I’d rather love
And be broken
Then to never love at all
I’d rather cry
And hold memories
Than to live in fear
And doubt
My heart locked away
Slowly
Dying
Not willing to dare
To love
I’d rather have a heart that’s tender
Than a heart that’s hard as stone
For love is true
When it’s truly given
And love is pure
When it’s from above
And though love breaks me
It heals me too
For it reminds me of the truth
That I’d rather love
As my Savior loved
Even when my heart is breaking
You created celebration
Not just for happy times
You made joy
a verb
Rejoicing a calling
And to live a blessed assurance
Yesterday
My heart was heavy
It pulled me to the ground
Stained knees
In the dirt
Muttered words
Broken thoughts
How could I pray?
When a prayer seemed so small
Compared to the vastness of the unknown
Compared to the infinite sky between
You and me
I am dust
And dust can’t speak
So I opened Your book
And Your book spoke for me
Your words spoke light
Let there be
And light pierced the darkness
And composed a symphony
Stars and planets
Land and sea
They are all still singing
Holy, Holy
Yahweh, Almighty
Who was and is
And is to come
I am dust
And dust can’t speak
I am fragile
And I am weak
Come and breathe life into me
And I will be
Forever Yours
Forever free
Ideas
They come from beyond me
And overtake me
They dance in my head
And twirl in my heart
And make me do cartwheels in the yard
They make me skip
And jump
And run away
To find the nearest pen and paper
And start to scribble
Ideas
Bursting in my head
Like fireworks
Growing in my heart
From a tiny seed
Into something bigger
Bigger than I’d dreamed
Ideas
They live inside me
But when I give them wings
They fly away
They change
They become a different melody
In someone else’s heart
Ideas
They long for freedom
So give them wings
Let them soar through the sky
And find a new home
Let them brave the darkness
Like the stars
Let them bring beauty
Like the spring
Ideas
Let them live
Let them sing
There’s a pink toddler swing
Hanging from the twisting oak
Perfect for a two-year-old
Push me higher
Push me higher
She sings
I want to touch the leaves
Swing me higher
Swing me higher
She grasps the bright green leaf
Someday she will have bigger dreams
Of bigger things than leaves
She will fly to them too
And hold them close
She’ll see her dreams come true
She will always swing
With a gentle smile and twinkling eyes
Her young heart soaring through the bright blue sky
Don’t live in the past
Don’t live in the future
Live today
As if it’s all you’ll have
Live it fully
Live it humbly
Live it with abundant grace
Live it for the glory of the One who paints the sky
Who holds the past and the future
Today and forever
In His hands of mercy and love
Faith isn’t a feeling
It’s more like a knowing
Deep inside your soul
That you are not alone
Never alone
It’s reality
Bright
Free
Everlasting
Everything fades
But Your Words remain
Unaltered
Unchanged
Help my ears to hear them
My heart to see them
My life to be them
Amen.
I can run and I can fly
With my feet in the grass
And my heart in the sky
There’s a storm
I feel it in my bones
Thunder roars like a lion
Leaves dance in the breeze
Black clouds make a fist
Eerie silence
Then thunder again
A flash of lightning
Bright like the moon at midnight
Run, run in the rain
As the sky wrestles the earth
Don’t fear the rage
Don’t fear the darkness
Run, run in the rain
Cherry Tree Poet 