Torn Apart

Have we ever stopped to wonder
What if we were one another,
Hearing footsteps of their memories intruding on our minds?

Have we ever seen a look of pain
And really stopped to look again,
To notice what another feels escaping through their eyes?

Has the darkness seeping from their skin
Appalled us as we saw their sin
Yet we failed to recognize that we all do the same?

Has the wickedness throughout the earth
Parading unstopped, growing worse,
Disgusted us but redefined our shame?

Now pausing in our musty pride we must confess
That although duty calls we do not do what’s best,
And though our hearts arraign us most ungraciously
We see that what we’re fighting is duplicity.

So often we are spellbound by our world of woe
And cannot see what others near are going through,
Until we pause to listen to their broken heart.
Our world is not the only one that’s torn apart.

Dreams of Pageantry

I wrote this during a senior seminar I took in college called
"The Bible in Later Literature."

Running water, little laughing brooks,
Soaring skywards in a dream,
Unknown places, unknown times,
Full of mystery.

Sunshine brighter, cloudless summer skies,
Joyous revels in a hall,
Gilded goblets, voices sing
Tales of gallantry.

Grasses verdant, fields of flowers fair,
Tranquil holidays at sea,
Crimson roses, roaring hearths,
Sweet simplicity.

Spell-bound castles, love-enchanted lands,
Golden slippers at a ball,
Flowing tresses, knights of steel,
Dreams of pageantry.

Running water, love-enchanted lands,
Tranquil holidays at sea,
Gilded goblets, Holy Grail,
Quests for majesty.

We're All a Lie

I wrote the following poem as a reflection upon our tendency as a culture to hide the truth of our personal pains and struggles. We just can't seem to be honest with each other. My inspiration came from the lines of a song sung by Laura Story: "When I'm tired of pretending and I can't recall my line. Do I say I'm barely breathing or do I say I'm doing fine?" (I've "tinkered" with this poem off and on since December, 2008, but finally decided to just share it, weak as it is.)

We’re All a Lie

Pleasant faces—painted smiles
Like the mimicking of mimes,
Cautious glances—guarded words,
Actors in a play called life.

This accepted fabrication called “polite”
Is the language we are taught to use from childhood,
Where the question receives artificial answers
And dilutes the truth of open honesty.

“I’m doing fine, and all is well.
My family’s good. I like my job.
I’m feeling nice.” You’ve lost your mind
If you think I’d answer otherwise.

This is a game we all are living,
A pretense to obscure offensive truth—
We’re all a lie.

We’re not so well, and things aren’t swell,
With families falling through the cracks.
We feel so blind, have lost our minds.
When will we ever get them back?

Every day we hit the ground,
Crying out without a sound,
Hoping someone else will hear
And help us out.

While our words are empty shells,
Outer coverings for the hells
We’re living through,
We’re all a lie.

Pleasant faces—painted smiles
Like the mimicking of mimes,
Cautious glances—guarded words,
Actors in a play called life.

So the next time someone asks us, “How’d you do?”
Do we presume they want to hear the naked truth?
Throw off masks and show them all our hidden features?
Risk rejection for our frankness and our candor?

Happy faces—bottled tears
Masquerading through our times,
Careful glances—guarded hearts
Measures to advance disguise.


There’s no point unmasking woes only to flaunt them
In the faces of those wishing for our health.
Yet if we could answer questions with directness
We might see that we could help each other out.

Will we ever face together our delusion,
That the others somehow wouldn’t understand
How our lives are not as perfect as imagined
From the front that veils our secret sufferings?

Could not honesty with others really help us
All together learn to soothe our miseries?
And to join each other like a band of brothers
In a quest to conquer our infirmities?

Honest answers—candid words,
Simple trust in what is said
Carefree glances—open hearts
Unadorned sincerity.