Valley's Dawn

In early morning, she traveled,
When all was still dark and cold.
The mountains surrounding were shadows,
Shapeless and imposingly tall.
In fear, her heart fluttered
And her pace was quick, stumbling
Time and again in the darkness.
Her strength and resolve were nearly
Gone, and her soul cried for mercy.
And then, over the faraway tops
Of the towering, terrifying mountains,
New light began to shine,
And a few birds let out their song.
Then, in a sudden flash, there were
Warm rays of sunlight cutting
Through the oppressive darkness below.
Dawn had come to the valley.
Spirits lifted and strength renewed,
The traveler continued towards home.

Cries for Mercy

(Inspired by the song "If we've ever needed you" by Casting Crowns)

The dead called out in anguish

From the dusty valley of desolation.

Amidst the shipwrecks in the sand,

Ribcage hulls stripped bare of flesh,

They lay, dry bones desperately thirsty.

Their own folly and pride was at fault

And bitterly now they see it all.

Their eyes saw only their own way

And they abandoned their fearless Captain,

But now they call for forgiveness,

A revival of soul and body.

And there, face down in the sand,

The dead were forgiven, their children saved.

Be Still

Be still, oh my troubled soul.

Storms may rock our ship

And the waters may rise,

Crashing over, creating darkness,

Yet the Lord holds us close.

Never shall the waters tear

Us from His encompassing hand,

And the thunder shall not hide His voice.

Be at peace, my weary soul,

And let go of all our struggles.

Letting go may be the only way

To hold onto this life, at times.

Our life is not even our own,

Belonging to our Father instead.

Rest in child-like trust,

Remembering every moment of help,

Thanking Him amidst the rain.

Rest in peaceful, unshaken joy.

Potential

(A friend of mine writes in a very specific style and I tried to do it like he does. It's still nothing like what he does, but I tried) 

Motionless, yet so much potential.

The moment before the actual happening,

The do or die time, pre-leap.

Energy waiting to be released,

Dreams’ wings waiting to be unfurled,

The endless questioning, wondering, fearing;

“Will I fall? Will I break if I fall?”

The moment to talk yourself out

And the potential can cease to exist.

Or the moment to be convinced,

To take the trapped energy,

To go forward, to leap, to say

The words who had no courage to say.

Motionless, yet potential burns within,

Depending on the very next choice.

To be, or not to be free,

Letting go of the safe moment,

Free falling into an ocean, eyes closed.

The safe moment; yet it’s not living.

Giving into the call of life,

Choosing “Today I will truly live,

Potentially break, but I’ll have lived.”

That moment when the pen lies flat,

Leading to when it falls to the ground,

And in so, breaking, but also learning.

To break is to live, to move far

Beyond the time of trapped potential.

Goodbye

The words fastened to my heart,

And weighed it down to an ocean of sorrow.

Hope, a newly budding, young flower

Is trampled underfoot by harsh reality.

The colors of life have washed away,

Faded into a still life, an empty grey.

I had so many dreams yesterday,

But now all I hold are dreary ashes.

I don’t want to say those words,

They make the happening much more real.

You may forget who I am,

Forget all our memories of laughter.

I don’t want to say a tearful

Goodbye.

Sacred Heart

The general buzz of people,

Never ceasing chatter, bees,

Forever swarming, moving, hot

Sun beating down on all.

Everyday life continuing on,

Yet a few break away

And head towards the shadow.

Tall, imposing grandeur, decorated

Inside and out, justly so.

Passing from tepid heat to

Sudden calming cool, refreshing,

The threshold of another place.

Farther in, opening up,

Magnificent circles, curves, creatures,

Faces at every visible angle.

The general buzz is behind now,

Only a memory, last touch

Of a lesser important reality.

Here is what truly matters,

The inspiring silence, whispers

At the heart and very soul.

Self fades away completely,

Insides laid bare before generations,

Holy memories and endless power.

The scent of blessed parchments

And candles of costly prayer

Entwine with the awe of

Standing in God’s holy home,

A harbingering of heaven above.

Flight

The eternal waiting,
and then sudden movement,
slowly crawling, speeding
faster forwards until
the in-between time,
the jump upwards
between earth and
far away heaven.

Titanic

(Just watched "Titanic" completely through for the first time and wrote this)

 “The great unsinkable ship.” The words mocked me now as I ran down the passageway from my room to the upper deck. Water was already beginning to flood the lower decks and the screams of the other passengers chilled me.

 Fear of the water had nearly kept me from boarding the great ship, the Titanic, and now I wished I had

Simply stayed at home. But no, I just had to face my fears. And on what better ship to do that than on the mighty unsinkable ship that everyone had so praised? Yet here we were, in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, sinking steadily.

 The impact of the ship hitting the iceberg had been what had woken me up, and I had instantly known that something was very wrong. Despite what the stewards told us, that all was well and we shouldn’t worry, I had anyway and was determined to find out what was happening.

 So, with a great woolly shawl wrapped around my shoulders and heavy boots on my feet, I had made my way to the main deck. Despite being stopped several times, I had managed to make it all the way to where the Captain and his officers were. After demanding to be told what was going on, they had told me the grim news.

 In shock, I had returned to my room, the elegance now seeming pointless. Others were calm, convinced that everything would be alright, but I had known the truth, and telling them seemed more of a cruelty than anything.

 My old fear of water had caused me to have a panic attack, and I went into my closet to try and calm down. Unfortunately, the door had locked from the outside and I couldn’t get out. The entire situation made me laugh so much that my fear of water subsided, for the time being.

 It took me hours to break the lock and get out of there. By then, all the passengers knew what was going on and many of the lifeboats had already left, full of the upper-class women and children. I ran as fast I could down the hallway, the alarms ringing shrilly.

 Yet I wondered why I ran so quickly. There weren’t nearly enough lifeboats for everyone. And even if I escaped from the ship, what would happen to us then? The air outside was freezing and help wouldn’t come for hours and hours.

 Even if I survived, I knew what life lay ahead of me. I’d been traveling to New York to live with my strict grandmother. She had already picked out a husband for me, and I was expected to marry, have children and then be a good wife and mother for the rest of my days. Both my parents were dead and if I didn’t live with my grandmother, then I would be alone and penniless.

 Or I could simply let the water take me. The thought made me stop running and I looked back. While others panicked, I felt calm. The water was edging up the hallway, and, turning, I began to walk towards it. I still felt some fear, and yet it was like greeting an old friend. Closer, and closer, and then the cold shot through me. Deeper still, until the water passed over my head. I had beaten my fear completely.

London City

Ashy air, thick scent of smoke,

Bitter and never resting.

Chatter like birds expressive

To other birds, somewhere.

Rushing against red lights,

No fear of the giants.

Old memories twined with plastic

And broken cobblestone paths

Persist despite all progress.

Screaming, taking with haste,

Don’t get lost now, Love,

Tunnels winding, fearfully similar.

No sight or sound, simply

Feel the life in your bones,

The life, never ending, moving

City of London.

Books: June 2013

Graduation and all that kept me pretty busy, and then we just up and went to Europe for vacation, so finding time to read has been difficult (though not at all impossible). I was very happy to find a James Bond book in England, because I can never find them in Canada.

Read:

1. Third Girl

2. The Boomerang Clue

3. By the Pricking of My Thumbs

4. Sandry’s Book

5. Tris’s Book

6. Daja’s Book

Bought:

1. Daja’s Book

2. Sandry’s Book

3. Tris’s Book

4. Briar’s Book

5. You Only Live Twice

6. City of Stars