Letters in Red

Foreign lands and a brand new species.

Stress is gone, but the burden is increasing.

Days packed with talks of weeks to come.

Hearing stories of battles both lost and won.

History and culture permeating the air.

Generations full of life changing moments.

Like electric shocks streaking high above the oceans,

We are vast. Complexly created to be individually unique.

As if the well of inspiration it takes to create us is exponentially endless.

Ten to the square root of forever, we go on dreaming up our dreams.

So many times caught up with what it all even means.

No vacancy signs illuminated around claimed hearts,

Relationships seem to be mainstream.

Detached from a population of potential greatness.

Frat guys and housewives at home for the first time in nine months.

Excitement mixed in with exhaustion.

Comfort sparred for opportunity.

Ears ringing with the beating of souls.

More than work or ministry,

This is real and tangible life change.

Forever recorded in mere seconds.

Like spontaneous combustion, their hearts catch fire for the King.

Frozen social gatherings fill time.

A sense of obligation mixed with excitement help lubricate conversation.

Competition drives a group to new levels.

Draws them closer even.

With new blessings come new devils.

It’s all part of the changing seasons.

And so we fight.

We dig deep within and search our hearts to find what’s right.

Still, we lose sight and fall.

There’s an army rising up. An army answering the call.

We stand for our fallen.

Though the waters get rough, we know we can’t stay frozen.

For we have been chosen by Something higher than intellect.

Something that desires to use empty vessels.

Willing bodies ready to impact culture.

“Go therefore,” He said.

So I’ll scream from the mountain tops all these letters in red.

Shadows

Perpetual darkness swirling through a vortex.

Unwinding cords of stability.

A stark moment of sanity flashes in bright light.

Only to grow dimmer as insanity takes the night.

A ligament of emotion scraped red from overuse.

A personality failing to give off the notion that the world is on pause.

Jars of clay filled with dirt.

Roots growing deep as though thriving.

Green never breaks surface.

It fears that the light will make it hurt.

Anxieties and complications manifest in presence.

Butterflies and fleeting smiles bitterly masking depression.

I like my coffee black.

It reminds me of the darkness I escaped.

And yet that same darkness is trying to cast shadows in my face.

Words never suffice.

A vocabulary too infinitesimal to make a difference…

To leave a mark…

Surrounded by fakeness.

Composure acted out on the grand stage of life.

Everything seems perfect until placed under the knife.

Headsets fly as chaos ensues.

Egos run dry and so easily bruised.

Mad scrambling and preparation.

It seems that the captain has lost control of the ship.

Even if just momentarily, the entire crew has been forced onto this trip.

Journeying for self discovery and growth.

Tenacity being the only hand left on reality.

It only seems right that poetic justice cleanses the muck.

It tears away the canvas to create room for more mess.

But everyone once in a while, each brush stroke comes together perfectly.

Carefully calculated and crafted, a masterpiece is born.

What was intended to catch a mess turns into something valuable.

Something irreplaceable.

Every life isn’t a mistake.

We all have a divine purpose. Not even shadows can stop fate.