what speaks through us

to create balance within
the mind and soul
to create balance within
the body and heart
this pursuit is never ending
how could it be so
age has taught me of the
shortcomings of my past
i am a student of this life
and still seek enlightenment
in each passing day
i listen to the wind
i listen to the waves
i listen to the rustling branches
of the trees all around me
i listen to the stillness
within mine own heart
this life moves the blood
through my body
gives rise to the thoughts
and words in my mind
let me grow in greater compassion
let me grow in greater understanding
let me grow in greater forgiveness
i wish to be more human and humane

What Beliefs?

If Jesus never came back from the dead
Where would we be now?

What myths do you believe?
What myths do you call religion?

Do you believe only that 
Which this world can prove to you?

Without Worship

You are the god you have always wished to be
But there is no one praying to you
Asking for favor
Sacrificing animals to you
Tearing at their clothes for you
You are a god without people
You are a god without a religion
If no one is there to believe in you
Do you still exist

Self-Belief

If you are trying to
Believe in something
Start with yourself
And build from there

I will not fight

for that

which I do not

believe

Can There Still Be Miracles In A World Without Ghosts?

It's a complicated issue thats been discussed at length
between scholars and practitioners of many faiths
but there has been no consensus of which to speak.

I spoke with an empty mind when I was a boy
who was sure of the machinations of the world.

I knew a priest who was kind and wished to show me
the existence of the goodness of God.

He died. He died young and suddenly. I went to his
funeral at our parish. I sat alone in the back of our church.

I had wanted to be a priest. I desired to know the full
measure of God's love and spread His gospel.

After the funeral I no longer considered it.

Can we make a covenant right now between
the two of us? I ask for nothing you cannot give.

Let us give our word to one another and make
this bond in permanence.

Let us commit to exhausting ourselves in this life
to the pursuit of possibility and to create joy

in greater measure than any harm we may will
or encumber accidentally.

I will pray for you. I hope you will pray for me
as well. Let the Holy Ghost descend on us-

in union we shall succeed no matter the distance
we place between.

Nature has always made it easy 
for man to believe in gods.

The Conflict

I went to my church
to confess to the priest

all of my sins
all of wrongs

seeking absolution
seeking resolution

to the burning parts
of my soul

Hail Mary
Our Father

Rosary in my hands
beads touching fingertips

Forgive me for my sins
Forgive all of my wrongs

I confess
I confess

Make me pure
Make me whole

again

I confess
I have sinned

against you, Lord
Make me whole

Religious Inquiry

Do God,
the angels and saints
still watch over you
if your faith is shaken?
If you've ceased 
to believe?

Remains

Curved and pointed black iron fences

the parking lot of Christ's church.


Light guards spaces of an absent

congregation. The cross stands


watch as it hangs against the wall.

The parochial school across


the street is guarded in a mirrored

way. An old woman walks her dog


past the statue of a Spanish friar.

We notice each other as I drive by.


Three trees shelter one side

of the church. One of them bears


the initials of five young boys.

The church sits silent late at night,


the praises of holy names live only

on the tongues of sleeping parishioners.