a prayer clapsed to the wind

Be my shelter,

And may your heart be my home. 

Give me rest from the swelling storms;

Quiet my violent mind

which hates easily and lusts for control. 

Sweep the dust that has gathered on broken floors,

carry it out back and burn the pictures,

spread the ashes over fertile soil. 

May the dimming light in my eyes be swallowed by the warmth of a dawn new. 

Let the pieces of broken bones be collected;

Plant my heart deep within your ground so that it may never again be found. 

My hands are untrustworthy 

and my steps are unsteady.

My eyes lie often and my lips know no good. 

But only keep me here,

in the eternity of your shadow,

where grace breathes strength invincible,

where stained hands are held, not broken. 

image: Fire

anchor.

waves break over me

like unkind hands they pull

I know my lungs were not meant to breathe here

the ocean's foam filling me 

Like a lover it is near

Like a drug it quiets fear

Like a thief it doesn't care 

Below the surface away from the waves

There's a cooling depth 

I long for the chaos above

When I was reaching for what I could not find

When I was calling for what I could no longer hear

Like a lover it is near

Like a drug it quiets fear

Like a thief it doesn't care

Loving what I cannot have

I am apart from the anchor

Floating free

The rope frayed 

My grip tired

Letting go, easier than dying in memories

When it falls no one does hear

But it breaks and open it bleeds

Like a lover it is near

Like a drug it quiets fear

Like a thief it doesn't care

Find me here

Let your hand be my grip

Let your love be my anchor

Let your house be my dwelling

image: Enterprize lay-up

of You

I saw a red bird and I was reminded of you

I heard a kid cry and I was reminded of you

I felt the wind in my face and I was reminded of you

I forgot all I know and I was reminded of you

in the burning parts of my heart, the violent emptiness, the cooling silence...

stumbling on stuttering speech that repeats and echoes desperate tones...

fear drenched eyes, brazen heart of the cheapest gold you can find...

in pieces, I'm complete

Of you, I'm afraid 

in the warmest of ways

guide me

light me

remind me

again and again and again

thoughts to write home about

I want to be found

To be wanted, thought of 

And not drown. 

I want an undisturbed day

Where everything fits 

Under your branches,

In your shade,

Out of the way. 

I want you to pick me up

And take me to where I'm

Supposed to be. 

Never late, 

I can't be early

And no conversation. 

Just an open road

To get me where I want to be. 

I want time to agree,

Then to be now,

Someday when I'll be free. 

image: tree

_______________

longing for a native shore

dig a hole 

deep and empty 

...like a wandering soul

tonight the clouds cover 

and mist surrounds what used to be so easily seen

there's a sound in the wind

intoxicating, slow and free

crave the space to speak well-placed words

hide behind the bag in your hands

fill it with pretty words

seal it with an easy knot 

the weight holds you still and quiet

and tomorrow feels like someone else's dream

wait for rain

wait for release

wait for a man and easy words

...for hands to be open

...for eyes to see

in every moment life searches for bleeding souls 

to rescue bruised hearts 

crushing beneath the gravity of a foreign shore

image: clouds