17.

The frost creeps in at night

Covering the ground in ice

Glistening in the harsh moonlight

Muted and suspended in time.

A carriage upon which I am

Plods through the bleak land

Black stark against the white

Me and my silent entourage.

Barren trees lined the path

Fallen leaves guided the way

Crushed beneath heavy soles

And carriage wheels as we go.

Silence is the music of this night

But crows joined in with dissonant notes

Strained are the voices entrapped

Within the solemn faces of my men.

The crying wind ushers us to the place

Where even angels fear to tread

The broken tower tolls its bell

Breaking the noiseless enchanted spell.

Within the frozen ground I lay my head

A sea of tears blanket my legs

And I sink into the unfathomable darkness

As the unforgiving watcher danced upon my grave.

Deeper I slip into gaping darkness

My slumber turns into formless dreams

So deep is the aching chill of this casket

My bones rot and my heart freeze over and over.

In the deep set enveloping darkness

Wrapped inside this never ending dream

A tiny pin-prick of light

Shines from deep within.

A quiet Voice whispers

In the deafening stillness

Echoing through the hollow chamber

Beckons and calls to me.

Though the light is small

Barely a dancing flame upon a candle’s wick

Yet in this encompassing darkness and cold

It burns a raging blaze.

The Voice that calls

Is ever so gentle and warm

Thaws and sears this frozen heart

And brings spring within the storm.

The darkness melts in tendrils away

Shedding and pealing like sludge

Layer by layer it falls aground

As I am reborn once again.

Just like a little butterfly

Breaking from its trappings

Fleeing the icy wintry land

Dissolving into the coming spring.

In this land where death hangs like a cloying mist

Reflects in my eyes a field for hope

As the light shines and burns on in my heart

The accusing reaper rails and roils in helpless fury.

For disillusioned and lost I am no longer

Freed I am from the prison of dreams and death

In light of Truth my eyes are opened

To the Holy One that calls me by name.

16.

Where are You my Lord

In this daily world of mine?

Mired and buried deep in endless routine

I lose sight of what is before me.

Oh my Lord, hear my call

As I seek to know You in secret places

Refresh me and reveal to me a new part of You

Each day in my life.

Oh my Lord, help me I pray

To see the wonder and the beauty of You

To know my Lord that I am never apart from You

In every moment of my breath.

Oh my Lord, open my eyes

To see the world through Your eyes

To find You in every place

In all that is around me.

Oh my Lord, help me remember consciously

The blessings You have so lavishly poured onto me

And for Your loving presence and mighty hand

In my everyday life.

As so oh Lord that I do not forget

To acknowledge Your authority over me

To praise You in all occasions

And Your name be always on my lips in thanksgiving.

Oh my Lord, forgive me

For taking for granted

All the things that seems to come so naturally

The simple things that are ever constant in life.

For not realising oh Lord

That with just one word

Everything in this world that I am familiar with

Will be swept away in an instant.

Like dust in the wind.

For my Lord, You created the heaven and the earth

You dictate the passage of the sun and the moon

All that was, is and will be is within the palm of Your hands

You are the Author of Life, the Beginning and the End.

Oh Lord, may You be glorified

In all of my days

May Your truth shine forth

Illuminating the Way.

Amen

15.

Have you ever wondered

How long will this endless road run?

Have you ever think about

The end that is to come?

Do you live your life in this world

As if it will go on forever

Or do you count your days

Living for this very moment?

I am unafraid of death

For I know I am going home

Into the arms of my everlasting Father

Where He will welcome me into His fold.

But I had a dream one day

A curious one indeed

I was dead in an instant

And at the gates of Heaven I reached.

Outside the gilded gates of eternity

Two separate lines of souls were formed

One was short while the other long

As I was ushered to the former, I wonder.

I saw many familiar faces in the other line

Dear friends I have spent my life with

And strangers I have always seen around town

Of whom I have never dared talked to about Jesus, my saviour and crown.

Then truth hits me with clarity

At the horror of what I have not done

These people will never enter Heaven

For they do not know the Son.

My heart wails in anguish as I cried heavy tears

For the people I will never meet again

In the beautiful Garden of Eden

Because of my own wretched fear.

If only I had seized that moment

The divine appointment on that very day

And walked forth in faith and boldness

With Jesus at my wake.

Oh how I am ashamed

How can I ever face You again?

For I have not done in faith

The precious task You have commissioned

Oh for what use is this Light

If I were to hide it away

Sequestered under cover

Hidden away from the lost?

Oh for what purpose if I am given spiritual food

To feed the hungry and the starving

But instead left it up upon the secret shelf

To collect dust and grow mold?

Oh for what reason if I am bestowed

With a thousand gifts and talents

If I have never used them to their fullest

For the salvation and comfort of others?

Oh woe, oh what grief!

These many wasted years

Always leaving it for a tomorrow

That never appeared.

So my Lord, please forgive me I pray

For not carrying Your message

And conveying Your love

To this desperate generation.

Oh my Lord, please grant me

The faith, love, courage and strength

To do Your bidding and Your will

On the very day, forever and ever.

As so that when I leave this world

I will know that I have done my very best

And that I can now rest

In peace without any regrets.