The Being Lifted Up Doth Soar - with audio

audio link

Once again above the cotton
Rode the bronco till it calmed

Fears of wreckage now forgotten
Peace arrived here now entombed

Sun is there so brightly lining
All the horizon now can offer

Fueled by wind and fire climbing
The spirit released can no more suffer

Gliding with the winged birds
Shall the mouth dare to speak

Of that which lives beyond our words
Touching upon the highest peak

In azure and white, the hushed roar
Blazing journey through the heavens

Now the being lifted up doth soar
Grateful for all the Eternal One hath given

The Beast - with audio

audio link

The beast came out again
It came out of my hide where
He had been lurking just beneath the surface

He comes to destroy and consume
To obliterate all
All that would stand in his way

Where does he come from
What catapults him into the light of day
Up and out of the darkness

I think he feels entitled
Yes, entitled to a life of leisure
A life that does not exist

He cares not, nor empathizes a little
He is a fire that consumes
Even his own soul

I need Superman to come and defeat him
To cast him down into a deep cavern
And then cover the entrance with a giant boulder

Maybe NASA could send him to Mars
Or perhaps a Telsa particle beam
Could shrink him down to nothing

The only real way to defeat him
Is written of in the sacred scrolls'
In chapters concerning great love

Love is the power that can overcome all things
It's strength is displayed in acts of service and kindness
Illustrated in the pouring out of oneself for another

This is the only course of action to defeat the enemy
Love is surely the only way to kill the beast
And to put out the raging flames within.

Plano Vignette - with audio

audio link

Dallas is surreal, 20 miles to the northeast
I'm sitting in an airport 50s style restaurant
having breakfast and coffee

The TV is playing a string of commercials
For Coltons BBQ Ribs and alternately
Super king sized Chevy Suburbans
That are surrounded by cowboys

Well, they really know their market
As there seems to be a BBQ Steakhouse
on every street corner, with lots of
Chevy Suburbans in each parking lot

The news is reporting a problem
In Plano Texas on the freeway
It is 33 degrees Fahrenheit
And dark outside at 6:30 am

A couple of well dressed ladies with big hair
Are at the bar, in western winter long coats
And boots, looking like they just walked off
The combined sets of Dallas and North Dallas 40

One is standing drinking beer from a wine goblet
While the other sits on a stool nearby
Drinking another beer from a very large stein

I am ill prepared for the weather
I had no clue that it gets so cold in Dallas
The bar keep is a young man in his 20s
Slight of build with a long crew cut waxed down

He's got the look of a rancher already,
White buttoned down shirt, jeans and boots
Just like I probably have the look of an L.A. type
With my day old wrinkled suit and colorful Looney Tunes tie.

Winter Gives Up Her Secrets - with audio

audio link

Winter gives up her secrets
As the ice begins to melt
And the swollen rivers run

Clouds of mist
Appear upon the windows
Somewhere a door opens

Down on the ocean floor
There a wave is building
Fixed upon the tidal forces

Break open the earth
See the fires burning
Molten rock flowing

Snowy coat wearies the mountains
Smoke from volcanoes rising up
In that wintry moment

Breath deeply the cold fresh air
Quietly it speaks of past fallen leaves, and
Foretells of trumpeting spring

Let It Go - with audio

audio link

Sleep, sleep, sleep
Silent violent dreams
In quiet murmurings keep
Awaken from thy schemes
Coffee chase the vitamins
Sink in the aspirin
Churning stomach
Headache tumult
Throbbing emotions
Reverberate
Keys in hand
Out the gate
Driving down the 405
Hollow stare
From my eyes
Seeking in
The sinking hole
Deep within
My darkened soul
Music soaring
In my ear
Foggy thoughts
Coming clear
Cold dull cloudy day
Beethoven Pathetique
Finds the way
In the head
Angry thoughts
In the heart
Hard dark shouts

No wherefores,
and never why
Hide out in a box and die
Feel not sorry for yourself

Take the fight
Down off the shelf

No my friend
Not as you suppose
Turn away now

Let it go, let it go, let it go

Soften the stance
Go slow go slow
Slowly face the friends
That you know
They are not to blame
For the trouble
And the pain
In this life one
Needn't be alone -
In the chaotic
Reds, black and brown
There is support
For you and me
A gathering of community

Ask and breath
Task receive
Try and see

Let it go, let it go, let it go

When thoughtless deed
And rage are gone
As the strength surfaces
Take courage and move on

We Two Spirits - with audio

Audio Link

Precious lambs float across the sky
Loves tide awakens the sunrise
Golden lines that cannot be traced
Traveling beyond the reaches of thought
Brilliant winds speeding, height and depth
We two spirits, hearts joining
Melting with each breath

To live Again - with audio

audio link

The golden rolling, journeying ball

Rolls along, rolls along

Silently leaving

All behind, all behind

I wish to catch it, to hold it still

Somehow I know, I never will

Never will, hold it still

The leaves of the trees

Pile ever higher, ever higher

The winds blow the ball

That I cannot catch

Evermore, evermore beyond my reach

A thousand places, a thousand times

Falling farther, and further behind

Yet I cannot end my search

For ambition drives the climb

Seeking out a better perch, a better perch

Till mine eyes may see so well

To watch that ball roll over, over the hill

Stepping off the running treadmill

Knowing that the game once played

Has been played, been played so well

To escape that dreary cell

The place of fire, the place of hell

Then to live again as was meant

By the love of the Lily spent

To find the lamb, the lamb who went

To his heaven's gate, his heaven's high

There, to contemplate with affection

His tattered bride, his tattered bride

Gone Is Thy Flight - with audio

 audio link

O magnificent one
Set loose upon
The unseen ether
Above his voice is heard
Soaring ever higher
In the bluest sky
His glory is great
Beauty is his coat

But his fall is wretched
Lying broken
Among the feathers
Gone is thy flight
Where is the might
In the feebleness
Of some memory
Distorted and perverted

None is there
Who love him yet
Or who weep
Over his descent
Prince of heavens
Who rode horizons
To the four points
Mapping curling updrafts

None are left who
Know or care to see
The raptor's journey
Save the Eternal
Who created his climb
Taught him to fly
Lifted him up in
Excellence and freedom

He will not abandon
His beloved creatures
For His judgment
Is pure and perfect
Upon it rests the
Spheres, darkness and light
With the hope of all things
Until creation is made new.

Three Words - with audio

audio link

On the wings of fervent prayer
My love caught me unaware

Come away with me my love
Let me hold you in my arms

Holding hands walking side by side
Dreams and hopes in love are spoken

Shadows flee away from our love
We like doves are lifted by the dawn

Our love is like the Jasmine
Wild, fragrant, and flowering

The red pomegranate speaks of our love
With orange blossoms and nightingale's song

Sun and moon and the starry host above
Together with the Spring must boast of our love

When our eyes meet with kisses sweet,
And loving hearts are joined eternally

Three words with passionate longing pursue
I love you, I love you, I love you.

The Dove - with audio

audio link

Through many a veil and sandstorm
The scent of myriad desert flowers called out
Seeking passage in the whispering of the wind's
Hot breath blown upon the hills of a Holy Land

Dervishes turned and beggars  gathered around the square's
Source of water to the sounds of rattling old carts and
The crowds of the bazaar, the sun shown down commanding
Beauty to dance in the lines on the faces of an ancient people

There yellowed pages restlessly unfolded and Torah
Scrolls were opened in a place where Moses was not forgotten
The strains of King David's Psalms were expressed in voice,
Plucked out on the lyre, and then tished and tapped on the timbrel

A lone dove caught the rising scent of the desert blossoms
And carried it to the Psalms' expressive songs emanating from the people
There they mingled, aroma and prayer, in the ripples on the surface of a pool
That never ran dry, and the Dove's reflection traveled over the water

Once captured in the Sun's powerful rays, the Dove's descent
Was blindingly beautiful and a glorious vision,  gasps were heard,
And time seemed to stand still for the many pilgrims who had stopped
To refresh themselves with a dipper of the pool's life giving water.

From the moment of the Dove's first appearance, there arose from the pool
A mist each morning and evening,  that lifted with it the sweet savor and song,
It was a mixture of many a soul's longing,  praise and thanksgiving
Ascending into the presence of the Almighty One in the highest heavens above

The God of Salvation held out His Right Hand in mercy and compassion
The rising vapor upon touching the finger of Hashem (THE NAME), began at once to descend
Only now it was transformed, into a falling rainbow broken into sparkling droplets of dew
And within each one's brightness and colors was represented the promises of His Eternal Love

As millennia passed, life and commerce in the noisy market place, continued to flourish
And to this very day - there is yet a point of light reflected down from high above,
Dancing upon the pool in the old square where long ago the scents of  Etrog and Myrtle,
With Psalms of joy, music and prayer were wed together by a Dove in the morning light

The pure water remains radiant in the sun each day and in the moonlight at night
It is a healing balm and a source of life to the thirsty spirit of every weary sojourner
They, together with the hearts of all the many peoples of the old kingdom, await patiently for the Return of the Dove and the coming of the Bridegroom within the heart of Jerusalem, City of Gold.