Mystery: /ˈmɪst(ə)ri/. A religious truth known by revelation alone. (Merriam Webster dictionary)
Here I stand,
between the two eternities,
of past and future tense
in a spec of time
Sublime.
Mystery
Finding Meaning Behind Bars
Some of us wake up some mornings and see nothing but rows upon rows of prison bars for as far as our mind’s eye can see. On those days, we wonder if we have forever lost the chance to make something of our lives. We look back and see nothing but a haunting past littered with shattered dreams… we look ahead and see nothing but a future as dark as a raven flying on a moonless night. We wonder if our lives even matter anymore. It kills us inside to think that we achieved nothing significant, to think that our lives might be as worthless as the froth on the ocean’s surface.
Continue reading “Finding Meaning Behind Bars”Surviving the Dark Night of the Soul
It’s been called the Void, the Abyss, the Cave, the Womb, the Dark Night of the Soul. Those who never experienced it can never fathom its reality, while most of those who are in its depths have no idea where they are. I was once trapped there for many years, but now I am slowly emerging. Oh! how dark it’s been!… I wrote this message because someone that I care deeply about has just descended into its depths. I hope that she and others like her will find it and use it to make their way out. I often stop to look back towards the center, towards a massive whirling cloud of menacing darkness, hoping to see a sign of her.
Continue reading “Surviving the Dark Night of the Soul”Not Savages!
I wrote this poem for my friend Nolan.
He’s been incarcerated since the age of 16. He is now 31 years old.
NOT SAVAGES!
Nolan,
Sitting here before dawn prayer,
Thinking of you,
Mentally reaching out to you.
Wherever you maybe,
I pray you’ll be free.
One day at a time,
Sublime,
Divine,
These words are not mine.
Nightmares and Daydreams
This is my first night in prison. It’s past midnight and I’m in solitary confinement. The lights are permanently on, and I’m sitting on my bed (a thin beige cot on top of a grey slab of concrete) with my back against the wall.
I’m looking straight ahead, but my mind is elsewhere.
My life has just been shattered into a million pieces now floating around the room like space debris.
Now begins the task of trying to piece them together.
Some pieces are lost forever,
The only glue I have is truth,
But I don’t know that yet …
Continue reading “Nightmares and Daydreams”Don’t shoot yourself Hemingway
Don’t shoot yourself Hemingway…
Everyday,
We’re moving away,
This is no place to stay.
Memories fading in the wind,
Like autumn leaves.
Loss after loss,
It’s a losing game.
Life breaks everyone, you said
And then we grow stronger
In all the broken places.
So many faces
That time erases.
Yet this can’t be for nothing;
There is no need to rage against the dying of the light.
Be good.
Have faith.
For Life is just a hallway,
And Death is just a door.
Surrender
I finally learned to surrender,
entirely,
wholeheartedly,
without resistance.
Inner revolution.
White flags swaying calmly in the wind.
The heart, not mind, is king again.
Anxiety and despair,
shadow ministers of the mind,
exiled and banished,
to the outer limits of consciousness.
Nearly forgotten memories returning,
slowly,
like freed prisoners;
The children are free again!
Sublime surrender echoes
through every fiber of my being.
Thoughts are now like endless rows of soldiers,
all bowing,
in one direction.
Weapons down forever.
The time has come,
for everlasting peace…
50,000 Years Before Existence
My fate
hangs around my neck
like a necklace.
My life is an outline of a portrait,
drawn by God,
that I must pain with my deeds.
Buried Treasure
Come, take a rest.
You’ve been a juggler all your life.
Isn’t it time to let your thoughts fall?
Chains can never last forever,
But buried treasures sometimes do.
Sometimes I feel like I’m sitting
at the bottom of an ocean
chained and shackled
yet somehow I’m not drowning.
There is a buried chest,
within my chest
and it contains a heavy cloak of sadness;
In there is a dancing clown too:
a demon,
and an angel,
a gentle scented breeze,
and a giant tree whose leaves of love are always falling.
God is in there too,
And so are you.
Vampires
Written for a friend’s daughter who was being bullied in school.
Oh little girl with a big heart,
I don’t know your name but your smile is art.
Keep on being who you are,
Your light is shining from afar.
I know it hurts you what they say,
But they are night and you are day.
Just pretend that you can’t hear,
And these vampires shall disappear.
But if they ever come too near,
Then shine your light my little dear.
You are strong and they are weak,
Trust me, one day you’ll reach the peak.
Remember these words that I say,
Recite them aloud each night and day.
And know my princess for you I pray,
I’m here to serve you without delay.
The Journey of the Boy and his Sandcastle 