page 93

how can it be

to feel the fear of the gazelle,
and too, the hunger of the lion?

kill or be killed,

i fear my longing has spent
too much time out in the open,

while being one step from pouncing
out of impatience to end the life

of a love disguised
as the landscape around me.

     if there is a moment to cease,

     my longing will graze,
     and my hunger will go elsewhere.

     i will yet again become a part
     of the landscape.

:::

with You,

my love will never change.

ice, water, or vapor,

this love will only change its form;

dense down on You,

fluid upon Your lips,

fully encompassing Your dreams.

dense upon Your fears,

fluid circling Your scars,

fully surrounding Your nightmares.

dense for our daring,

fluid through our mistakes,

fully overcoming our challenges.

at the center of it all,
may it be

dense in character,

fluid in experience,

and vaporous in feeling.

our love will only change its form.

:::

words will be acrobats;

(i                  know.)

    know you

they will never touch ground.

they will never make noise.

:::

the finest actors are capable

of hurting the most

for they know

how to hide on stage.

keen is the audience member

who ignores the script

and watches the actors' eyes;

for if the eyes do not smile,

no other smile tells the truth.

:::

would you let honey pour from the spoon?

or choose for your finger to push it off the

edge?

let love flow as it     may.

:::

go play soldiers!

walk the foothills.

scan the horizon.

tread lightly across the streams.

lay on the sodden earth.

explore the fruits of undiscovered mystery!

soldiers! soldiers! listen.

you must retreat

before you fire your muskets

and plant our flag!

hands cannot make home here.

:::

my hands are filthy

but Yours are perfect---

not a scratch nor a scare

nor grime seen anywhere.

Jesus said,

That is fair. 

They are now without disrepair.

But they, too, used to be filthy and splintered.

My work was with my hands,

but my Father told me more;

He said, "My Son Your Hands

Are Your Second Heart. Use Them

To Heal The Sore. Use Them To

Reach For The Broken, The Burdened.

Use Them To Cover The Poor. Use Your

Hands As A Bridge From Your Soul.

As You Are Touched By Good,

By Goodness Be Your Touch.

Use Your Hands To Welcome, To Never Harm.

Your Hands Are The Gateway To My Love."

but i could never do the same.

The same is not what I ask.

All I ask is that you see,

you were born with imperfect hands

that extend farther than you.

Place your hands on your heart

and feel My eternal truth.

Be greater still to take your hand

and reach for others too.

No matter the face, nor the shoulder

that you hold,

Love is always Higher

when It reaches further than It is told.