A Love Manifesto

I wrote this poem back in college I believe my junior year.  So...almost four years ago? Wow, it's crazy how time flies.  I remember I was working at a coffee shop called 'Mocha Joe's' and I wrote this poem on one of my shifts.  I kept going back to the pad after making latte after latte and one shift later...this is what I have.  It remains one of my favorite poems to this day along with 'Success'.  I can not consistently write good poetry, but instead the memorable ones come very sporadically.  I'm not able to predict or admit what spurs them on, but when the pop in my head, I know they're going to be meaningful. (to me at least!)   In this particular one, I try and dig into how we, as humans, manipulate God's love and attempt to define things that really, weren't meant to be defined in human terms in the first place.  Hope it means something to you too.


a simple idea.
a theory meant to erase confusion.
we have, instead, become
unsatisfied. thirsty. hungry
for something more.
no idea, no fraction of reality
can be simplified like this.
no concept can possibly be
controlled. reduced. minimized
into something so
uncomplicated. basic. straightforward.
out of the utter chaos
and selfish absurdity of human
nature and theory,
we have stolen a gift
so pure. so beautiful.
and constructed something
unrecognizable. we have
taken what is not ours
and reformed it into something
“better.”
starving for our legalistic
limitations, we’ve left ourselves
with LESS.
laws and limits.
what if we reverse our thinking?
attempt to escape from our
created refuge.
No. reverse that.
allow this irresistable ferver to flow
through and beyond our
locked gates.
adopt hope.
allow hope to saturate
our dusty arid hearts.
drench us with hope.
out of fear, we’ve constructed
limits of containment, identifying it
as a makeshift refuge.
do we not realize we’ve created a
refuge for a refuge?
we cannot control what
is meant to control us.
let this simple idea
lead us beyond our
created boundaries to the
unknown boundaries of ourselves.
This simplistic idea of hope.
This simplistic thought of love.

SUCCESS.

I wrote this one a few years back but it really strikes me as relevant today. It's funny how we can read/write things that have separate meanings years apart. This one is about finding comfort in something eternal rather than temporary. Something heavenly rather than earthly. Hope it speaks to you!

Allow me to entertain this thought

For a moment.

Allow me to babble about notions

And dabble amongst philosophies

So my conscience can be appeased.

Motion. I am encompassed by

An astonishing motion.

I stand in the eye of this storm

Slowly rotating and attempting to

Gather some sense of this ever-revolving

Blur in my orbit.

Hands extend through the hazy edges

Inviting me to add my energy to the masses.

Pleading with me to become a fraction .

A miniscule proportion of this cyclone

Of madness.

But my feet remain motionless and my

Arms at my side almost as if

I was catatonic.

Instead I focus my vision and peer

Through the seemingly impenetrable

Wall expecting to discover, well, something.

Something of significance.

Something must be there.

Surely my eyes will land upon a power

Previously unknown to my mind’s eye.

Yes! I will locate with my heart and my

Eyes an extraordinary enticement

That will snatch these immobile bones

From their rigid foundation and be swept

Into this swirling tower of energy!

I will feel the electric pulse pounding

In my chest and the rhythmic thunder

Against my eardrums!

Yes, this is what I will find.

But wait, the persistence of my imagination

And ramblings of my tongue

Preoccupy my senses from knowing

My true discovery.

No, surely this isn’t it.

The entirety of my discovery

Consists of….faces?

Not just faces but

Vacant facades. Transparent masks.

These ghostly abysmal excuses

Of expression pay me no notice.

Each struggles against its neighbor

To push onward towards what

Appears to be the apex, although

Despite my efforts I am unsuccessful

In locating the conclusion of their

Never-ending civil war.

As eager as I was to enter I am now

As eager to exit.

Luckily I have

Something anchoring my feet in

Place so that this frail body

Remains steadfast.

I take a moment to regain my

Composure and calm my adrenaline

And as I do so I notice my lips

Begin to curl into a smile.

For this dominating

Tempest which allegedly has all

Has not. For my feet are anchored

By a vigorous and unrelenting

Stronghold of compassion.

By an adamant standard of passion.

By an uncompromising concept of love.

So success, you have had your chance.

Power, wealth, you have given me hell.

But move along, your storm is headed east

And I’m looking west.

The sun is painting a sensational picture

and I am going nowhere.

You Are A Miracle

Men go abroad to wonder at the heights of mountains

At the huge waves of the sea

At the long courses of the rivers

At the vast compass of the ocean

At the circular motions of the stars...

And they pass by themselves without wondering.

It Starts At Home

So for one of last week's assignments, we had to write a reaction to the issue of human trafficking. We could take a photo, write a blog, write a poem, song, etc. I've always enjoyed expressing myself through poetry so I decided to write a poem. This particular poem is written from the perspective of a small boy asking his abusive father to love him. This issue is rooted in the inconsistent and destructive value system our country has when we fail to show our children how to love one another and treat people with respect.

IT STARTS AT HOME

You do not know

But I watch what you do.

I watch your heavy eyes

look through me.

I do not exist to you.

All I dream for is for your

strong coarse hands to grasp

mine. Guide my young

fingers to explore my heart.

Teach me strength.

Teach me kindness.

Teach me LOVE.

I still do not exist to you.

You show me pain.

You show me anger.

You show me evil.

You do not know

but I hear what you say.

What you say is different

from what you do.

I know because I hear you.

I listen to you.

Your words bring tears.

I want words that let

my lips smile.

Instead my lips quiver.

You hand causes me pain.

My skin will heal.

But I still remember you

telling me 'I'm worthless.'

I will always remember you

telling me 'I'm worthless.'

My heart is empty.

My soul is full of darkness.

I know because I feel like you.

You don't know but

I DO as you DO.

And I?

I blame you.