It is (still) well

The months flew past, it’s been over a year
And it seems strange now today
When I think about how there were three
One I see now all the time
One I’m finally getting to know
One who won’t come back.

I’ve lived through many years
And I still don’t understand death,
When I think about how someone was alive
How now their place is empty
How no breath fills their lungs
How the universe still aches.

You are unbounded by space and time
And I wonder how You chose
When You stepped into this world
To give Yourself up for us
To let Yourself be broken
To make all things well at last.

 

China Questions

I don’t know if I should laugh or cry
I remember four months ago
Sitting in this glass-paned building
Listening to the words

So now I’m the one on the other end.
Ni zai gan shenme?
And you say
Walking around in the airport.
Talking to me.

I don’t know what faithfulness looks like
In a world that has shrunk to small
Do I sacrifice for a friend
On the other side of the planet?

So now I’m relistening to the music
Mulan and Butterfly Lovers
And humming Zenme Ban
Which seems too perfect.
What to do?

A philosopher said that
You have eight true friends
For all your life
So I count the number on my fingers.

And so I’m praying for wisdom
As we strive to live in this crazy world
Words shooting back and forth
All we have to do
Is decide what to do with the time given us.

 

Perfect Love

The lifeblood of the tree
Ran red as wine
As the golden sun filtered through
The leaf-green canopy.

The sky was tinged with hints of storm
Dark grey fringing the edges of what had once been blue
Threatening the coming rain
Water to wash the world away.

She shook out her shining hair
Feet springing from the green grass beneath
To the rough grey bark of the tree
As her hands clung tight to the branches.

And the cold wind broke against the strong stone
As the rain turned to frozen ice crystals
Tears on her face and tears from the sky
Both caught in the boundaries of promise.

From the roots of such pain
Would You still grow beauty?
Do You know all the fear
Locked in Your command to trust?

But if perfect love casts out fear
Would You uproot all the idols
Purge away all the fears
And leave me with only perfect love?

 

Breaking

Ask anything, you said to me
Seeing questions in my eyes
I don’t want to hurt you
But I feel a need to know
How do we learn to let go?
Is it safe?
Is it wise?
Can you see through all my lies?

It’s not so hard sometimes, you know
When the answers are not verbal
I want so much to touch you
But I’m afraid to hurt you
How do we learn to let go?
Is it safe?
Is it wise?
Can you see through all my lies?

Rain-dark fear, uncried tears
Lost in the mazes of our minds
Exploring the edges of reality
Pushing the borders back
So we can hang on a little longer
Someday the walls will break
Will we be flooded away?
Will anything remain?

 

Golden

I love the time
When light slants golden on the land
Casting the branches
Against the sky
When the blue sings of redemption stretching
When the green is all waiting life.

And my heart remembers golden days:
Seneca’s cradled sanctuary
Wooden hallway floors
Dagorhir afternoons with laughing wrestling
Driving down new roads.