Wonderland

My mind is foggy, I don't know where I am
I suppose I will sit down for tea
as long as you promise to point me towards home
I've been along winding roads that lead to nowhere
and my body has betrayed me in size several times now
a many-legged man offered a drag of his pipe
and a fat cat has twice smiled at me and disappeared
He's withholding information from me
and I know he's familiar with my family
but he keeps their whereabouts a secret
Oh, where are they and where am I?
Hatter, you may be the only one to tell me
even your friend, the rabbit, laughs
and grins as though he likes to see me squirm
he'll run away from me soon, anyway, as he always does
I've never felt so lonely
I've never felt so plotted against
And you are proving to be just as unhelpful as the rest
So now I will continue forward
you can have your cakes and foolishness
soon I will wake up under the shade of a great tree
and you'll be nothing more than a bad dream of a wasted Wonderland

Pride

For today I am selfish
And that is just fine
Tomorrow I’ll live for you
If I don’t change my mind
You see, I’m fickle
And I can’t put that aside
Please don’t blame me
Lord, blame my pride

Little Leaf

Summer days make him weary, warm, and green
and the darkest nights engulf him
he's swallowed whole by starlight and moon shine

Fall comes to steal away his livelihood, (how mean!)
and his face turns a burnt orange
he takes notice of how far he is from the ground

Winter covers him with snow, so he lies unseen
his colors have faded away
and the weight of melting ice smothers him

Spring summons new life to flourish full swing
showering the land with purple
peacefully, last year's leaf makes room for the young

Trash

She's negotiated with the trash can:
While his dirty mouth stays shut
she'll let him stay.
If one parcel of dirt escapes
from his wide belly
Well, she'll throw that mess away.

Running

Rounding the corner, she saw the glint of metal
grasped in his hand.
She quickened her step and he hastened
to catch up.
His strides were longer, and he wielded the weapon
grasped in his hand.
Across the giant lawn, too long, she ran
to catch up
with the setting sun, dropping her belongings
like so much baggage
keeping her from living.

Eden

She crouched down with him, the human,
searching for a hiding place in the grass.
The human heard thundrous footsteps
marking a path towards him,
and he instinctively covered the woman's ears.
He chanced a brief smoothing of her hair
while she searched his newly fearful eyes.
Unfamiliar was both the lump in her throat
and the rising temperature in her face.
Before this hour she knew nothing but
contentedness
and peace.
The human, Adam, obviously understood.
Never had she seen his mouth drawn in such a straight line.

"Where are you?"
The authority of this Voice
was both breath and fire.

Nearby, the snake recoiled, tucking its legs firmly beneath him.
Every tree shook as a fresh stream of wind rushed up from the garden gates.

The woman glanced nervously towards the tree,
the one that she knew would haunt her.
Adam cleared his throat, voice cracking as he spoke,
"We were embarrased. Ashamed, even.
Both the woman and I...we're naked. So we hid."

Calmly, the Lord asked,
"Who told you?"
Adam observed the snake shift uneasily out of the corner of his eye.
"Adam...did you eat from the tree which I forbade you to eat from?"

"Only because she made me! This woman whom you forced on me." Even as the words left his mouth, he regretted them. His own guilt was reddening his hands.

The woman wasted no time.
"The snake told me to, and he's to blame. He's a liar and a deceiver. I only did it because he convinced me it was alright with you!"

Now the snake lifted its head and flitted its tongue, uconcerned and silent. He only stared ahead, anticipating the wrath that followed.
Even as YHWH cursed him to crawl on his belly, the snake's disappearing legs seemed only a minor inconvenience. His eyes flashed at the humans, both man and woman, and then at God as he slithered away, out of the Garden.

Both Adam and his wife, whom he decidedly called Eve, (for she was to be "Mother of All Living") received a curse for their deliberate disobedience towards their Creator and Friend.

"You will surely die, as I warned before you partook of the fruit."
The Lord's voice resounded as Adam and Eve walked out of the Garden's shelter and into a wide, cruel world. God covered them with animal skin out of love, but he likewise banished them from Eden so that death was imminent. The humans would never eat from the Tree of Life. Turning around for a last glance at Paradise, Adam and Eve observed a flaming sword and a being with wings, a head like their own, and the body of a bull pacing the entrance to Eden. Eve looked down and a single tear striped her cheek.

Wiping it away, Adam whispered, "Just as YHWH protects the Garden, so will He protect us. Somehow...well, I just know it. He will make a way for us." Eve nodded
and steadily they stalked into a horizon rising over a great, wild, and untamed world.

Comparisons

Dahlonega v. Lawrenceville v. Athens

Saints v. Newbodies v. Bulldawgs

Mountains v. Malls v. Arches

Chow v. B Building v. Apartment

"That (forsaken) Thing" v. Water's Edge v. RUF

Catterson v. Wilkes v. Landers-Potts

Uncertainty v. Uncertainty v Uncertainty

Some things never change...

here lies an old man
squashed by his own dreams
and he wonders, "what does it mean?"
he stares, wide-eyed through
the lenses of his rounded glasses
and accuses the ceiling above
for crashing down so unexpectedly

Wind Up Doll

I find it unfair
that you can wind me up
and watch me inch forward
as you
step back
and laugh, enjoying my broken stride
while I am powerless
to make you move

Alleluia

If it must be a part of me
(like a mole, a mark, or scar)
it better have some meaning.
After too much consideration
it's there
and it's permanent,
and it's an homage to the One
who gives abundantly all of these things:
gentleness and goodness and self control
and peace and hope and joy
and love and kindness and patience!
It's an exclamation of appreciation.
"Alleluia" it says.
He is crowned and at the Right Hand of the Father, it reminds me.
That ancient fish lodged in the post of a rugged cross
shows every man who we are.
We are called, equipped, adopted and elected.
We are His, and He IS Risen.
Was it necessary that His grace should extend to me like this?
Was I ever entitled to His mercy?
No.
Was it necessary for me to get a tattoo as a reminder of His great love?
No. However, He is glorified. He is praised.
And I say again, "Alleluia".
That will be my mantra for years to come
and it will echo into eternity when I join the angels
in singing:
"Holy Holy Holy is the Lord God Almighty
Who was and is and is to Come"

Scars

It seems strange to see your bruises

and the scars along your side

they remind me that the body's weak

they all look so much like mine

a soul indwells every crippled shell

and puts movement in each limb

the breath of God sustains us well

we see life anew again

I grow older every moment

but in you I understand

the frailty of this temple

makes me live with open hands

Failure

The idea of failure terrifies me.

These days I feel like I am failing in so many areas of my life.

I want to control failure. I want to defeat it so that it will never stare me in the face again.

I am running full speed ahead towards all perfection,

running into glass walls along the way,

falling down,

turning corners hoping for a clear path ahead,

hitting other elusive walls,

breaking bones,

crouching in the fetal position,

crying harsh and angry tears,

taking time to nurse my wounds,

getting up on my feet again,

walking in an attempt to be patient,

becoming impatient and running again,

hitting a glass wall,

falling down,

all just to end up pissed off at myself

for never

learning

to

be

patient.

"Seriously, Sarah, just STOP. Listen to yourself."

He reminds me lovingly,

"You are so shortsighted!"

Again He smiles knowingly, and offers His hand

while I turn up my nose

convinced

I can do it all on my own.

Dawg

Does anyone else see that crazed and mildly rabid bulldawg?

Yeah, that's me...

because I'm going to the University of Georgia, y'all.

Gooo dawgs! Sick 'em...woof woof woof woof!

For once in my life I may actually have a minute case of school spirit.

What's happening to me!!?

Sleep

and what if those words crossed my lips?

that I knew and understood already

the things you'd say

because I'd heard them in sleep

for years

Of Old

Days passed of barefeet in the summer grass,
mint leaves sprouting up from wet soil.
My mind drifts back there...
We all played rough with the football
and storm clouds rolled idly by.
Only a smattering of raindrops fell
and our young faces welcomed them.
Til this day I swear
that old house knew me, knew us,
before we were ever born.

Blood

"The life is in the blood"
But this is the curse:
I see blood where it need not be!
Day after day it escapes to paint my hands
(my hands!)
an ominous shade of red.
Satan destroys what he cannot have.
So he's chosen to raze beauty,
cheapening the form of a feminine hand.
My hands!
I want them back, soft and able.
Ready to work, hold, and comfort.
Let life thrive within,
Let blood flow through my veins.
Let him not take what he cannot have.
By Grace this is my beauty, and by Grace these are my hands!
My hands!
Condemned devil, leave them alone.
"The life is in the blood"
And this is the truth:
I'm free because His covered me!

Coffee

The rattling hiss of a coffee maker

converting grinds to liquid

drip, drip

drop

warm comfort in a pot

a sigh for breakfast

and a buzz for brunch

Small

He sees her dancing, the jump in her step
Emphatic
And pointed, she speaks in movement and he tries to listen
She conveys complexities and misunderstandings
In the arch of her feet
And the span of her arms
Reaching for something foreign and of much greater value than
These hardwood floors
He hears her sing, the words of men
Who better describe the mess in her head
But he never responds
He sits and waits and soaks it all in
Just like her voice sinks into
Those old walls
He knows nothing of her world, of the language in her eyes
But when she turns to the window
To glance at the darkening sky, he thinks he might be catching on

You

It floats down like a melancholy chord
gushing from the speakers
I find it around every lonely corner of my mind
beaming, you're all eyes and teeth
this feeling creeps along my spine
and spurs on every solitary move
like a steadily woven web of a spider
and I walk down winding roads
painted in muted pastels
searching for this thing that I've lost
and found repeatedly
and then that face, all bright and dark
ignites the frozen tundra of my heart
you've found me again in a fairytale place
put rings on my hands
and crowned my head, beaded with sweat
the evidence of a long and tiring journey

Acquaintances

What an awkward child,
So wide eyed and young!
You flew down that hill...
from what town did you come?
The winds blew you along
and you stumbled my way
Lucky I didn't trip,
you appeared so quickly
Tell me your name
and, oh, what does it mean?
blue eyes, blue eyes...
Wait, but your mother's were green?
How odd your sneakers
and that ill fitting sweater,
Come along to my home
where things look much better.
So many wrongs come with you today
Now just let me help you...
and please don't delay.
I will give you my warmth,
my strength and my food
to nourish your bones
and inspire your mood.
Now I know I'm a stranger,
but in this you should trust...
You have left your old life
and forgetting's a must.
New things lie ahead
and there's nothing to fear,
but the loss of your soul
and my voice in your ear.