The Sublime Roundabout

The atom splits A photon escapes Removing energy From the forever-altered Newly-created Atom Born in the nuclear furnace Floating in space Forever expanding Forever collapsing This photon makes its way To the surface It blazes through space Faster than anything Imaginable It passes planets Speeding past Until Eight minutes later It reaches the third planet Avoids diffusion in the clouds And atmosphere It reaches a drop of water And enters Slowing slightly To reveal A rainbow

It was only seven days The founding of our world The light and the dark The sea and the land The plants and the animals And finally, man But it was not until God made woman That He knew His work was complete And He rested And all was very good. So God sends To men who are patient Loving and kind Gentle and good A woman To be their companion To help them through life To love him And to be adored by him No meeting of equals, this But a condescension Of that which is pure and heavenly To that which is mundane and crude To help with her touch Make noble that which is impure And bring grace and beauty Where there is only night And thus, you, dear heart Have touched my life Bringing goodness and joy Unspeakable Immeasurable Sweet and kind And through this act I have come to know The kindness and mercy And love Of God Himself For someone like me

A man in a ghillie suit is almost impossible to see, even if you know what to look for and you're looking right at him. Military snipers trained for years to perfect their technique, moving in geologic time to advance slowly into position. And once there, they were trained to stay there for as long as necessary before making their move. It was no time for extraneous thought. These men carried no armor, no protection at all. They had their weapons, but they were right out in the open, where anyone could pick them off. It was a very exposed feeling, and these men had to have full confidence in their concealment for their survival. The terrain on the bottom of the slot canyon was surprisingly lush. The small stream gurgling through the center provided life-giving water to an otherwise extremely arid environment. The marksmen had no difficulty blending in to their surroundings. They had moved rapidly into position outside of what they knew to be the range of the security cameras, but...

It had been almost three weeks since I'd seen my wife. My daughter, too, for that matter. I could only guess what was going on. It was frustrating beyond belief. If it hadn't been for Adam, I would have sunk into despondency long ago. Yet, he was my life line, my tether to the world outside - a world that daily seemed to be further and further away. Something big was going on. The machinery we'd only heard a little when we'd first arrived was now a constant hum. One of the guards spoke of CNC machines working away down some unknown corridors, so I guessed that whatever production was going on had been ramped up. Of course, to turn out munitions in the required quantities would take a real manufacturing process and factory. I began to wonder at the extent of this facility... I was still not free to wander where I liked. I had been effectively banned from the lab after the explanation I'd received from Rick and Janice. Adam and I often walked the corridors togethe...

Sam Donaldson felt things slipping out of his control. It was an uncomfortable feeling for him. He had been brought up in a household where independence was not only encouraged, it was demanded. He'd learned from an early age to wash his own clothes - he'd even had to make his clothes once he was old enough - how to prepare and cook his own food, and how to care for his body. But more importantly, he'd always been taught to be independent in his thoughts, accepting other's points of view only after strict interrogation and lengthy evaluation. It's what made him such a excellent detective - he was able to analyze things from all aspects, putting the pieces together slowly, methodically, and thinking like a criminal would. The trouble always came - as it was coming now - when too many people got involved and the waters became muddy. He was independent, but he also played by the rules. The loss of the helicopter pilot, in the near vicinity to where the fillings had b...

So I thought I'd just take a break from the poetry for a post. Don't worry: regularly scheduled poetry resumes later... I recently got a note from a friend in which things of a negative nature were noted. A couple of hours later, this friend wished to retract the note, saying that the sharing of such "problems" was an undue strain on our friendship. The friend apologized for sharing these things. I was intrigued. It caused me to reflect on the nature of friendship. What is a friend, really? If you're into facebook at all, you know that there are people you've added to your "friends" list that are on a different level of intimacy than others. Some of these people are those you've known for many years, but there have been things that happened in the interim that have separated you, physically, intellectually, and sometimes (most tragically) spiritually. Some are renewed acquaintances, people you'd lost track of and are happy to see again....

Rouge Rouse Roust Roost Boost He stands on his feet Not sure of what he'll meet Or if he'll be beat By the thugs on the street But stand he must Rise from the dust In God is his trust But his soul did rust And canker with soil With anger embroil And suffering toil On this earthly coil He rose all alone So far from his home His skills he did hone A pauper on a throne Then the sky began to light The east red with the sight The clouds parting, as in fright At the ending of night And he looked to the east Into the heart of the beast The greatest and the least On this glory he did feast His soul began to break A bitter sweet ache Each breath that he'd take A new man it did make Overcome by the love That streamed down from above On the wings of the dove At the end of life's rove At the journey's end He'd found his friend His heart began to mend All defenses did rend

I wish I had a window Into your soul That I might look And know The depths The heights The fires The passions The needs I think I know But I wish The window glass Was not so murky Then I might know How to touch How to caress How to love That my words might resonate More fully That I might see What my words do I could see myself there In your soul What kind of a man am I To you Do I measure up? How can I be better? And there, in that sacred light I would behold my heart's true desire To know that essential you That you only know And you share with no one else And I would put my own spark there That they would glow together Forever

The drop of water Travels earthward Hurtling Soaring But falling The fire blazes below Roaring Sparking Glowing With incredible heat As the drop of rain speeds Towards this heat It sheds layers Slimmer Smaller Diminished Finally the heat Overcomes this small drop Of rain Until there is no More drop at all But the water is not gone It is now pure It will rise upward To the heavens And be reborn Reborn