Occasional Sputterings

 I think the recognition of beauty is one of God's greatest gifts to us. Sometimes it's enough to simply feel a sunset, hear the laughter of a child, or smell something that reminds us of a pleasant memory - because beauty is often not just one thing; and sometimes the inclusion of one aspect of beauty can help us appreciate another. God's funny like that. It's exceptionally useful when there doesn't seem to be any; when things are genuinely horrific; when the people around you are empty, or evil; when chronic pain makes it hard to even sleep, let alone dream. It is times like these that the gentle reminder that hope exists is priceless. And beauty is a vehicle for hope. It doesn't have to ONLY convey hope. It can convey love. Or discontent. Or frustration. Or any number of things. But, on some level, the part of a human that can recognize incomprehensible wonder, the part that can connect to one's childhood, and the part that can receive forgiveness are all...

 Moments memorable are commonplace The touch of sunlight on one's face That doesn't make them vain or trivial It just creates the chance for an easy ritual I met George when we went to the park Three kids in tow, not looking to hark But God has a sense of rungs And George shared about forgiveness and tongues Take a prayer closet and sit and listen Pray in secret and wait on God's vision Forgive the offenses and seek it for self To build upon your spiritual health

 May your days be filled with simple wonders And your nights be filled with dreams Of ancient wooden sailing ships And consequence-free schemes May your days be filled with simple wonders Whether magical or real Things you can cherish by yourself Or with your friendship seal May your days be filled with simple wonders Of dangers far and wide The kind that make you shake your boots and make you grow inside May your days be filled with simple wonders Rainbows, butterflies, and truth Things that remind us, no matter our age, of the innocence of youth May your days be filled with simple wonders Moments that can be shared as a gift A powerful, rooting reference that in adulthood are oft adrift May your days be filled with simple wonders And your nights be filled with dreams Of hope and songs without remorse and imagination streams

 And you might have heard of the terrible bird called a side-hawk (to those in the know) With terrestrial flair and a mane that's quite bare, known to talk (if it lands in the snow) And true, it's quite rare, for this bird's affair, to find comfort between sidewalk and street Its secret, of note: it's a shifter, a bloke, who spends half of its time quite discrete You'd not recognize, in diminutive size, the absence of quite bloodied claws  For, instead of a beak, at the strongest, his peak, has a form that's less muscle, more straws And if you would follow, the meeker and smaller, he'd show you how his transitional bends Are painful to see, in his eyes there's no glee, and each change, to his form, fully rends But if you are there, and lay your soul bare, you'll learn of the secrets he knows He hails from the place, where sidewalk ends grace the chalk-work of small girl, boys, and crows So I hope that one day, in the usual way, you can learn where th...

 Soul, ten times bigger than yours Heart, ten times wider Life, ten times harder than yours She is a mighty fighter Hands, ten times warmer than yours Back, ten times stronger Mind, ten times tougher than yours It comes from deep inside her Words, ten times deeper than yours Thoughts, ten times wiser Dreams, ten times broader than yours She needs no one beside her Dance, ten times smoother than yours Sings, ten times louder Sight, ten times further than yours And you are who delights her

How playful must you be to see an archer in the stars? To watch the lights crawl in the sky to give fearsome name to Mars? The best dreams are all playful and ask of us to grow to add depth in a direction that normally we wouldn't go I like to think that painful dreams can be replaced by good ones where elements of horror can be sung away by bold ones And happiness and light though seemingly naïve are actually a source of hope: an emotional reprieve So dance with me, oh reader, and believe that hope is real for I believe if you can suffer then you can smile and heal.