Fortress

An up and coming
gun for hire
found a forest
in a fire
a resting place
with smoky sides
where unexpected
worlds collide

the soldier stood
with frowning mind
this place was of
the strangest kind
how could these trees
stand proud but still
the fire fumed
equipped to kill?

and then
it dawned
like light on day:
perhaps there is
a different way
where feuding forces can exist
without that final fatal twist

this story
is a rumour
its principles ain’t new
on earth is found
despite all odds
a rest that’s tried and true.

Ripple

Repeated violence
erodes the silent
softness in a soul
relentless wronging
erases the longing
for all that’s kind and whole

breathe lightly with your fire
tred softly in your track
there’s actions spawning shadows
that won’t be beaten back.

Requiem

The intolerable anguish
of recent betrayal
kissed your face
with a poisoned veil
biting skin
drawing blood
calling forth a martyrs flood

an excessive collection
of thorny lies
chained your laugh
to sobs and sighs
awkward dialect
awful taste
rendering all words to waste

but then
behold
when life seemed lost
and darkness took you in
beneath the scarry surface God
was grafting stronger skin
then with the gifts of time and truth
your dawn arrived intact
His light restored one hundred fold
what you believed you lacked.

Disclaimer

Pardon my planet
and where I’m travelling
excuse my frame
and its unravelling
the thing is, darling
the thing is, dear
perfection is
a rumour here.

Cause and effect

Imagine for a moment
imagine if you can
a normal
plain
polite
and sane
example of a man

now roll him in a blanket
and put him in a box
with cotton wool
bubble wrap
and seven solid locks

the odds are, I’d say, certain
the odds are, I’d say, high
that given time
his madness would
rocket to the sky

my point is short and simple
this story serves to show
that given grievous circumstance
insanity will grow.

To Sophia (on your 29th birthday)

A lighthouse
a tower
a lady of power
a pillow
a soft place
a dove

Receiving
retrieving
relentless believing
in Jesus
and living
and love

Currency

There’s a five rand store
inside your mind
where thrills are cheap
and every kind
of gimmick
toy
and plastic thing
presents itself
with glitter wings

Resistance to commitment
reluctance to endure
embracing instant everything
and owning the obscure

There’s a five rand trail
that paves the way
from what you think
to what you say
little shiny impulse disks
ruthless leaps
unmeasured risks