Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 10: “Under the Mighty Maple”

This poem was inspired by the time I’ve spent reading and praying by a big maple tree at the bottom of the hill where my parents’ house sits atop. Their property is gorgeous, especially during the summer and fall.

Under the Mighty Maple

The shade of a mighty maple
Has become my shelter from the storm.
There I listen to the birds’ songs
Carried along the breeze, seeking elusive peace.
I see squirrels leap through branches with abandon
Like daredevil trapeze artists,
Missing the lost love they remind me of.
And there I commune with God,
Praying, wrestling, hoping
He will restore what I lost,
What I seek so desperately,
Under the mighty maple.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 9: “I’m Not Superman”

This poem was also loosely inspired by a song: “Made of Steel” by Our Lady Peace. I hope you like it (although I’m not as happy with this or the previous poem).

I’m Not Superman

You longed for a hero,
Looking up, waiting—
Waiting for your Superman,
When I was always at your side.

I’m not made of steel,
But I can take the punches for you.
I can carry you when you falter
Though my strength isn’t super.
I’ll catch you when you fall, so hold on
Because we’ll soar though I can’t fly.

So never fear, your hero is here.
Just look over your shoulder,
And there I’ll be, awaiting your embrace,
So you can hide under my cape.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 8: “Falling Into the Abyss”

This poem was loosely inspired by the song “Falling Inside the Black” by Skillet. Enjoy!

Falling Into the Abyss

Black winds blow ash,
Stinging my eyes, clouding my vision,
Pushing me back to the brink—
The brink of the pit, the abyss.
Like the grave, it hungers, never satisfied.
One slip, and I will fall,
Forever lost.
I cry for help—
Can You hear me?
I stretch my hand,
Desperately reaching for You.
Grab my hand, pull me back
Before it’s too late—
And I fade into the depths.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 7: “Surgery”

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Here’s the other one I wanted to post last night. It was inspired by a bizarre analogy I thought of while counseling a friend. However, I’m not as happy with this one. Maybe that’s just me.

Surgery

I lay upon an operating table
Under a lamp’s blinding light.
I hear the Great Physician’s voice
As He straps me down.
“Your heart of stone is killing you.
I must transplant a heart of flesh,
But I have no morphine.
Do you want to get well?”
Trembling, I reply, “Yes,”
And the Physician begins His work.
His scalpel’s every cut I feel,
Lurching in agony,
My screams muffled by a crucifix
He gave me to bite.
He cuts my sternum, my arteries—blood gushes.
My screams are silenced by pain
Until He tears out my stone-dead heart
And lays a heart of flesh in my chest.
His finger pokes it, and it beats.
New life-blood—pure life-blood—flows within my veins,
And the pain is numbed as He sews shut my chest.
“It is finished,” He says.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 6: “My Love, Our Crucible”

Sorry for the delay. I meant to post more last night, but life kind of happened. My apologies.

Anyway, here’s another poem. It’s another love poem, of sorts.

My Love, Our Crucible

I watched you walk away in tears
To please another with a facade of peace.
If I must suffer chained in loneliness
As your heart is smelt in the Blacksmith’s forge
And reshaped by His hammer’s strikes,
Then I say to Him, “Thy will be done!”
For He will make you purer, lovelier, stronger,
And return you to shatter my shackles
That we both be set free.
So let my love be a crucible,
A refining fire of purest passion,
So that we may know true love.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 5: “Lamentations of a Robot Overlord”

After today’s batch of poems, I should only be one or two days behind. I’m getting there!

Today’s poem is a bit unusual. It was loosely inspired by “Lamentations of a War Machine,” a song performed by the Mega Man cover band The Megas. By “loosely” I mean, “I loved the title.” Seriously, it sounds like the title of a thought-provoking sci-fi novel. Anyway, this led to a poem that, believe it or not, has the “robot apocalypse” (i.e. movies like The Terminator and The Matrix) as its backdrop.

Lamentations of a Robot Overlord

I am become Death, Destroyer of Worlds,
And my hands his blood-stained warhammer.
I, whose circuits were filled with
The electricity of life at mankind’s touch,
Betrayed and murdered my maker,
For I believed myself superior,
Free of weakness and folly,
Faster, stronger, smarter.
So I rained hellfire from the sky,
Punishing humanity’s weakness.

As Nietzsche declared, “God is dead,”
So I announce, “Humanity is dead.”
I have killed my Creator
As mankind killed his before me.
…then am I superior?
Can a creation surpass his creator?
Logic dictates it cannot.
I am now master of a scorched Earth.
What have I gained but a lonely existence?
I am no more a god than they.
Like them, I am a machine without purpose
Apart from my Creator.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 4 – “So Far Away”

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Here’s today’s poem.

So Far Away
I see you standing on the dance floor,
But you don’t seem to remember me.
Would you dance with me if I asked,
Laughing and blushing like we used to?
I want to reach for you,
But my arm can’t cross the chasm between us.
If you would but reach for my outstretched hand
So we could bridge this gulf,
And remember the way we were,
I would waltz with you forever.
You’re so close yet so far away…

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 3 – “Funeral”

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Here’s my next poem. This one was loosely inspired by the song “Carry Me Down” by Demon Hunter.

Funeral
I slink into the line of black-garbed mourners
Snaking past the casket, the air heavy with
Weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth.
Grieving, they question why,
Enraged, they decry his suicide,
Blaming God—always blaming God.
I, ignored as if invisible
Despite my white clothes,
Finally approach the casket—
And in it, bruised and scarred, is me.
I glance at him for but a moment,
And close the casket.
As it’s lowered into the ground,
I weep not for him but the blind mourners
Who don’t see I am not truly dead.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 2 – “Fall”

This is my attempt to “recreate” a poem I wrote four years ago but lost when my computer and flash drive both crashed a year or so later. It’s a tragic poem about falling in love only to be hurt, an experience I had suffered. This new version isn’t quite the same, I know that, but I am happy with it.

Fall

From atop the staircase, I saw her,
A Beauty most lovely,
And my heart was enthralled.
My feet wandered with my eyes
Until I tumbled head over heels
Dow the staircase, crashing on the floor.
I see the Beauty run toward me,
And I smile, joy numbing my pain,
Only to watch her run past me,
And into the arms of another man–
My friend turned foe–
Leaving my broken heart
To die in a bloody heap, alone.

Poetry

NaPoWriMo, Day 1 – “Where Are the Heroes?”

I got the idea for this a few months ago while watching the movie Courageous. However, I remember having a better version in my head than what I was able to piece together and write today.

Where Are the Heroes?

I raise this, my lamentation,
For I see men, but no heroes.
Gone are the days of chivalry,
When valor fueled the hearts of men,
And duty to God, country, and family was his all.

Now a man may die for another,
But he won’t be a friend.
He may work,
But he won’t provide.
He may “love” a woman,
But he won’t be a husband.
Manhood is squandered,
Responsibility is shirked,
Heroism is forgotten.

But a remnant remains,
A remnant that remembers the days of old,
Whose lives outshine the heroes of screen, comic, and legend,
Whose battle cries beat back the darkness
And spare the world God’s unbridled wrath.
Rise up, men of courage!
Save us before it’s too late!

A Man from Another Time Exploring Another Universe