Orbit

Strong-willed walls built high

He sees - he hears 

     but the choice is made.

Like the old man who swears

     the Earth is the center

     while Michelangelo shows 

     proof against

But the planets make their orbits

     like salvation around a son.

A son that burns bright, and I pray that light

     will penetrate a cloudy soul

     to change the choice.

- for S.T. 

Mongolian Orphans

The following was written in Ulaan-Bataar, Mongolia after visiting a government-run orphanage.


They sit together, alone
clinging to strangers
     hoping... ever hoping
to find the elusive -
that which is patient and kind
     and keeps no record of wrongs.
wilted flowers all
     groping for life
    for beauty.
I saw it with eyes opened
     that had been closed.

Just Me

Just Me

They look to me to teach them.

Some of them truly believe

That i am wiser than others they know,

That i am more than “just me”

I’m hoping that i can show them

That there is so much more

Than making an “A” for their captain.

More than just a good score.

And what of that old lady begging?

Could my spare change possibly be

A way to show her how my Jesus loves

Beggars like her, fools like me?

I’m hoping that someone will stand here

By my side so we can be strong.

But even if i’m an Outsider alone,

I will never stop singing Your song

So if i try to love like You do,

Then perhaps i can be

A little more than simply a fool

And something more than “just me”

Poor Little Doggies

I heard some barking dogs today
As if someone did mistreat
But when I got home and kicked off my shoes
I realized it was my feet!

Oh Hong Kong! You are lovely!
But I had been misled!
Nike swore those shoes were nice,
But alas! my feet are dead.

Look at me! I'm not in shape
(unless that shape is round)
And all this walking everyday
My soles it did confound.

But through all this sweating and all this pain
And gritting my teeth like that,
Perhaps someday I will look and see
That I am no longer FAT!

Incense for Nobody

I was walking without a care
when I saw her squatting there
beside a fire she had made
as if to try and make a trade
for blessings from a man long since dead.

The aroma of incense in the air,
one she didn't mean to share
to the passerby on the street,
but was hoping she might meet
some sign from the man long since dead.

Wanting to be enlightened
though I'm sure that she was frightened
so she said her many prayers
for surely Buddha really cares
even though he is a man long since dead.

Someday, maybe I can show
her a dead man that I know
for He is dead no longer
and is certainly much stronger
than the other man long since dead.

Mind the Gap

"mind the gap"
the sign said
we must watch where we
place our feet

I did mind the gap
stepped right over it
onto the platform
and deeper into my city

I stepped off the train
swallowed in a mass of humanity
speaking words
I would never understand

as we move about our lives
there are places of danger
where a false step could
injure or kill

open the Book and see...

"mind the gap"
the sign says
we must watch where we
place our feet

Declaration of a Small-Town Christian

"Turn or burn, you lousy sinner!
Yes, I'm talking to you!
God is going to strike you down-
     You and your filthy, perverted ways.
We don't like them gays, and we won't tolerate them in our church!
You better get Jesus - like me.

Look what it says right here in the Bible,
    God's Holy Word.
It says right here:  "A new command I give you,
LOVE ONE ANOTHER."

Wait a minute.  That isn't the verse I was looking for.
How about this one: "LOVE YOUR ENEMIES."

No, no.  That isn't the one I was looking for either.
I know there is a verse in here somewhere about God hating
sinners like you.

"WHATEVER YOU DO UNTO THE LEAST OF THESE,
YOU HAVE DONE UNTO ME."

The Bible just isn't saying what I want it to say right now...
But it's in there.
So...
Get Jesus like me."

I wonder why no one is getting saved in this town?