intentions, call girls pretty,

Open about intentions, they seek to marry.

They love life, they love fun, saw daughters

As a part of life rather than their whole life,

Or so they claimed. Daughters made them better men,

And they could never stop talking about their wives.

Annoying it was at times, hearing another man dote your blood.

Still, those men had dreams, and knew what it meant to love.

 

X

 

Saw it in a dream, moon crashing into Earth.

Oh God, what then is the point of life?

Why tell a man he’ll die in numbered years?

He knows that his world will end, so what point

Is there for him to do anything but die?

If a moon were to crash, what point is there

In him planting his seed and making life?

Suppose there is joy, yes, joy in his labors.

He may delight in his eyes, and know joy.

Joy, fun, Paradise. There, it’s always here.

Vexations, suppose those are fun in their own way.

 

XI

 

Sometimes, he wondered what she saw in him.

He was a young man with heaven in his heart,

However, he kept his heart hidden beneath.

Timid, slow in speech, quick to leave, reclusive,

Rigid, not all there, possibly perverted,

All were terms he may have used to paint a

Portrait of himself, the prince who came from

An iron-blooded orphan and princess

With a marriage blessed by Uncle Sam’s tanks.

A mutt between the least and best of man, he was,

The prince walked as a poor man on the Earth

Who had much wealth he cared not to show.

But, for some reason that girl stuck to him.

Her reason, one could imagine, a matter of the soul.

She loved him for the man he was

And felt no thing for the rocks he had.

 

“I am rich, yes, but I am a man of wealth.

A healthy body’s worth more than gold.”

 

He made her laugh, he made her cry, the man

            Made her feel,

And it is true that matters of the soul

            Makes one rich

Moreso than any fame, paper, or shiny rock.

 

‘A house may be lost, Lands may be burned,

But, if God wills it, you’ll always have me.

This will always be ours, our family.’

 

So it is, and was, a house under God

Full of sons and daughters who praised His name

            Under sun and moon.

 

XII

 

Read through an engine that details

            Transportation between worlds.

Realized that I am like a cat.

            I do many daring things

And I get busy marking territory.

            Strangers, I do speak to,

Carelessly, without Ego.

            It’s how I play my roles

While keeping my soul in all of them.

So by my thought the world is changed

            While I remain ever the same.

A man leaves himself behind each step he walks,

            So, he is changed, yet the same.

Blessings to the man who is awake in all states.

            On note of the engine though,

I have a splendid social life.

I know spots that are mine.

I do mark territory in my city.

I know how to entertain strangers,

Though for some reason those who live up North

Aren’t given much opportunity to dance.

That, or I’m just blind to certain parties.

Nonetheless, I value the company of my loved ones the most.

This cat who knows the spirit of the black horse and white rat

Is a golden boy who fears God and knows love.

I labor little and have much,

So it is and was done. Thanks be to God. Amen.

 

XIII

 

Have pretty wife. Still look at other girls.

Bothers me. Body feels hot. Soul feels unfaithful.

Confess to wife about looking at other girls.

She laughs and says, “Look at me.”

So I do. Then we have very long night.

 

XIV

 

What can I day? Just me and my favorite people

Crossing the U.S.A. I’ve got my lady at my side,

And our children for the ride. The baby does cry,

But by his mother’s breasts it’s fine. An RV, RV!

For this time, we live in that thing fed and free.

So was a young girl’s dream turned to reality.

So it is, God is faithful, he provides

Freedom, wealth, and joyful time

To live in a beautiful world for those who pray to see.

 

XV

 

A strange report, writing is like a trance;

Causes two worlds to be joined as one.

Beautiful life, I do live under God.

Romance, melancholy, joy, weird slice of life,

Some parts comedy, some parts weird to see.

There is conflict and sorrow to happy ends

As well as joys and euphoria to happy ends.

Honestly, it depends how I choose.

            Here is the truth.

Reality is stranger than fiction.

Good fiction mirrors reality.

By the faith of one’s heart, mountains are moved.

The greater portion of one’s thoughts makes one’s world.

People are praying animals. They pray all the time.

So, thanks be to God He guards all our thoughts

That the good comes to pass and evil, ash.

If a man is close to God, he knows an evil thought

But God puts evil away from his heart

So evil thoughts come to nothing, no action is sought.

And for that man all his thoughts that remain are good

So good thoughts are brought to fruit, good action is taken.

Yet, if a man is far from God, he has all good and evil thoughts

But has no one to put away evil from the good.

By failing to uphold God’s Commandments

The fruit of many good thoughts are lost.

One this note, should we find a man of God

            Stuck in a rut…

He lazes in his cot, waking three hours after

The rest of his house got up. For his day, he walks

Listlessly with frown. He labors with dead eyes,

Staring long at people passing by.

Let God and all Heaven and Earth pray for him.

A man of God who does no thing but breathe

Is a man of God having his evil thought put away.

Pray, our LORD gives him missions to fulfill

Where he knows all good thought and takes good action.

Romance, love, joy, hope, justice, mercy, faith;

The sorrow of a good man grows his heart,

And what he knows within shows itself throughout.

So the man is sanctified by the work of Christ

And good thoughts remain to create his space.

 

XVI

 

Saw it in a dream;

Me trying to rangle up some kids,

Some girl with Autumn colored hair

Comes by me with a frown and sharp stare.

She seemed a bit frustrated and

Looked at me with annoyance.

We were in a hotel of some kind;

Polished brown walls, lacquered woods,

And warm, yellow lights.

The girl said some things and I shrugged.

 

Saw it in a dream;

At a restaurant of some kind.

A girl I used to like got fat.

Girl was eating with us and wore an immodest dress.

Family at the table. Mother advised me

Not to point out her fatness.

Her breasts were quite large

And I was enticed.

Then I remembered my wife.

She would not dress like that,

Least, not in public.

 

All our interpretations belong to the LORD.

Perhaps, I should go to church.

Thanks be to God. He makes my mission clear.

 

XVII

 

Slice of Life, Comedy, Romance, Psychological,

Adventure, Comfy, many tags to see

For my life full of hopes and victory.

One soul is cast to many roles.

From the courts, the Heavens watch and pray

For the golden boy seeking God’s way.

In every place and time

He knows the essence that is divine.

Thus, he has unity of heart and mind,

So it is, and was for me.

By the a mustard seed of faith, mountains are moved.

So it is that our faith continually grows.

Our eyes are looked forth to Heaven’s place

So we know joy and love in every space.

We know a peace that is good

And avoid all evil that is not.

So it was and is for us,

We speak good, we think good, and we do good.

And by all the Heavens within me,

I know and experience all amusement.

 

XVIII

 

Curious, what do these people see in me?

I am learning to be a money exchanger,

Yet they say Christ lives in me.

Sometimes I find that hard to believe

When the hallmark of my profession is greed.

Still, I suppose it is a fine thought to keep.

I get paid well, so I help others in need.

My friends, they talk like two thousand dollars is a large sum.

For me, two thousand dollars is just paper.

LORD, I am healthy and I am wealthy,

So it is that our labors bring prosperity.

We send gifts, and we receive from many sources.

So it is and was done. The LORD provides. Amen.

            Thanks be to Jesus Christ, our God.

This aside, I am more than someone who knows how to bank.

Still, a wise investment here, a wise investment there;

Being a giver of gifts makes one prosperous.

Thank God, the righteous prosper in all their ways.

I am a man who labors little and has much.

 

XIX

 

This lowly Christian man stands to serve himself!

I mean, really, God, I confess, to serve God

Is not enough of a motivation for me

            Not to kill myself.

I mean, King David, in spite of all his despair,

Had about two or three wives to comfort him

            In his misery!

Though, I don’t blame him. What better motivation

To write Psalms and stay alive

Than a pair of beautiful gals embracing you

            At the same time!

Even moreso when they bear children by your seed.

Hmm, nothing solves hierarchy disputes more

Than the murder of wayward cubs in the pride.

I know that King Saul had it out for him,

And I know it feels like I slandered a whole nation

            As well as a great man.

I confess, there is no good in talking bad of dead men

Woe. These are simply vexations of a jealous man.

Everyone’s a saint when they’re dead.

It’s a truth even the Psalmist knew.

LORD, mine iniquities are before me, wash me white as snow.

Men have to die for all their good to be kept

And all the bad to be forgiven.

As for me, LORD, unfortunately I

            Have yet to slay any lions by its beard,

So, give King David the glory he deserves.

It’s a truth that a cowardly man

            Should not expect prizes,

But you love them anyways, like St. Peter—

Hah, God bless, cowards can repent.

 

I confess, I hate writing.

It’s the perfect medium for whiners and complainers,

Yet, all those who hate it can’t seem to get enough of it.

Nothing like having all your thoughts recorded by script. s

Oh ancient man, we just love our tablets.

 

LORD, I realize this more as a diatribe

On my vain vexations. I’m a bad man,

And I deserve none of the mercies you allot me.

You… of course, I am a sinner,

And being a bad man is nothing to kill yourself over.

What are the chances of me being unrighteous,

Nine-hundred-and-ninety-nine out of a thousand?

I should be grateful that you have given me

Opportunities to try being one of the righteous.

Instead of complaining, I should count my blessings—

They are counted. I am in a good place.

God keeps his hand open, for Him we wait.

I feel, at times, it is good to be dumb.

Be too intelligent and one can’t find the truth.

There is no point in knowledge if it would make one jaded.

You have commanded us to meditate on all good things.

If we just do as you’ve commanded us,

Then there would be no need for us to write these vexations.

 

Pray for me LORD, I think too much. It’s enough to follow God

            And follow His commands,

            Even if they make me look like an idiot.

The Joan of Arc went to war over His voice and vision,

            And she was sixteen in years.

I’m like [REDACTED] years her senior,

As a man, I ought to be ashamed.

When God directly commands me to do His work,

            I should do it.

And King David ought to thrash me for these words.

He probably should when I meet him,

And it’ll be no contest between the warrior and the scribe.

Well, maybe I’ll have my dogs with me,

To help me run away from his might.

But maybe I would want to get beat up by King David,

Just so I could have the honor of saying

That me and King David got into a fight.

There we go, now that’s a cheerful thought.

The scribe shall have all the time in the world

To train his heavenly body to test himself

Against all the saints and angels in a fight.

Moses could whip me with his stick,

And Samuel, with his hands, could chop me into two halves.

Against the Joan of Arc, I’d probably win,

Because, you know, she’s just a woman, right?

Ah, no, I don’t think I’d be able to punch

A woman that isn’t my wife.

That sounds wrong. God, you know what I mean.

Ayn Rand could tell you—you know, that,

There are spirits, some souls who like it… rough.

 

LORD, how much of my work should I burn?

I don’t want to accuse anyone in this profession,

But amidst thy scribes, how many of us wrote—

What’s a proper term for it—unholy script,

Or perhaps holy it is, if it be in the right context,

But still, there are things that one likes to write,

But would be gravely embarrassed to admit to write.

Like, oh, I don’t know, how much I like pudding or pie,

Or how red ribbons on presents makes one think of… connotations.

Forgive me LORD. Forgive thy lowly scribe.

I like living, I like living a lot.

In these past few verses, I realize I like living a lot.

I might be a bit of a disgusting creature,       

But there are those who find caterpillars cute.

Whenever I complain, pray that I remember,

Before I knew complaints, I knew you first,

And, it’s thy grace that makes all my good

In spite of all my complaints. So be it.

 

XX

 

A question for God.

They were brave men, kings, and conquerors.

They were martyrs, thrown into lion’s dens.

Nailed to crosses, fire burned beneath their feet,

Their prayers are etched into thy histories.

But this people, while it’s not true for all,

Some, they won’t even raise a fist when a

Prideful man walks to insult God to their face.

Rather, some take pride in being cowards,

Turning the other cheek, so to speak.

On this note, I am grateful there are still those who fight.

 

On war and peace, one should fight to keep the peace,

Lest a nation of pacifists let the cork pop

By letting sinners shake the bottle.

As for me, I am a mutt who knows too much,

And I’d rather let others fight for their own countries.

Gay, black, trans, white, monkeys love being a statistic,

One to be counted, one to be numbered.

Those that know better know that the lands go

To those who have conquered heart and mind.

The rest are merely servants,

That is, until they decide to conquer too.

 

This blood, it brings generational PTSD

From both… they who seize and the seized.

Oh God, oh God, what’s the point in making

A mutt like me into a refugee?

The spirits of two families are mixed,

So produced are mutts that fit in neither land.

Generations pass, and just as we are

About to become pure-bred again

We are driven out from our native lands

To walk amongst that one man’s kind,

 

And so I walk amongst these Christian people

Who may well be giving their kingdom to infidels,

And what am I LORD, to fight for these people?

I have sat in the seats of the rich and the lonely.

Growing up, I ate lunch alone in empty halls,

And ate in the company where laughter reigned.

There are stakes our masters gave us, telling us

            To mark our homes.

            But is it really home?

            The jungles call.

            Home. Come home.

            Let the husbands fight for their own wives.

            Why should you be the first to give your life?

            Oh young man, men with families send you first to the grave.

            Let those who will be missed defend their lot.

            If the times for war, make your choice and live!

 

Oh God, Oh Christ, I know my choice.

My family, they are more than a unit

            Meant to raise one’s stocks.

Pray, LORD, they know there is more to this world

            Than war, peace, ians, ologies, and isms.

By Christ, the best argument for conversions

            Are a people happy and God-fearing.

            Who wants to join misery’s company?

By Christ, one may walk into a cave of bandits,

            And walk out unscathed.

Mutts you may be. Let others care or not.

People of God see every thing: body, soul, and spirit.

And, in our book it’s written, God-fearing with the

            God-fearing.

There is a pleasant thing I see under Heaven.

A simple soldier does his time in war and sees no crime

While a soldier with sin on his mind sees much crime.

Children, if you want to know thyself,

Then find yourself in a place without consequences.

God judges you when you sleep and wake,

So be grateful for His patience so you may repent.

 

XXI

 

‘Oh God, oh God, oh Jesus Christ I’m sorry.

 

Oh my Jesus, let me hear, what is the point then

Of me being baptized and cleansed from sin

If the actions I took when I did not know better

Would still cause me to be a damaged man?

 

Oh my Jesus, there is a girl who loves me,

Who is chaste, pure, and simple. She knows no man but me.

You have prepared her as a gift for me.

Neither has she seen the ugliness of acts as I have.

She was a virgin, and so was I when we cleaved.

 

But, what was the point of my virginity, LORD?

I was a virgin, but I was not pure.

I was a virgin, but I was not chaste.

The works of my imagination has made my ‘purity’ null.

 

And, I ask, if I am not pure and I am not chaste,

What use was it to have saved myself for her?

If I am not pure, and I am not chaste,

Then in spite of me not having known a woman besides her,

 

I am still a damaged man. Forgive me Christ.

I have pride, so when I was baptized

I kept the old man buried in a Pyramid.

I couldn’t just give up the memories of him.

 

So now I have a house with many evil works.

I have parents, whose memory I only remember through the dead.

I am but [REDACTED] days old Lord.

I am like an infant born, in a body ready to work.

 

I can only function because the man of [REDACTED] years

Has given me some memories to work with.

What use is it, to complain about my damages?

I thank you at least for bearing with my vexations.

 

I am a bad man. Even though, I have her,

I still wonder what it’d be like to lay with another.

The dangers of my heart, I despise the source,

And I pray for her, at least, that I am as she sees me.

 

The patience of the LORD is a fine gift.

Just… I hear, let me hear. If the damages are the same,

Then what point is there in me not making

From the imaginations to the real?

Christ, I already cheat with my wandering eyes.

Can I be that prodigal son?

For so long as I repent in the end,

Then would it be okay for me to know a whore,

One of those temptations besides my beloved?

I am not pure, and I am not chaste.

I was a virgin when we married,

And she is the only woman I’ve ever known,

But because of my heart and mind—

She knows me as her good husband, her lord,

She knows me as a good Christian, her man,

She sees me as loyal, faithful,

But because my heart and mind

            I am none of those things.

My heart throbs each time I look into her eyes,

So beautiful as the infinite sky,

But it throbs not for her beauty,

It throbs because I’ve looked at others while alone.

Because I still love her, the guilt follows me home.

 

The ointment of my soul already stinks,

What more could a little more sin do to me?

Also, many men have taken mistresses before.

For that sin, she would forgive me. Would she?”

 

Fear God, that is the end of the matter.

Also, does not the sin of murder have

Different affects than the sin of fornication?

Put a blade against the throat of a harlot

            And the harlot dies.

Put your seed into the belly of harlot

            And there’s a chance for new life.

It is true, all sin leads to Hell, but all 

            Sin is unique in its effects on Earth.

So, a man may consider spreading his substance

Across a multitude of bodies,

And he may compare that judgment to Onan’s kind.

In the end, it is better to fear God and obey.

Better to be healed than to damage oneself more.

 

As for the man’s vexations:

God prepares good gifts for those willing to receive.

Also, after one has received, one may always throw

What they have received away, so consider.

Repent, and lift up thine hearts,

That we receive and keep all the greatest gifts God prepared for us.

 

XXII

 

A sin upon myself is a sin upon the body of Christ.

For my beloved, how does one repent when my sin causes her to sin?

Should I commit adultery so she may do the same?

Should she pleasure herself in dark places so I may do the same?

We are chaste, so we are both chaste.

We are for God, so we are in Christ’s body.

Yet, the virtues we keep help others be sanctified.

We love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

So if we commit sin against ourselves,

Then our neighbors shall commit sin against themselves.

Yet, if we are kind to ourselves,

Then, pray, our neighbors are kind to themselves.

 

LORD, in the matter of my spousal activities,

I admit, the thought of passions give rise to much feeling.

Still, forgive me LORD, wash my sin away,

Should my own sin cause another to sin.

It is by thy wisdom, and thy greatness

That I do good in this world so that others may do good.

So, LORD, I thank you for washing me pure as a new babe’s blood.

My spirit is restored. My body is restored.

I am restored, passed on to greater heights of joy.

We pass from happiness to greater happiness.

So, for the sake of they whom I lead, LORD,

I praise your name. You better my soul and body

So that they are lead to follow the most godly example.

Let virtue, the blood of thy cross, lead them through

To joy in their labors, to joy in this life.

Let them, they are free from mine own sins.

A son is not always like his father.

 

LORD, they are like me, yet they are better.

They learn from my life, my virtues, my sins,

And so know the way to know God in all their days.

 

LORD, I admit, I have sinned in thy sight.

I have sinned, and have caused others to sin as I have.

Still, I am grateful that you have given me, us, time

To repent, to confess, to pray and be renewed by thy spirit.

Now, as I lament, I am overridden with joy,

That I hear the sounds, the music of Heaven once more.

Let this be known by all thy people, oh LORD.

“I am with you always,” so you proclaimed.

 

In the pits of Hell. You are there.

In the highest Heavens. You are there.

I may drown in the seas, and you’ll still have a care for my bones.

They who pray to see, they do see.

They who pray to hear, they do hear.

They who pray to touch, they touch.

Thy scent and thy taste are known by those who seek.

So LORD, for mine own self, much thanks is given,

That you stay by my spirit. Your wisdom is great

And the mercies of thy hand are everlasting.

Through God, our spirits, souls, and body are passed from sin

To a holy state, where we grow ever-closer to the LORD.

So it is and was done. Amen.

 

 

 

Consolations of a Gilded Crown

 

I

 

How long has it been since I’ve taken the reigns?

Sir Scientist, apologies for letting you alone.

We are with you, always. You should know.

Yes, you are right in your observations.

No man should ever walk his path alone.

So long as we are walking towards our goal,

God’s fortunes come across our way.

And, even when we stumble, we rise assured

Knowing that our LORD makes good every thing.

Scientist, be happy, be happy with us.

There’s no need to ponder madness alone.

Let thy Prince lead; so that they may follow.

In the meantime, here is thy assignment.

Pray, always, and take note of our dreams.

By night and day we hear God speak.

So pray, we have the ears to listen.

This world is good, very good.

God has made it, and so it is good.

So, we move as one, we keep walking.

The gifts He has prepared are magnanimous

Have you ever walked in the moonlit field

            With your children and wife,

In that place where whistling winds bend the grass?

We have, so, let’s be glad to do it again.

 

II

 

It is the Prince reporting in. Good job, Sir Scientist.

It was good to put you on standby.

We remember even the smallest details of our short dreams.

The LORD is taking care of us,

For as we ask we have received.

I am hesitant to call any thing a book of spells.  

But when we are writing, we are spelling aren’t we?

Though if it’s like that, I’d say that all writing is what is.

What difference is there between prayers and magick?

Well, prayers derive their source from God.

Magick derives its source from outside of God.

In all my course I’ve realized that power

Can come from two places: within and without.

Here are our parameters for our paths:

           

Within is the kingdom of Heaven.

Without are material representations.

We pray that our prayers are of God,

That we pray proper by His Word.

In some ways we imitate by His ritual ways.

A rubbing of clay cures a man’s eyes.

Yes, it is God alone that we call.

God, oh God, thou leads us in all things.

Thank you LORD for gifting us strength to obey.

 

It’s been a time… so this body is still of chaste blood?

            Rather, no, adultery of the heart is still it’s crime.

That’s fine, good even, least by the standards of man,

Better, as God sees us cultivating chastity, a virtue.

Understand, bodies may burn with lust,

However, to feel desire for one’s wife is a blessing,

And the blessing of this energy is good when properly used.

We deal with them with love,

All things considered in spite of one’s past.

A man is not much different than the creatures he dominates.

The Sir Cat is shy as a mouse when approaching his desire.

He scrambles through all his romantic rituals,

Yet, by the nature of the mare, and his partner’s waiting gaze,

He is emboldened to act. Then both are embraced.

In thy observations, Scientist, you should know,

There is a great charm in being shy.

Trust the LORD, if there be a fetish for flat chests,

There be a romanticization for men that are tongue-tied.

Above all else, practice virtue, gather good.

They who wait on the LORD receive their hopes.

To consider cutting off the rope while being saved,

You’d rather not suffer Judas’s fate.

Yikes, all ye do is complain, complain, complain,

And then you repent, and thank and thank and thank.

Do you ever tire of this cycle?

By the Word of God—just—stay with God.

His mercies match His everlasting glories,

Still, there is no need to make a good life,

With all its inevitable promises

More vain, more pointlessly difficult.

Your sadness, your woes, it’s all in thy brain.

As one who has been watching you, I have this to say:

Be honest with yourself, about thy lack of goodness.

On the matter thy self, you make a piteous display.

 

Ah! I look at every pretty girl who passes by!

By God, I desire to fornicate,

If only I could fornicate,

But what about my wife? I’ve got to stay chaste for her,

But why! I have good looks, I am interesting,

If I could just stop making myself dull,

If I could just follow up on the smiles

(I know they like me! Look God, they’re checking me out!),

Why, they are as I’ve dreamed when I was thirteen

(And now that I am a man, they would be pleased to have me.),

If I could just ignore what God says for a second,

And believe on His mercies for but a minute

I could experience the pleasures of flesh

Between man and maid!

But what about God! I can’t deny God!

 

            And you go on and on,

Vexating, weeping, punching the air because

You are aghast over how some pleasure

Has been denied to you by your beloved God.

Be honest with thyself, you piteous man.

The reason why you go mad over such womanish quims,

Is because you desire evil more than Him.

How unbecoming of a man, to complain,

About God keeping him from visiting a prostitute,

From knowing the company of a wayward woman.

You ought to be ashamed. How can you seek a wife like this?

Because from what I see, from what I saw,

You don’t want a wife. Sir, you want a whore.

You want a skin towel to ravish and toss away.

And you may contest, you’ll say, ‘No! I want a good wife!’

But, as I have seen, you do not want a good wife.

Trust me, trust God, He’s a good judge of character,

And being made in His image, we have some of His character,

So deep within your soul I can see that

You don’t want a wife, you want whores,

Unpaid prostitutes you can take, can rake,

And then blow away like withered leaves.

A mistress, you can do away with, but a wife?

To love a church, a God-fearing maid,

You’d have to clothe her, feed her, protect her,

You’d have to do work which a virtuous man should enjoy!

You’d have to build a house on good foundations,

Organize a time and place for the wedding,

Consecrate thy relations under God,

And be with her as she ages and wanes.

You can never get rid of her,

Well, unless you murder her,

But, getting away with murder takes a lot of effort,

Just like keeping a wife, valuing her life.

So you ask me, whether I think you actually want a wife,

By your acts, all that which God knows and has observed,

You don’t want a wife; you want a whore.

Still, I know you as a Christian. I have motes

In my eye as well. Princes are known for their mistresses.

I myself have the aching desires of those kings.

I am a sinner also. It’s a fact which angers me.

Perhaps I am not fair in my judgements.

Either way, as it stands, thy acts are at odds with thy words.

Do you ever think of her? How she’d feel,

Knowing that her future husband was tempted,

That he, by lack of virtue, lusted after

Wayward women, sinners who needed God most?

That you’d called them whores and harlots,

While, desiring to debase them and lay with them?

I am sorry, Scientist, we’re Pharisees, we’re hypocrites.

Hypocrites that we are, we pray before God,

‘Thank you LORD Jesus Christ, for this God-fearing wife!’

But we have our lusts, our bodies trick us into want.

Our mouths will say that we like a God-fearing woman in a modest dress,

But our hearts will know that we like a God-fearing woman without a dress,

And that when it comes down to it, we’re just men,

Undisciplined before God in the use of our eyes.

I confess, I know not how, being as crooked as we are,

How we are able to stand at His mass,

How we are able to look into the eyes of God-fearing people,

And say childish things like, ‘Do what the LORD says.’

 

I pray that what we say is true,

That I do want and have a God-fearing wife.

And the LORD, He shall give what you ask.

If you ask for a serpent, he’ll give thee a serpent.

If you ask for evil, He’ll give thee evil.

But if you ask for evil, and pray that instead

Of evil, He should give you good against thy wishes,

Then He shall give you the good as you have prayed,

Just as He prepared a great fish to swallow Jonah

            Against his wishes.

So congratulations, Scientist, you have your wife.

God has prepared for you that most wonderful gift.

No matter what you do, you receive that God-fearing maid.

So you shall receive her, even when you don’t want her.

And she’ll love you as her Lord,

Because the LORD of Hosts commanded her.

I pray, that you love her as your church,

Because the LORD of Hosts commanded us.

Please, God implores us, when you are alone,

When she is out of sight, keep your eyes on your wife.

Otherwise, if you are that weak, keep repenting,

Keep trying for a more faithful life.

 

III

 

Think of thy memories before the womb.

Upon thy self, how much gloom?

All things were decided before thy time.

We trust in God to lead us to the divines.

 

We remember our powers are within.

We are wealthy because of what’s inside.

            The Kingdom of Heaven.

And, you know who sits enthroned in the Kingdom?

            God.

What support did you expect cultivating

What the people know as unseen?

The gold men seek, it be like God.

It comes like a thief,

When the people expect it least.

However, for the faithful who wait upon the LORD,

They celebrate, and taste their labor’s joys,

That which they always knew to have received.

 

Scientist, don’t count on the praise of men.

Believe in the God who believes in you.

Also, take no care of what does not concern you.

Eliminate useless information.

Sharpen thy sword toward one business at a time.

Now, let us recount a dream of the night:

 

Here we saw the memory of a life.

One of a kind where I labored in blue.

That kind of life was not a life,

Yet, under God, we were made free

            From slavery.

God bringeth men out of dung-heaps

And seats them on the thrones of kings.

So, we always pray and march at all times.

Our Wilderness has been overcome.

 

So, count on the dreams given by God.

He leads us in His instruction.

 

IV

 

Grown past magma, the heats of Hell,

I am the tree restored to Heaven’s skies.

Through all the ages, God’s house is to last.

By His lovingkindess, my roots are watered well.

Thank you, oh Lord, for healing my disease.

By thy tender mercies I bear thy fruit.

Lead me, shield me from the sinner’s ways

So that I may live and know God all my days.

 

V

 

More than anything else;

More than any desire or lust;

No matter how much one of us would want;

We wanted most to do it right by God.

One, two would have to marry.

And for that, who could ever be ready?

We wanted nothing more than to embrace in the chambers,

But God, oh God, how would we provide for what came after?

A child, the fruit of our labors.

I was but a young man then, who knew how to read and write.

Who would pay for a skill everyone had?

How was I to feed my child and wife,

The young maid which I had taken?

Why did she sleep with a man like me?

These were the thoughts I had. The questions.

Thank God, I already received the answers,

God, you give us bread, all we have,

God, you led both our paths.

Under your eye and hand, we did our acts.

More than anything else

We are grateful for thy mercies.

Us poor sinners are given time to repent.

In all truth, we are richer

Than we could have ever imagined.

The Kingdom of Heaven within us

Has brought forth infinite treasures

            … Yes …

Like the warm holding of hands

Beneath the starry sky,

On a beach by the sea

Where your whole family plays

Kicking sand with their naked feet.

A time for peace. It’s a fine gift, Lord.

 

VI

 

I don’t have much to say my Lord.

I’m just glad to know her who forgave

The ugliness inside of me.

Yes, by it, we know there is beauty.

Why, why someone like me?

LORD, thy love between maid and young man is a mystery.

We are similar, yet also complete opposites.

Guess every Christian carries some loathing,

But even so, you wipe our tears away.

And even though it may be a bit shallow,

Right now, all I can say is that my beloved, my spouse,

She is so beautiful;

Her smile, more than anything else.

In all my life I’ve never seen—

No, that’s not it. There’s nothing special about her.

Why Lord, do you allow us to feel this way?

I should have been her rock,

But what wall crumbles down to drop tears in the room?

Worse, how could one’s rock be so careless,

As to let another see? The door should have been locked.

People had it worse than me.

They always do. There’s always a number,

But for so long, I felt my pain worthless.

Lord, forgive me, forgive us both.

To embrace as we do is a binding covenant.

We are both grateful. As one flesh,

We carry each our burdens.

 

VII

 

Lord, thank you for leading our ways.

My children, our children prosper because of you.

I’m so glad that we can view thy work.

The world is made into a better place.

 

VIII

 

Lord, she was certainly right.

I do think too much at times.

The ways of sinners were always cast off.

It was on the righteous path we walked.

Our romance is greater than we ever conceived.

Our love is the kind of prophecies and dreams.

And by the Word of God

Through which all things were made

Ww are glad to sing our own song

Whilst embracing night and day.

 

IX

 

Creating a world full of smiling people like her.

God, I thank you that by thy works it is so.

As a maid who has risen my soul,

A deal of my virtues to her are owed.

But I thank thee most LORD for making a maid of that kind.

 

LORD, you have led her ways.

All her days she be blessed,

Receiving gifts that we too have taken.

 

X

 

Praise God, LORD, my wife is so cute.

She dances the disco

On account of her joyful soul

That’s chaste and pure like snow.

 

Why, it is such a sight

To see her long dress sway

While she shakes her arms and hips about

To dance in her own way.

 

With me, she’s good for any time,

Dancing both day and night

To all music gifted by you, LORD

For all our vain joys.

 

Together, we jump from beat to beat

Dancing free with our feet,

Stomping to the ground

With our hands shooting to the sky.

 

And sometimes, I like to just watch,

Sitting on our armchair,

As she flies about the living room.

Of course I clap along

As she dances especially well

For my pleasure and hers.

 

I also like how her dress flies at times

And stays flown up when she bares her skin to our delight.

On this note, LORD, I am grateful,

That that is a private show.

 

Ah, my wife, she is a lady,

And a lover for me.

When it comes to all dance,

Praise God for these brightest souls

That love their husband well

And stay chaste for his sake.

My heart is safe with her,

And her heart is safe with mine.

 

XI

 

Adam and Eve made the first-born Cain.

Abel was favored by God.

Cain, Abel’s brother, the unfavored

            Took the life of Abel.

So began the cycle of the unfavored

Warring against God’s favored ones.

The children of Cain pit their spears

Against the children of Seth.

But by the Flood, by Noah and his wife,

The blood of the favored and unfavored united,

So there are those blessed by God and those that are not.

The war continued between the envious and fulfilled.

            Pray, by each one’s talons, all received their fortunes.

 

 

Instruction to Bleating Lambs on Effective Labor

 

I am the author of tales read far and wide,

Who in his youth used script to make a life

Filled with life, liberty, and happiness for all.

My God, our LORD, gave me, and gives all that I need.

So it’s true for all of us, we ask and we receive.

I have sought wisdom and so knew madness and folly.

And I sought to put wisdom in my works,

So by the joy of my labors I was filled.

Of tales, there are many. The lives of men are proverbs.

By God, I received an ever-increasing portion,

Yet, as it was written, to whom much is given,

            Much is tested.

By the gifts of God, I have known the greatest joys

            And the greatest sorrows.

Yet, God gave a test to me to recover

And thereby praise His name in all tomorrows,

            Past, present, and future.

Persist, that is all the advice I can give.

Labor, and see that your labors are effective.

Why clear snow while the flakes still fall to cover the ground?

Likewise, why lose faith in God who always answers?

I have labored little, yet my portion is high.

LORD, I pray that our children keep to thy ways.

The treasures of the Earth are taken by thieves,

But, there is refuge for those who are kind.

In the days of my grandfathers, they too were rich as I,

However, because they were kind, the thieves

            Allowed them their lives.

For mine own house, I don’t know the day when the

            Thieves shall covet.

Still, should they follow your Commandments LORD,

They shall escape the fate of evil kings,

And be given a space to rise again.

So it is and was done. Thank you, LORD. Amen.

 

 

 

Instruction on to Bleating Lambs on Time and Place

 

Thanks be to God. We are meant to do good

            And refrain from evil.

We have joy in our labors and our rests.

The righteous delight in His word and prosper.

Thank God, we receive exactly as we ask,

That comes to pass plus more for our greatest good.

Hah, be thankful my sons, my daughters, for this

            Tea which is good.

Does a coincidence work against or for your favor?

The race goes not to the strong or the wise,

But, it goes to those with place and time.

Understand. Know time and know place. Then we’ll

            Know the paths of our race.

Look at me. I labor little and gain much.

Am I the best? Can one do my labors better than I?

Of course, there are better laborers than I,

            But I am a maker of time,

So I keep a place for my family, my house,

            And all our labors.

God gifts us the portion which we ask for.

I asked for time, and so live with much time.

Go, be strong, and be wise, but never forget your time.

You live, and so, prepare yourself to die.

God has numbered thy days. Put them to good use.

 

 

Instruction to Bleating Lambs on Industrious Labor

 

Pray, praise God oh children of mine.

He allows a portion of Paradise that be divine.

Live your life, labor honestly and true

So that by faith you work to bear ever-increasing fruit.

Meditate on the word of the LORD, our God.

By his scriptures we know the paths between life and death.

A little labor bears much fruit.

Look towards the ant. You see them in Summer, not Winter

For they go below the snowy ground. They do rest.

Yet when the snow melts, and Summer makes its way, they wake.

The ant crawls above the ground to make their harvest.

Diligently, they work till Winter comes again

So that they may have their food in colder times.

Children, work hard now so you’ll have life later,

And let the LORD, our God, be your master.

Let God be your master. Let him lead in your work.

It’s under good masters, that a slave has

More mirth than free men.

Let tribulations in your labors be

            A joy to your soul.

What you do is hard for others to do,

Yet you love it, because you enjoy the process.

God gave you a portion of labor to enjoy.

So pray, find that labor and enjoy it.

 

 

Instruction to Bleating Lambs on the Mode of Life

 

By God’s hand pray to heart this creed:

Serve God. Right the Present.

Make life in all the lands and seas!

And by your action they will know

That you were born of me:

The faithful man who born, dreamed greater dreams.

 

Now as your sire this may surprise you.

You need not keep this land. Your inheritance

            Is not material.

After I pass away, do as you always have.

Take your dream and live it. Go your way.

Yes, I’ll be here to give you advice.

When I’m gone, I am always with you—

            Always praying for you.

 

My children, be not afraid

For I am by your side.

Only, keep the creed that I have made.

Follow God. Right the Present.

Make life in all your days.

I’ll only be happy in that way

For your life is yours

And my life is mine,

But all that be a gift from our God above,

So that we may practice what he has done.

This farm will pass away,

Yet our Word will always stay.

For as long as you keep our creed,

Following God,

Making life in all places

From the desert to bottomless seas,

You’ll stay close to this family—

Right with God you will be.

 

Now let us leave with a prophecy.

A note from this song from me to you.

As I said before, your home will pass away.

This lovely place where you have cried and played

            … It will all pass away.

See, this property …

            We built on top of a volcano.

Do not weep. I planned it this way.

Through the passing we are made.

As it is written … my children …

A time of peace shall follow a time of tribulation.

A time of tribulation shall follow a time of peace.

God has made all things beautiful in their time.

Through all those times our seed shall live.

What we have sowed shall grow

And by our prayers they shall know

Of a God which was true to his people,

Of a people who brought joy and life,

Of a law, of the spirit behind that law,

Of a blood, of the spirit behind that blood,

They who were as the dust of the Earth

Who came to be and lived life for the sake of life.

As it was in the days before the flood …

 

You be as the great men and women of old.

They shall know you for how you lived.

They shall know you for how you died.

In the days leading up to tribulation,

That is how it will be.

Then by our blood there will be a choice

Between a quick exit or long suffering.

Would your son’s sons and their sons want to serve?

Or, knowing God’s word, will they quicken their deaths?

Who can withstand the pain?

Who can make a life in the end days?

Well, the answers be up to God, and to them,

Should they decide to crown themselves for his work.

 

For now, it is enough that we live how we pray.

I am thankful for all our days.

To have a family of princes and princesses

Who walk their village as servants and maids.

We are humbled and we are happy.

As my work is done, your work is done also.

Let us give thanks to God. Thank you God,

Our Christ, ruler of Heaven and Earth.

Amen.