Faith

Every hour…of every day…

It rings forth from the hollow…

A reminder…a beating pulse…

Calling all to tread back…

To the deep…from the shallow…

Every hour…of every day…

Its sounds echo through the open field…

Bring forth the lowly…the oppressed…

The found...the lost…the fearful…

To the house of protection…a guiding shield…

Every hour…of every day…

It calls out for all to hear…

A sound so breathtaking…it takes the heart…

Constraints it…suffocates it…frees it…

A love unexplained can cause such a tear…

Every hour…of every day…

The voice…somewhat and times ignored…

Reaches out to tap the mind…heart…and soul…

A reminder that God’s doors are forever open

To sinners and saints…let it pour…

Have you ever woken in the morning for no reason at all

As the sun rose to reveal what the night had hidden before?

After the sprinklers popped out of the ground

And no one else has stirred

And only the ticking of a clock

In the hollows of the house can be heard.

During which, the holy light hits the side of the building

Changing its pigment to earthy and living,

And still the sound f the clock: ticking.

Have you ever walked outside just to sit on the steps,

Just to look out to nothing particular?

Nothing new; nothing you’ve never seen before.

Yet, there it lies in front of your eyes; Anew.

A new what? Really nothing.

It has always been there, although, you’ve never seen it before.

So there you sit with open eyes.

And there you sit.

The sun sets slowly down into the horizon

In a guided meeting with that blue-skied ocean.

The tones are majestic as the dunes of the Sahara

Blend softly with the autumns of Vermont.

The sea brings forth images of the white Antarctic

Within the unknown boundaries of the Amazon.

Impressed in the sand,

Footsteps match step for step, oh dear,

Reminding one that this is heaven

Only because You are here.

A feeling of fear rises from beneath

Along with drapes of evergreen and endless heath.

The overshadowing pines distort the sunlight…

The open field is empty save a few stones…

Every angle seems a tunnel of trees showing their might…

No sound replies in the distant save an echo postponed…

To be forever alone

Is many a child’s fear,

But even in these fields and forests,

We are in heaven because You are here.

Natural light passes through colored glass windows above

So that blocks of color float on the empty chairs like a dove.

The room is fairly dark save those rays of the sun.

It is peacefully quiet with distant voices close by:

Also, the sound of rustling and natural human action

Introduces a mood of holiness, faith, and pain so beautiful

it brings tears to the eye.

Praying quietly for good fortune,

Lost love, or death come near.

Reminding me wherever I am is heaven

Because You are here.

my life goes on in endless song...

The music rings true in mine ears,

stirring my mind to memory of passed years,

of a life lived in the morning,

of familiar faces, of rain threatening and falling

through all the tumult and the strife...

Mine, beloved, draws near-

I long for thee in this darkness- in my tears-

I reached for thee, but no loving touch had come,

a fateful ending to a life's sum

whilst though the tempest loudly roars...

The damned dark waves are my only companions in the night

leaving me no sight of shore or light.

In their overbearing heights, they compass me about-

What friends to leave me blind and drown my desperate shouts

when tyrants tremble in their fear...

I trembled in the dampness and the cold-

I am alone with no one to hold-

No one hears me, no one sees me,

Above are only stars and clouds: Not one being to save me

and though the darkness round me close...

Do not be afraid: a memory calls-

In life, like these waves, one must rise and certainly fall

Forget me not, Oh Lord!

Lead me to peace and everlasting shore…

...no storm can shake my inmost calm

while to that rock I'm clinging

since Love is lord of heav'n and earth

How can I keep from singing?