A Word To My Reader
I am not a perfect voice calling out in the dark, but a broken voice calling out in the dark. I have not said anything perfectly, nor have I ever touched on perfection flawlessly. Every element I speak on found here will fall short on every degree because of the breadth and width of which the topic expands (both logically and emotionally). In fact the only thing I can come closest to in explaining perfectly would be my brokenness, because that, I know better than perfection. I can only try to speak about the glimpses of perfection I have seen in my life. Please bear that in mind as you read. I hope that these compositions can bring further light to the honest depths and heights that life teaches us about ourselves, the world around us, and the starter of this all, God.
As Phillip Lopate says, in reading this you will learn more about my “habits of thought” than the activities that actually make up my day to day. I do not assume that most will want to read any of this, but for the one who is feeling lost or confused, for the one who is trying to find reason to keep living, for the one who is fighting against himself, others, or his God, and desiring to better understand why, I hope these pieces of writing might be a friend to you. I hope they push you to press on, to appreciate living (and working), to appreciate the smallest of moments with a family member, close friend, or stranger. I hope they move you to explore and imagine, to find the “why” behind anything, and to trust that though we have a finite understanding, the One who is infinite has been made accessible to mankind. Mankind meaning you and me, and there is no small amount of peace to be found in that truth.
P.S. I attached a song to the bottom of each composition to accompany its reading. Enjoy!
Winter And Fall
(November 14, 2019)
Would you think I was crazy if I told you
I thought there was more life in the winter?
Breathing the cold air is like smoking a peppermint breeze.
Would you think I was weird if I felt
There were more dimensions in the fall?
Between the shadows of the clouds and the colors in the leaves.
Would you think it strange if it brought me joy,
Because I had an excuse to be melancholy,
And no matter my sadness, I was at least happier than the weather?
Maybe it’s because the cold gives excuses for comfort
And the need for someone’s warmth?
It allows for slow-paced living
And no guilt in “wasted opportunities.”
You Said the Sky
(January 20, 2019)
Let’s sit in the silence and simply do nothing.
We’ll stare at the sunset and find that we’re smiling.
No words were spoken, but I knew what you were thinking,
Or I guess we weren’t thinking as much as just breathing.
Soaking it in till our hearts overflowed,
Light gleamed from our eyes and spilled out our souls.
I asked you what your favorite thing was in nature.
Mine was the light, the way it touched every creature.
You sat a bit, then answered with tender eyes.
You said the sky, but that too often, we miss out on its design.
If one would just go outside and look up a little more often,
You said they’d see all was okay;
“Our mess-ups can’t change the galaxies or make the stars soften.”
You went on for a while, and I just gathered and gleaned,
And the last of what you said also stuck out to me:
“Every hour, the Artist puts up a new display,
How can we know art if we don’t see it when it’s right in front of our face?”
