Sunday, October 31, 2004

Masks

Masks are all I know,
All I have ever known.
I have used the all my life,
To hide what I feel,
Hide the pain , sadness, regret..
To shield myself from angry words,
Words like , mistake, mess up, no good , disgrace..

I would ware a mask to hide all of it,
So it never got out, no one ever would see
The hell that burnt – so violently inside of me.

Growing up when our family was whole, it was never this bad.
Never had I been forced to ware the mask as much as I did when my world fell apart.
When it did- I asked God for help, I asked him to tell me why.. But nothing came ...
So instead of letting out what was inside – I grabbed that trusty old mask and put it on..
No one know any different – nor did they care to...

For a year that mask never left my side and only in secret did I cry..
I thought I knew some about God – and I figured I would learn the rest,
If I went to little old Caronport – where I was sure that I would no longer need that mask by my side... so I put it away.. Not thinking that another would come in its place.

But I was wrong – One did in fact came... This one not like the ones I had been used to ..
This one was a mask of foolishness, denial and false hope.
But deep inside I knew it was all one big Lie...
I went to class hoping that today it would click today it would come together...
But it never did...

God works in wonders.. He knew that I did not know him , all though I clamed I have ..
He also knew I didn’t have what it took to tell someone that I don’t know even how to pray... Tonight I came to terms with that fact- tonight ..
That mask came off – and all Others like it – I hope it is for good..

Yes Masks are things I have known all my life..
But now its time to change,
Now Im ready to Change...

dawn kratzer

posted by Unknown @ 4:13 PM

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Wednesday, October 20, 2004

I once noticed a man
he looked like someone I knew
he spoke of familiar things
he acted in similar ways
it peaked my curiosity
the qualities and attributes
that I had seen before
he appeared strong
he sounded integrous
he acted in righteous ways
and I wanted to know more

I followed a man
he looked like someone I knew
he spoke of familiar things
he acted contrary to those familiarities
it caused me to become bewildered
the qualities and attributes
that I saw conflicted
he attempted to hold onto an appearance
he spoke words that he knew sounded integrous
he could not hold up righteousness on his own
and I saw him stumble and fall

I noticed another man
he looked like a man of patience
he spoke in words of truth
he acted in ways that showed love
it gave me hope to see
the hand he offered out
that the man who had fallen could take
he appeared to be strength itself
he sounded like the source of perseverance
he acted as though he were righteousness
and I waited to see how he could help

I watched the man I had followed
he saw the man next to him
he heard many others around him
he put out his hand
it reached out for someone, something
the hand grabbed out to an image
that deceivingly led him on
he became what he reached out to
he dressed the role
he played the part
and I watched him fake his way along

I saw the façade of a man
he looked as an empty shell
he spoke with words that were shallow
he acted in ways not his own
it could not hold him stable
the quicksand of his own deception
that I saw was swallowing his soul
he could not find strength in an image
he could not find integrity in a lie
he could not find righteousness on his own
and I begged the other man to save him.

I could see righteousness
he looked at the fallen man
he spoke to him words of truth
he stretched out his arms
it seemed the saving grace was already there
the hand stretched out all along
that the man need only take
he appeared to stop struggling against the sand
he looked to the voice that he could not ignore
he bowed his head and gave up his hand
and I rejoiced in the hope that was restored

I once again noticed a man
he looked like someone I knew
he spoke of familiar things
he acted in similar ways
it gave me great joy
the qualities and attributes
that I knew were more than a show
he appeared strong
he sounded integrous
he acted in righteous ways
and I knew now he was so much more

posted by Unknown @ 7:54 PM

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Saturday, October 16, 2004

I tried to focus on you today
but my mind wandered to other things
onto things of this world
things accomplished by my own strength.

Again I come to you on my hands and knees
my face turned away in shame
because I've been here so many times before
Asking that you would be my strength
Asking that you would forgive my selfishness

I am so tired of failing
tired of daily nailing you to the cross
and shouting out among the others that also put you there
shouting out my frustrations
shouting out my hatred.

But there will come a day
when i will no longer be selfish
I will no longer be full of shame
I will no longer fail
O LORD that that day would be today!

desiree houle

posted by Unknown @ 3:37 PM

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Tuesday, October 12, 2004

and she wept as one who longed for autumn
(but can autumn ever make things new?)
changing days to signify the constancy of seasons
no safety here in cooler winds and quicker nights
on golden paths daring to enchant
entice to what cannot be real
day dreams dripping down like leaves
only a soft flutter and rustle
to mark their death

and she remembered yet another winter
that searing cold that never leaves
and frozen fog moments clinging to her heart
land and filth covered by frail white
lost and finite in a bleak, diamond landscape
powdered longings fall and melt
as breaths (hopesdreamsfears) freeze inside
that tangible cold that left her unmoving
with a promise to return...

And she melted into the coming Spring
As though her heart forever needed warmth
Searching for life among broken branches
Colour emerges out of barrenness
Like the long awaited sun
A newness seems to subtly spread
As she lifts up her eyes...

and she wandered through the summer fields
ripe with adventure in the shimmering, thickened air
dancing in the rain of freedom
yet succumbing to the sluggishness of another humid morning
rife with meaning endings beginnings
so easily missed in the glamour
(until it's all over and you return to life having learned...)
having learned nothing more than the warm breath of the sun
the lapping of waves and softly eroding sand dissolving underfoot
dayfading, summer fantasies live on in the heart (while you still sting from burns)
summer pain (you can run away when you return when you return to life)


charlotte oke


posted by Unknown @ 8:06 AM

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Thursday, October 07, 2004

Trading for Something More

Traded,
just as if I were an old baseball card.
Worthless,
dropped as soon as it got hard.
Jaded,
by your act of betrayal.
Honorless,
in your audacity and gall.

Traded,
finally gave up this foolish heart.
Worthless,
left with nothing to offer on my part.
Jaded,
so very tired of appearing strong.
Honorless,
stripped of any pride I would hang on.

Traded,
given so much more than I deserve.
Worthless,
does not seem to matter to the King I serve.
Jaded,
making room for Him to make me strong.
Honorless,
yet still accepted, somehow we still belong.

by johanna m brittain

posted by Unknown @ 10:07 PM

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Sunday, October 03, 2004

Well I am thrilled to finally have created this blog specifically for poetry, and I'm equally thrilled that I'm not alone in my love of creative expression. I have written the premise of the blog on the side board, so I won't write it here. But I would like to kick off the new blog with an incerpt of some of the greatest and most influencial creative expression, the Psalms:

O Lord, you have searched me and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
You percieve my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
You are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue You know it completely, O Lord.

You hem me in--behind and before;
You have laid Your hand upon me.
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.

Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Where can I flee from Your presence?
If I go up to the heavens,
You are there;
If I make my bed in the depths,
You are there.
If I rise on the wings of dawn,
If I settle on the far side of the sea,
even there Your hand will guide me,
Your right hand will hold me fast.

If I say, "Surely the darkness will hide me
And the light become night around me,"
Even the darkness will not be dark to You;
The night will shine like the day,
For darkness is as light to you.

For you created my inmost being;
You knit me in my mother's womb.
I praise You because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
You works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
My frame was not hidden from You when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
Your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
Were written in Your book
Before one of them came to be.

How precious to me are your thoughts, O God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
They would outnumber the grains of sand.
When I wake
I am still with You.

If only You would slay the wicked, O God!
Away from me, You bloodthirsty men!
They speak of You with evil intent;
Your adversaries misuse Your name.
Do I not hate those who hate You, O Lord,
And abhor those who rise up against You?
I have nothing but hatred for them,
I count them my enemies.

Search me. O God, and know my heart
Test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
And lead me in the way of everlasting.


Psalm 139

posted by Unknown @ 9:24 AM

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tell me no lies

Poetry has always been, at least for me, an outlet of honest expression. Our perspectives often become blurred by our circumstance and the difference between what is truth and what is merely what we feel can sometimes become difficult to determine. But poetry is a sweet expression of us trying to comprehend the world around us, trying to comprehend life, circumstance, emotion. It can be theraputic, it can be freeing, it can date a period in our lives, and it can give others a glimpse of us that they may have never seen. So share a poem, send me your story, give me a picture (I'll do my best to put it on), send it to godsbutterfli@gmail.com; share your honest expression here, and tell me no lies.

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