The End

Stretching out

Into open space,

Reaching for…

I know not what.

No, I don’t want to watch

Television.

I’m not interested

In being entertained.

I just want to be stimulated,

Mentally.

A song to sway with,

Would be cool,

But not just

Anything.

My mood is low,

My mind is going

On a journey,

To and fro.

Where I end up

Is any guess.

Where I go

I can’t confess.

Do you really

Want to know?

I am sure

I’ll make up my mind

Eventually.

I’ll choose wisely

And sugar free.

I will coast

Across the water,

Silently.

I’ll find a personal

Rainbow,

Can’t you see?

Yes, that’s it.

The end.

Darkness Falls

Echoes of grief

Creep into dreams.

Clamoring bells

Blast a hole

Into my memories.

Strange sentiments

Hover behind me,

Whispering temptation

To ecstasy.

To bite off a piece

Of reality—

That is my sentence.

To grab ahold

Of something nasty—

So close,

And yet,

Too far away.

To break through

Into another dimension.

To rage into the night!

Oh, so sweet.

So I lose my grip

On the pain

That haunts me.

Another journey.

It all seems

Plain to me.

So I surf right through

The Milky Way,

Cackling an insane laughter.

To be the one and only

Tortured company.

Let it burst into

A broken rip current.

Let it feed

On blood and gore.

Let it be—

Alone.

Can You Doubt It?

Pools of blood

Gathering beneath

The hanging body.

Breath goes out,

But doesn’t come back in.

Skin separated from the bones.

What is the truth?

They’ve washed their hands

Of any responsibility.

But can they wash away the blood?

Nightmares come

To remind the guilty.

Can you grit your teeth

And bare this torture?

Can you escape the horror?

This man was truly

From God.

Those who witnessed,

Cannot deny it.

Those who saw him later—

Walking, talking…

Breathing, eating—

Cannot shake the image

From their memory.

Restored but still wounded.

Put your finger

In my wrists and in my side.

He is alive!!!

Miracles: Yes or No

The central belief that all of Christianity hinges on, that of the resurrection from death of Jesus of Nazareth, is a slippery slope, at least. If one chooses to believe that miracle happened, it isn’t too far a stretch to believe in the feeding of the five thousand, or in the healing of the sight of the blind man, or the other miracles that Jesus was supposed to have performed in the Gospels. If you can believe in the resurrection, everything else is on the table.

And there is no shortage of miracles in the Old Testament either. The production of the stone tablets on the mountain after witnessing a burning bush that is not consumed by the fire, the plagues of Egypt before Pharaoh sets free the Israelites, the parting of the sea for the Israelites as they flee Egypt, the production of mammon in the desert to feed the Israelites, and so many more.

So if one believes in all the wonders of the Old Testament, is it such a stretch to believe in the resurrection? Not really. Or if one believes in the resurrection, why not believe in all the miracles of the Old Testament? It is a leap of faith on both counts, no matter how you look at it.

Can one be a Christian without believing in miracles? Well, if you don’t believe in the resurrection, it’s hard to claim that label. But if you do believe in the resurrection, you have no case against the miracles in the rest of the Bible. One can believe in Jesus’ moral teachings, and so be a follower of Jesus in a way, but some of the things Jesus is quoted saying, and the wonders he is recorded as performing, would have to be overlooked.

Changing Gears

Sometimes there are reasons

For ways I think and feel,

And sometimes it just hits me

From out of nowhere.

I can’t plan a day ahead

Without being surprised

By something that happens

That changes my focus.

Being bipolar means that

Sometimes I am at the mercy

Of my mood. But that doesn’t mean

I’m helpless. I just have to

Constantly be aware

Of everything that affects me,

Inside and out.

It is a challenge,

But it’s possible.

Just Nonsense

I took the bucket, filled it up with water, then dumped it on Jerry’s head.

“Hey, C’mon!” he said.

“Let’s dance!” came a voice from inside the side door to the house.

“I don’t LIKE vegetables!” said another voice through the window.

“Your name is Mud!” Jerry said.

Then a wild hippopotamus ran through the yard. It was hot pink, with purple and white poke-a-dots all over.

“Is that a hippopotamus?” I asked Jerry.

“Don’t change the subject!” Jerry shouted.

“I like animals, but this is ridiculous,” I said.

“Why did you dump water on my head?” Jerry asked.

“Why do birds suddenly appear—every time— you draw near?” I sang to the tune of the Carpenters’ song.

“Why do I put up with you?” Jerry huffed.

“Help! You know, I need somebody. Help! Not just anybody. Help! You know, I need someone. Heeeelp!” I sang to the Beatles tune.

“What are you getting at?” cried Jerry.

“I’m looking at the man in the mirror. I’m asking him to change his ways,” I sang, to the Michael Jackson tune.

“This is pointless,” said Jerry. “I can’t think straight.”

“Might as well jump! Go ahead, jump!” I sang to the Van Halen song.

“You make no sense,” Jerry said.

“I have no sense,” I said.

“Here we are, both of us friends,” Jerry sang.

“That’s what I’m talkin’ ‘bout,” I said.