Category: Poetry

Hold me. Love me.

Keep me in Your sight.

Hold me. Love me.

Heal me from the fight.

Hold me. Love me.

Guide me with Your light.

In the ashes of the night I lay

Chaos, pain, my comfort

Loneliness is my friend

Yet I long for much more

Hold me. Love me.

Keep me in Your sight.

Hold me. Love me.

Heal me from the fight.

Hold me. Love me.

Guide me with Your light.

Outstretched my hand reaches

Grasping, yearning, hoping

Even a tiny light, a glimmer

This pulling me out of the dark

Hold me. Love me.

Keep me in Your sight.

Hold me. Love me.

Heal me from the fight.

Hold me. Love me.

Guide me with Your light.

Your compassion grabs my hand

Warmth flows freely through

Forgiveness, tears, renewed hope

Great is your plan for me

Hold me. Love me.

Keep me in Your sight.

Hold me. Love me.

Heal me from the fight.

Hold me. Love me.

Guide me with Your light.

*written September 2021 during Mass*

At the feet of the cross, lay down adore.

He who saves, He who loves, my Savior.

Guide me, protect me, in Your fold I remain.

Lost yet faithful am I, take away my pain.

*written April 2021*

I know you are here

Guiding me forward

Calling me to holiness

Helping me when it’s hard

You lead me on

Refining every rough edge

Grasping me tight

Keeping me from the ledge

You never give up on me

Even when I turn away

Only you do I want

In Your love I must stay

*written March 2021*

O God, my Father above

Come fill me with your love

Engulf me, protect me

Create who I am to be

I turn back to you

It is the only thing to do

To follow You with praise

In prayer, my hands I raise

Keep me in everlasting love

O God, my Father above

*written March 2021*

My words are dust flirting in the air

Useless rambling lost in space

Neither here nor there this way or that

Questions unanswered my embrace

Do you call me from the deep

Pull me out of this tormenting shadow

Or leave me to wither away slowly

Knowing not why this agony now

The screams are silent yet piercing

An anger unknown and alone

Do you even hear me calling

Searching to not be on my own

Those words oh my words muddled

Clearly formed chaotic longing

Scared of letting go

Not knowing sense of belonging

Dust in the air clouds the sight

Falling hurt skinned and bruised

Hold me just hold me strong

All my feeble strength I have used

Hear my heart’s cries each day

This nobody that is wholly yours

Heal her words and her soul

From Your cup that outpours

*written today*

A speck of sand among many lost in the abyss

Finds not its way in a sea of monotony

One like the other, day by day the same

Sinks further in, hiding itself from the rest

A cool wind that blows sends a chill up the spine

Yet flushed in the face of one in a rage

Swirling sounds of what should freeze

Melt the hardness revealing the turmoil deep

Shrinks to the ground camouflaged

Against the grain of similarity burning hot

Longs for freedom trapped in the hustle

Screaming, destroying, lashing out in fear

Sinking deep the sand of conformity

It reaches and grasps but for other than what

A frozen tundra on fire it must cross

A darkness encapsulating creating barrier

Pushing, demanding, a greatness unwanted

This unknown calling grabbing, fighting

Running sand blowing down the shoreline

Trapped and yet flowing, chaotic movement

Light glimmers on the horizon, possibility

Engulfing, powerful force stunning

Fearful calm forms the storm unyielding

Is there more for a speck of sand unrealized?

*written end of November 2021*

Ashes shrewn on my head

A cross of salvation

Sin to leave far behind

Before returning to dust

Remember you are dust and to dust you shall return.  Repent and believe in the Gospel.

The second phrase is the one that I encountered this evening receiving my ashes, yet the first the one that has been in my head all day.  Why does it linger in my mind so much more than it has in past years?

God made us from the dust of the earth, created us in his own image, immortal man (and yes, I am refering to the broad sense of the word…).  We were to live forever and not worry one bit about our health and what came after life on this earth was over.  In steps free will, and needing to know more beyond what we were given.  Hence, the fall…death enters.  One day, we will be returned to the earth and our bodies once again become dust.  Morbid, I know, but a reality that we must come to grips with.

Let us now drift into the second possible phrase that you may have heard today.  Repent and believe in the Gospel.  Hope enters in the person of Jesus Christ.  We have been blessed to be given the opportunity to redeem ourselves from our sin and receive the Good News of the Lord.

Lent sends us on a deeper journey towards salvation.  We are called to pray, fast, and give alms.  In using our weapons of self-restraint, we are able to grow closer to the Lord and fully receive the graces that He bestows on those who choose to follow Him.

Last weekend, I participated in a Women’s Retreat hosted by the JP II Healing Center.  One of the evenings during adoration I wrote a poem that I would like to share with you.  It was written on January 24th, 2019.

Aa I gaze at you

And you still at me

I know you are there

Begging me to see

The worth you gave

The love you poured

The beauty you made

How you heart soared

That I am yours

No matter what I do

That you’ll welcome me home

When I come running to you

I have forgotten how important it is for me to spend time gazing at Jesus while he gazes at me.  No matter what I have done in my life, where I have been, he will always welcome me home with open arms.  It has to be my choice if I am going to come running to Him.

This past year has brought me many ups and downs.  I spent two months working intensely on my life after hitting a deep low at the beginning of 2019.  There have been moments of utter meltdown, but also moments of completely joy.  The important part is that I give it all to the Lord, no matter what it is.  He not only wants my joys, but also my sorrows.

Are you giving everything to the Lord and placing your life in His hands?