You waited for me, I waited for you.
Looking back I see God's promises do bloom true…
I see God's hand steadily making us ready.
Ready to meet, and to greet, to unite, and to beat
As one.
Through the years I've carried this burden for you.
It kept me praying and believing that you were a true reality,
That God’s best would manifest,
That His wondrous hand would knit our hearts like baby's parts in the womb of His love.
So here we are on our journey to start,
With no doubt in mind that we've hit Heaven’s mark.
Hand in hand, marching forth,
With wedding bands,
For the course.
Heart to heart
We're being birthed
Into new life
For better, for worse.
Into new life,
Today as
Man and wife.
So March 4th it is, and march forth we will do,
No longer our own after saying "we do".
For I am yours and you are mine.
We are His,
Our lives intertwined.
Always and forever, steadfast and true.
Let Earth applaud and Heaven approve
As I bestow my heart in love,
And you bestow yours too.
Copyright 2017
Angel Swivelfoot was four feet tall. She had a big brother named Sam who liked baseball. Her kid sister, Lu, played Chinese jump rope instead of tag. Her mom, Meri Etta, was a nurse and carried a big black bag. Angel Swivelfoot didn't know her dad, and sometimes this would make Angel sad.
Michael and Amy, Kendra and Shay lived across the street and around the way. Michael was nine and Amy was 10. Kendra was eight and in second grade again! Shay was seven and Angel's best friend. Their dad's favorite drink was orange juice with gin. He had it for breakfast and drank it with lunch, he'd drink it with dinner while his children drank punch.
Michael and Amy belonged to Miranda.
Kendra was Nikki's and Shay was Amanda's. They were all siblings with three different mommies. Papa worked graveyard, and his name was Tommy.
Tommy Ray, the trash man with large rough hands owned a black motorcycle and a long purple van. He made two things--quick money and big plans!
Angel liked Tommy, neighbors called him "the man".
He made her laugh, the way he'd play tin trash cans!
Angel Swivelfoot and Shay Ray would go out and play, ride a bike, take hikes and climb walls each day. Shay walked real fast while Angel ran slow. Angel had curved feet and was missing a toe; this was no problem for Shay though, she'd keep close by heel and toe (like she didn't even know). Her friend was unique and she liked it that way! Other kids may not have seen it, but that's why Angel loved Shay. They'd grab hands, share secrets, dance and make plans, dream of the day when they'd have cute boyfriends.
Angel wore braces but not on her teeth, her favorite games were hide-and-go-seek or Friday night swap meet. All the kids on the block would collect smelly stickers but in kick ball and tag, no one would pick her. That was ok because Angel had Shay…her bestest friend from around the way. She'd stay out of kickball and tag to play with Angel Swivelfoot any day…be it in March, April, or May!
"There is a friend who sticks closer than a sister," through happy times, rainy days, nose bleeds and blisters. "Lay down m'life in the Jesus Way," she'd say…this was Angel's sweet friend and playmate, Shay Ray.
Copyright 2001
Can I just breathe you in?
Waiting for this day to begin,
How can I not take you in?
Your fragrance to me is like white light unfolding
In the midst of my lingering shadows,
You come in as the dawn carrying the sun.
Now, here with you
Fresh and still,
I am filled.
Copyright 2008
You are My Brainchild
I thought you up.
I made you up.
I am your Locksmith and I have the Master Key.
I dreamt you… figment of My imagination, child of Mine. He or she.
Now.
You are My Invention.
I know you
knew you
dreamt you
drew you.
I’ve got your Blueprints.
I’m the Master draftsman and Architect too.
You are more than a slot in time, Brainchild of Mine,
you’re a piece of My mind,
carved out and placed on Earth for a breadth or two.
You were My bright idea…
My
daydream.
I’ve got a patent on you!
You are Mine,
I just let you borrow yourself for a little while. But,
I’ve still got the combo AND the key…
Brainchild, you’ll only find it
if you come to Me.
Identity Check:
Step inside My Astrodome, let Me show you who you are.
I AM your home.
And you didn’t know your name until I called it.
Now.
Just be in Me.
Copyright 1998
If there was one thing I’d like to see
It’d be
Ending the conflict here in my city
Well maybe not the only thing, but
One among many
Can you tell me why there are places
Where people don’t have?
Or why here in Chicago it seems to be
There are too many with no safety and no
Security
Don’t underestimate the mental effect
That has on a child who knows not
to expect
To see a birthday past the age of 18
With violence and conflict every day
in their scene
That’s what I mean…
If there was one thing that I’d like to see
It’d be
Ending the conflict here in my city
No, not just one, I take that back, I’d end
the world’s turmoil and hunger and lack,
the social blights and injustice that lingers
with the stomp of a foot and the
snap of a finger,
I’d put it out.
But, no doubt, Reality
Tells me the truth, that I’m better to keep
Tending and healing the youth, One by one by one is the way,
It’s the little rays
Of hope that I can
Shine everyday
In this I will let my satisfaction be.
Copyright 2014
by the tip of
Your tongue,
by the touch
of Your finger
from the
reaches of every
soul…
Upon the chorus
of human faces
Your word is seen,
is heard.
This beauty
which
You spoke before
the foundations
of the world,
yearns to
be called forth,
made manifest
in the purpose
of our existence…
All made crystal
clear
in the frequency of
Your voice...
As vestiges of light
come to rest
and continue
on
in us.
Copyright 2015
And love Hard
with a love that shakes fierce,
with a love that breaks free
to give and to pierce
the Darkest of hearts,
the hard-line remarks,
the fools of the day,
the weak and dismayed.
If you Dare 2 Love,
keep it fresh, keep it new,
for it’s this Love that empowers you
to be and to do.
As you Dare 2 Love,
dare day by day, so this love will refuel you
to trust and obey
the One and the Only,
the Sweet, True Love Story…
Who was and Who is
and will always be
Love-Perfected, Resurrected,
Love, directed at you.
Dare 2 Love,
and love far but love good
because love falls soft and hits hard
when you love like you should.
Take it by the hand, let it expand
don’t hold it in,
it’s here to expend on your friends,
on your family,
on strangers and on fiends.
Let it Disarm the crime, the hate, the smart-aleck remarks,
the lies, the envy, the violence that sparks
the murder, the words, the bitter divide…
the pain that pushes
the world
to hide.
If you Dare 2 Love,
dare year by year,
keep it fresh, keep it pure and your heart will endure
through the highs and the lows and the harsh wind that blows.
It will flow, and you’ll grow through Decemberland’s snow
like a man at the top—like Olympiad’s pro.
So Love Hard and Love Strong,
Love True, Love Long.
Let it show, let it go
to break free and cover wrongs
because
my Love, your Love came down from above
to walk, to run, to save all of us…
and still today He remains
in the world
like a dove.
So if you dare anything,
Dare 2 Love
And Love hard all the way
back to life,
back to Christ,
back to
His hill of sacrifice…
Dare 4 Love,
it’ll be worth it, believe me,
because Love will return and when He does,
you will see that Love lives on
and lives in you
--a reward for Eternity.
Copyright 2007
On that August day,
the sky was blue with a cloud or two
while his eyes were clear… with Red Rock in the distance, strangely far yet near. The sun of summer shone, I watched those eyes
Smiling, laughing…
moving
Like the sweetest of raw honey
that drips from the comb gently…
golden pools of liquid joy
swirling in light of the sun they were…
On that August day
as we dodged piles left by horses,
hopping rock to rock… with flies buzzing round our ears. Restless
city in the distance seeming far yet still so near. The
breeze of summer droned, but I listened to his eyes
Whispering, spotless…
sparkling softly
Like imperial topaz and smoky quartz together
cut, burnished and set in chiseled bronze…
speaking a tender sound with lines of character that spread
each time a smile was shed
And the essence of joy’s gladness within
like a diadem of gems
crowned his head that day
as he led the way
with Laughing Eyes
Copyright 2015
Love
Walked in like the wind,
Didn’t see him coming
Made his way ‘round to my unsuspecting side
Where I heard him
Whirring past like hummingbirds in May
Felt his song from the North
Slide right through my shutters,
Ruffling hairs on the back of my neck,
Sending chills up my spine…
Rolling, like lightning in the migration
Winding me up in a field of thought to set me down within his sights,
I thought I was Alone.
Then he,
Rounding my shelter in a circle of embers,
Kindled sparks at the edge of my shore
Didn’t see his flicker,
But heard the crackle of each cinder
As he Broke into flames
Alas, it was too late:
Like a firestorm on the prowl,
In one leap
he caught me up
in his Blaze.
My Love, you must have known…
Had I felt you singe my veils,
Had I seen you
make your way in, burning my stakes
Had I smelt your Smoke…
I might well have run.
Copyright 2016
of Union in Eden
A garden Sabbath obituary
settles for a moment
for him
until Eve
arrives
like the seeds of dawn shining
She is holy.
And upon one Executive decision
to awaken the man,
She is there-
the abbreviation to his captivity
With this,
They appeared
as One
spiraling up in simultaneous eruption
minus the corruption
They are holy.
As it was the sweetest kiss of all
before the fall
in Eden
Copyright 2009
Next Breath
Extravagant Beauty captivated in Your nature drops and
takes our breath away
It’s mysterious and unsoiled,
A language foreign to perceptive reality
Even so, Your reality is the focal point of our life stride…
Like sacrificial grains emptied from hearts turning toward the brightness in Your eyes,
We sit and stare.
And Time waits on
In the midst of Cue,
as Nature takes back seat,
in the midst of You
Gazing Hearts lie suspended for portraits of Your face,
In the Midst of View.
A masterpiece of words is painted in our spirits and conceived anew…
But like parents for a newborn’s first breath,
Time waits suspen ded
until we gasp Your air,
…and Life arrives
on time
In the midst
from You.
Copyright 2007
What am I afraid of?
Afraid of getting shot.
No, afraid of being afraid of getting shot.
I live in Chicago.
Last Friday I wanted to go outside and have fun.
I was actually afraid of going out because I didn’t think I would make it home.
Normally, I’m not afraid of all that…I’ve dodged so many bullets so many times,
and all I do is just call on God’s name.
This time I didn’t call on it…I don’t know,
I haven’t been worthy enough lately, haven’t been going to church.
Last time I went was when Boogie had her first Communion.
Haven’t been back since.
Not one time.
Copyright 2014
