The Trackless Path

I like surprises. Not everybody does, but I do. I like not knowing exactly where things are going. And I prefer to believe that things will turn out just right, Better than just right, in fact, that they will result in a thing Far better than I can expect or hope for, or create  Through my limited means and wits. And I like to think that I am not  The creator of the good fortune, But that it is ju...

I read the books that you don't write. I peruse the verses written  In subtle glances This way and that. And in the forest of your dreams I sit for hours in the quiet of your library of themes. For there are books you do not write. And it is my job to take them down From the dusty shelf, To air them out in the sunlight for all the world to see. I write the books that you don’t write. And then...

I am homeless in the heart of His Love. And that is not a bad place to be. No home but the invisible arms That wrap me up from day to day. Oh, thank you God for not forsaking me!

The lamppost in Narnia, An oil lamp hanging from a tree branch, Or the street lamp that lights The silhouetted couple In the empty city street by night. It is a solitary light in an unusual place. It is the expected backdrop light Of every darkened city scene. It lights the way, It marks the spot, It frames the scene in amber tones, Or roots itself immoveably  Awaiting Kings and Queens. It is left...

I am in Amish Land, And I look out my window To find a horse and carriage  Tied to the post that marks the parking spot. And I wonder at their tenacity,  Their drive to preserve the old way. I wonder and yet, I also relate. I am surprised at how much I am the same. I live far simpler  Than my contemporaries. I do not vote. And I cannot be compelled to go to war Even to save my life or the lives of...

The moon followed us home, But my parents said that it couldn’t sleep inside. All the same, I spread the curtains wide And let it’s light fall on my blanket. And every night it came, And every night I spread the curtains wide, Day after day, year after year. Except when it was cloudy And then I was afraid. And on those nights I shut the curtains tight And went to sleep as fast as I could. But alwa...

Angel Oak Dripping down, Shed your mantle over me. And let me hide beneath your branches When the world is too much for me to handle, And spread your leaves to fan the nakedness of my frailty. For I am not what the world expected. I am less than what they ordered. But here beneath your ancient branches, Leaning back into your massive trunk, I am safe from all that the world  Would have me be. And...

What do baby gargoyles do? And where do the ugly faces hide Who do not want to guard the cathedral From all those who cannot bear to see anything but beauty. It’s kind of ugly when you think of it that way.

I am not inclined to say anything anymore. My views have changed so much And surely what is good for one  Will not be good for all. I wish that people would turn to God, The ones who don’t that is Because he knows. He has the answers. I don’t.

I content myself with what comes, And the light of ages pours itself down on me A day at a time, a moment at a time, And warms me to my mission. And I cannot receive it all, But some Falls into my cup. And it’s enough to keep me moving, loving, speaking, writing. How great the Love that pours out into undeserving cups! And it’s enough. It’s enough.

There are more people out there than you realize. The world is full of them. And each one Is intricate. I could travel the whole world round  And never meet enough of them. And so I have to content myself with one at a time. And yet I know that I will never really understand The width and breadth of humanity. And yet I think that’s what I’m doing. And the further I go, the more I see the vastness...

There is an ancient magic, long forgotten, But we dream of it with tales of hobbit holes, And villages that hang from rainforest canopies And enchanted castles that only appear  At a certain time of year, And only to the pure in heart. It is the magic of being there,  And yet blending in so well  With the nature of things As to be invisible. But long ago, we lost the art. It fell into the sacred,...

I took a trip upon a starship bound for nowhere. I thought that it would be a holiday, But it was not. I was disappointed By the emptiness of space, The vastness of it’s lonely solitude, The unspeakable quiet of nobody there. I thought I would go mad  For lack of somebody to talk to. And yet, the inward voice  That had guided me in all my journeys was there. And together, we visited planet after p...

There was a time when the mystery of life held me captive, And tomorrows were trusted to sort themselves out. A shooting star was entertainment, And the dream of what I’d be changed from day to day. And it wasn’t bad, It was good, Childhood. And perhaps I can go back. Perhaps I can let go a little more to the mystery, And let my dreams and entertainment be swayed  By the unexpected. And maybe that...

My mind is a dark wood With barren trees and brown, dead, leaves, mostly fallen, And a common finch at the heart of it. And the deepest magic Is found By  Believing that barren things are green with unseen leaves, And that the heart of spring is found Where the whole year-round There whispers Life From the imagination of the dead wood of winter’s garden.

God knows what men can’t see. So don’t worry about the outward. Focus upon inward things.

Don’t deny the thing inside  That tells you what is right. You may not always do what’s right, None of us are perfect. And you may not always know what’s right, There is no shame in ignorance. But beware of saying that right is wrong And wrong is right When you know better. For you might just convince yourself. And once convinced, your state is truly terrible Since you will fight for the wrong tha...

There is something about the form in silhouette that we like to see. We don’t always want to see each of the particulars.  But the simple thing, the form, Cast upon the backdrop  Of evening colors Is beautiful. Why is that? Perhaps it is because peace lies  In swallowing the whole  To spite the ugly parts. And perhaps that’s how we were persuaded  To choose earth life before we came here. We saw t...

I can watch the life of leaves. And so far, I have seen 49 crops, 49 crops, And they come and go Without me doing anything. It makes me think that life  Might be more on track Than I realize.

Oh Great Man in the sky,  Holy Father, much maligned, Look down with mercy upon us, your wayward children, And shed grace upon our weakness, For we cannot see you much of the time, And so often we forget the way. Oh, Jesus, Son of the Divine, Have mercy upon us in our wayward climb, And find us here in the depths of our worldly blindness. And guide our steps day by day, And forgive us when we thin...

If I had a great balloon, I’d travel This way and that, and up and down, And throughout the world, from nation to nation, And from people to people. I’d float it into the hole on the top of the earth And visit the ones who live inside. And I’d take it past the stratosphere Into the open expanse of space, Not because I had some appointment to keep, But because I wanted to wander off And follow the...

Remember, when your project  To do a thing for God goes wrong, When the church never rises from the prairie, Or the community of Saints  Falls into disarray And confusion, That the City of God is not made by earthly hands. It is not a thing, not a place.  It is not made of lumber or brick or mortar.  It is made of people who have come through great tribulation. And the pillars that hold up the tem...

I am inclined to sell what sells if it is honest, aren’t you? And to sell plenty of it so that I can let it rest At the end of the day And focus on other things. After all, I am not smart or clever. So I had better not try to speculate.

The sun goes down and I want to go to sleep. - Imagine that!

There was more peace in books. We have lost something  By displaying motion  Pictures.