Ten

At long last....number ten...

I feel like this one ended more abruptly than I planned - victim of severe cuts that were made because I felt it was moving in too many directions at once. Maybe I can salvage some of the cut material into something different. Could take months. haha.

"If you asked me"

I guess I wanted to be the hero for you,
My imagination tells me, this dream would compel me,
into the man every boy would like to be.
To run into danger’s cold embrace
Through fire, the tongues of red hot flames
And rescue you, whatever trial you were going through

If you had asked me, I’d have said “there’s nothing I won’t do,”
To show the love, the depth of love, that I had for you
To be honest though, we both know - only God knows if it’s true.
Is there really anything I would not have done…if you asked me to…

I guess I thought it would be harder than this,
we’ve been given so much, we could have done much with less,
Say it’s different now, I know I can’t complain,
Everything that’s come our way, molds and shapes us like potters clay,
Though I may not be the knight I dreamed I’d be,
I’ve still got these words that I would say…

If you had asked me, I’d have said “there’s nothing I won’t do,”
To show the love, the depth of love, that I had for you
To be honest though, we both know - only God knows if it’s true.
Is there really anything I would not have done…if you asked me to…

Don’t know why I would have thought it would be easier than this.
The challenges we have faced have been more than I guessed.
Say it’s different now, I guess I was naïve
Thinking it would be easier every day, I should not be deceived so easily.
Shed those tears, cry those cries, this will not go away
We’ve come these miles, won’t you walk a bit further with me.

If you had asked me, I’d have said “there’s nothing I won’t do,”
To show the love, the depth of love, that I had for you
To be honest though, we both know - only God knows if it’s true.
Is there really anything I would not have done…if you asked me to…

If you had asked me…but you didn’t ask me,
Things didn’t quite go that way. It’s a bit different now,
We don’t know why, we may not know how, but it’s different now,
Most things move on and they’re never quite the same,
But we know love, and that’s always the same.

If you asked me, but you didn’t ask me…
And you didn’t have to.

Nine

Okay - forgive the dust, sometimes I have dry spells. This one didn't turn out quite how I hoped. I wasn't able to turn it around to where I wanted to go with it without making it cheesy. In any case, I'm sure not many people read these things anyways...so...



Abandoned houses

Empty, the life has moved away,
the lamp has darkened as the skies have gone grey.　
Lost interst, broken principles. Walking away...

It used to be that things looked so bright.
The sun can't get brighter on Easy Street when everything is going right.
Even the shadows never looked so menacing under the reflections of a brighter day.
Now paint can't cover flaws and phantoms under the once trodden stairway
in these abandoned houses.　

It's not that nobody cared. Quite the opposite may be true.
Even choice takes you down a wrong road or two -
Count these as lessons learned. Perhaps the thought of meeting "the dream"
has faded like the color from the lawns and the trees.　
Delusions of granduer perhaps have fallen, been bruised and scraped - wounded.

There's no one home, they've moved on
What's left here among the weeds and the broken fences?
The welcome's gone from the mat in the doorway
How we wish a light would shine through the window once again -
there's so much more here than they've become... for these abandoned homes.

But they're not gone forever, where the light once shone.
Not every house can rest empty, there's still room for hope
Looking on their eyes, windows to the soul, the heart still holds a treasure.
Like broken hearts, these can be restored.

Don't let the clutter block your path to the door,
there's more value here than maybe even before,
The experience of choices, though the scars remain,
can rebuild life into the walls and the frame,
who will point the light to these darkened halls,
to restore the life they were created for...

Can you invest the time in these abandoned houses...

Eight

“who are you”

There’s a stranger – looking back at me
Who is this man, staring in my eyes,
Looking through me, why don’t I recognize
The image staring from the mirror, right back at me…

So who are you, when no one is watching
Who are you, when your alone and insecure,
Who are you, when you feel darknesss surrounds you
When it’s nobody but you, when everyone has turned and gone
Who are you.

We like to think that deep inside we’re strong
That in the hardest moments we’ll have the strength to walk on
We’re heroes in our own thoughts and minds,
But don’t be fooled friend, don’t be blinded by pride?

So who are you, when the pressure builds up inside
Who are you, when you’re stretched beyond your limits
Who are you, when it’s you and the madness
When it’s time to throw your cards down, and it’s time to back your bets.
Who are you.

There’s more to your story, there’s value in your struggles,
But as you walk this narrow road, you must find the strength to be humble,
There’s nobody who knows you more, and when you’re looking into that mirror,
the shadow of the image you see, isn’t just your own creation, it was never meant to be…

So who are you, when time has reached it’s limit,
Who are you, when flesh, muscle and bone has broken and decayed,
Who are you, where do you find your value,
When it’s time to face the music, and the trumpet’s call has sounded,
Who are you.

What am I up to...seven?

Don't particularly like this one...but it's been in the works for so long, i'm giving up on it.

"Smile"

It’s like a cold shower on a hot day
A refreshing treat when those corners move,
Your eyes light up – something special begins
When you smile…

A simple thing really
There’s not all that much to it.
Even the smallest child can do it
Yet it’s special in ways we barely understand

So smile, light the world up around you
When darkness threatens to surround you
Let God’s brilliance and beauty shine through,
It’s a special gift of God direct from you
When you smile.

Gestures, like pictures say more than words
A simple movement can say so many things
You can light the darkest day
The coldest of hearts can feel the ice melt away,

From Mediocrity to brilliance.
Sometimes you just can’t help it,
I smile can be infectious.
It can never be so bad that we can’t find a brighter day.

So smile, light the world up around you
Let the brilliance and beauty of God’s design shine through
There’s a transformation that takes place
Like a sweet shower of God’s grace
When you can find a way to smile.

So smile, light the world up around you.
Let the brilliance and the beauty of God’s design shine through
Until the world’s dark corners have receded.
Smile.

Smile, wear it like a crown.
Smile, because there’s things that words just cannot say.