rooftop conversations

when you have countless
things to do
and places 
to be
but you spontaneously find yourself
sitting on the roof
for hours,
looking over the city
with a girl
with halcyon eyes 
and no end to her horizon

we did nothing that day
but watch traffic and talk,
accomplishing more
than we ever 
dreamed.

the heart of a woman

as vast as the plains of clouds stretched across the horizon
as free as the birds soaring over the earth
as glorious as the stars strung across the skies–
the heart of a woman is a beautiful and wild thing

with the tenderness of a summer morning breeze
like an unbroken stallion
as free as the running waves of the sea–
the heart of a woman is a beautiful and mystifying thing

so fearless without limit
so relentless in seeking to be adored
the passion, the substance–
the heart of a woman is a beautiful and striking thing

oh, to be as dangerous as a woman's commitment to love
to be as sensitive to the slightest of intimate shoves
in love
is this not man's task given from above:

to take a step and pursue
to cherish and adore
to daily open the cage
and watch her heart soar

for to be trusted by a woman
is one of life's hardest
and most treasured,
of all earthly things

so raise thy head up, take grip, and dig in,
for the woman's heart is wild like the waves of the sea–
and it waits for you to press in

but in the end, a man's job is not to calm or to fix
but to be trusted with the unexpected tides and swells of her wild seas
for she is wild, not tame, and she is yours for keeps
she is yours to protect, and yours to bring peace
for a steady heart and listening ear can calm any woman's stormy seas
so never forget that the heart of eve 
is the most precious and pure of all beings
and that you, as a man, 
are blessed with the most 
treasured and beautiful of all created things

My Third Book

It's hard to believe that my last post on this blog was two years ago.

I guess there's no better way to break the silence than to announce that I'm wrapping up editing my third book of poetry.  

What is the book about you might ask?

Love.

Throughout the time that my wife and I were dating, I wrote poems about my relationship with my soon to be wife. I wanted to capture each step of our dating, not only because I was fascinated by everything that I was experiencing but I knew that I wouldn't experience life in this unique way forever.  Times change.  Some seasons you only get once and I wanted to capture the emotions and experiences of dating and engagement while I could.

After two years of writing and dating, I turned my collection of poems about my wife into a short book and gave it to her as a gift the day before our wedding. 

This new book is not the exact version that I gave to my wife.  Many poems were taken out and other new poems were added.  Originally, I never had intentions to share these poems with anyone other than my wife, but I began to question whether others would like the poems too. 

Marriage can feel like a washed out topic in Western culture today, I know how easy it is to lose the magic in ones eyes for a lifelong friend and lover.  Writing is one of the ways I protect the magic in my eyes for my wife.  Writing keeps my eyes open for wonder, it keeps me looking for the beauty underneath the clutter of everyday life, it helps me search for what is sacred.   What is unbound and wild and untamed.  Yes, love is kind and tough and slow and gritty.  But good.  Even perfect, at times. 

My hope is that these poems help others rekindle this all encompassing substance and presence that everyone knows, experiences, and longs for called love.

Over the upcoming weeks, I intend to share a few poems on this blog from the book before it's released.

Once the book is complete, I'll let you know here.

 

If you have never read any of my previous books of poetry before, you can find them for sale on Amazon.  My last book, "When Nature Speaks" is only $5.99.

foreign thoughts

when you stand in new streets,
gaze upon foreign colored skin,
hear a language different than your own,
and witness another way of life,
you assume there is a great difference between you and them

everything on the outside, appears to be different,
but after you stop and converse, hear their story,
their struggles, what they hope for

see a little deeper under their skin,

you realize
that
we are all the same

the language we speak,
the color of our hair,
the land by which we call home...

none of it really matters,
the further you go

travel enough and you see:

no matter where you go in the world,
people are still people.

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the voice of shame

“you're never enough”
so the voices go
down
down
in shame you go

“never enough”
you believe it so:

never the richest
never the strongest
never the wisest
“never enough”

“never enough”,
so the voices go...

down, down they pray you go
down, down to spiral so

shame comes in waves.

--

the desire burns
to be enough,
to have the strength
the looks
the honor
to be a man among men

but
no matter what you do,
the voices tell you
you are not.

in whispers, he anchors you,
in lies, he binds you,
hoping you never come up
with the rest of your kind,
with the rest of man.

together, men drown in waves.

--

though the tides are high
and many
are searching at sea

there is a voice in the distance
calling,
a voice from behind the light, 
a father’s hand
outstretched
from afar
calling out to you,
seeking to rebuild the ruins
of man

--

in following this new found voice,
you quickly learn
shame will never quiet your fear.
no matter how long you follow him
there is no end to his depths,

there is no life in his promised comforts.
in the end, shame is
nothing but a lie.

you see it too, in the eyes of the men passing you
down the street:

they feel it too.

together, we live
in a world where, before all we come across, 
despite our best works, days, and efforts, 
we strive and
feel as though
we are not enough.

some combat their insecurity with pride,
others blanket themselves in disgrace

it's not wrong.
for no one's been taught another way.

but
little do we know that
through it all
god's eyes remain.

little do we know that
through it all
god's eyes never waver
from love.

through it all,
god is within reach
waiting for you to turn to him,
to his arms, wide open:

he's waiting for you to fall in.

--

and so,
you must choose your voice
to cling to

you must choose which voice will shape you.

day after day,
you must choose
to identify yourself
with
love,
over shame.

you must choose
to
step into your skin

to take up your name

to take form
as you become
your dreams.

Fear

Last night, I was thinking back over every new endeavor and goal that I've pursued over the past couple years. I'm realizing more and more that it doesn't matter what I'm doing: whether I'm being asked to do something I've never done before at work, thinking about a poem I'm going to write, or climbing a mountain that's higher than I've ever climbed before, fear is present in everything I do.

Every book I write, I'm scared to share. Every project I start, I fear failing at. Every mountain I climb, I fear failing to reach the top.

As I look back, I see that everything I've ever achieved is something I once feared.

What if fear is not limiting then unless I allow it to be?

What if fear is actually a gateway to opportunity, an entry point to growth, a path leading us to discover more deeply who we are and what we're made of. But this is only if we choose so, only if we choose to dance with our fears rather than run from them.

This year, I've been learning how to welcome my fears and feel them, while still refusing to allow myself to be defined by them. This year, I've chosen what fear will be for me:

Fear is not my prison and grave, but the land upon which I will build my dreams.

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