There once was a voice
he had never before been heard from
well, except for when pen
would make his recitation
to his good friend paper

The day came
voice discovered he had vocal cords
his first words, tentative in their birth proved
insecurity had been the reason
for his silence

He spoke slowly at first
worried that he would stumble
afraid he would begin to stutter
his fear of acceptance or lack thereof
kept him close to the edge of giving up

Deep within a new and fresh feeling come upon him
it was as if out of nowhere
there was a strength building
a new determination
giving up was backing up away from the edge

Voice became strong
no longer insecure

Voice realized his purpose
and vowed to fulfill it

Voice began shouting his messages
from the roof tops
from the tops of mountains
and across the seas

Voice would never be silenced again
his message will continue to be heard

I write this to you Christianity

What matters more
that we pray for
or feed the hungry
the flow of manna from heaven
today is nowhere to be seen
other than where it is with the help
from the hand of man

Was it not to be shared with all of gods chosen
by your word, your savior came to save all
his father fed them in the wilderness
he fed them on the mount
yet many die today of starvation
why must even one go hungry

This world has a glut of food
all it needs is to be shared
distributed to those in need
yet so much is thrown away

I guess it's less expensive letting it go to waste
when the bottom line is your desired taste

I have to wonder
those who feel that need to pray
and then do nothing to help
do they not see
that they are the answer
for what they pray for
their hearts would not have been touched
if they weren't

Or is it just more of the same lip service

Even if we were just to sit down
and share half of our sandwich
we would be helping them
renewing their faith
restoring their spirit
helping to ease their pangs of hunger

prayers without works
my friend, they're dead
as your heart is unchanged
where is your head
do you not understand
you've been called to good works
to help and feed others
should be looked on as perks
never a burden
rewards then received
as smiles grace a face
with their hunger relieved

Abuse
has stems rooted in self loathing
yet the abuser claims love
as their guiding force of the lost control

“I beat you because I love you”
Nothing can be further from the truth
there is no love within them

“I'm yelling so that you will hear me”
But the listening is shut down
through fear

“I'm sorry, I was drunk”
Yet their drunkenness
repeats itself over and over

I'll not give drunkenness excuse
for it is that loss of self control
found in those who despise themselves
having no respect for themselves
who know not how to cope with life

Bodies and spirits
broken by
violence
in the forms
of actions and words
that take their toll
on the abused
and seldom heal

When will man
learn to love himself
enough
to love others

He spent time in the garden
moved too close to the rose
was pricked by it's thorn
the love he had given
was returned with pain

There is this stream
it carries the music of life through the forest
calming the soul and spirit
of any and all who spend time
listening to its song

As I sit by waters edge
my toes being kissed by its gentle current
I find an unexpected blessing
one that has always been there for me.
All that was needed
was for me to come and accept it

To get here I  left a world
ravaged by a rushed
and impatient society.
Its greed and lack of kindness
has taken its sad toll of far too many

That world would have owned me as well
had I not come to this place
far away from the mean streets
away from the get ahead at any cost attitude it has
free of the stress it imparts

It is a place of true comfort
more tranquil than one could ever imagine

The stream flows through me
its music feeds my spirit
its song fills my heart

The thoughts of that other place
now washed from my mind
it seems as though I have grown new ears
I have learned to listen in a whole new way
my eyes opened now to beauty
wherever they land
my heart, opened wider than ever
being filled with great joy

I have never known such peace

I think I'll stay awhile

I tried patience

Always waiting
Mostly for peace to arrive

Believing in their goodness
Every man
Inside and outside of our circle
Need our respect
Giving it is the least we can do

Can we come together
Each of us
Not just in words
Something much more is needed
Our actions are the important part
Reviving the spirits of others
Even when we feel at the bottom
Determines our destiny

To wear a mask
an avatar
we're insecure
and it's quite bizarre
that we lie to folks
both near and far
in hopes they'll see
our rising star
while scared of that question
of who we are