#41: The Moon in the Sea

On this quiet sandstone shore

The stillest night I've known

A moon above

A moon below

They both call to me

I cannot touch the sky

The moon that flies above

It’s unreachable

But this moon below

Floating? Sinking?

I do not really know

It looks like I can get there

I’ll dive in to the sea

I’ll swim there

I’m there

But it’s not there

I’m there, I’m nowhere

We all have plans of where we want to go and what we want to do with our lives. But we must ask ourselves, is what I'm planning and hoping for rooted in reality? Am I swimming to a moon that does not exist? 

Its funny to think that reaching the moon in the sky is even possible. But we've been there. I'm sure millions have dreamed of going there, millions have studied how to get there, and eventually, we made it there. But the moon in the sea, we'll never get there, because it does not exist.

#40: My King (Part 4 of 4)

Here is the conclusion to My King. 

The paintings in each post are by Korean artist Kim Ki-Chang. Each painting depicts Jesus in Korean culture. 

Below are the links to the first three parts if you haven't read those yet. 

Part 1          http://aalmike.blogspot.com/2015/09/37-my-king-part-1-of-4.html

Part 2          http://aalmike.blogspot.com/2015/10/38-my-king-part-2-of-4.html

Part 3          http://aalmike.blogspot.com/2015/10/39-my-king-part-3-of-4.html

Ascension of Jesus by Woonbo Kim Ki-Chang

My King (Part 4)

In the faintest of night I heard the quietest call

To return to the place where I saw my king fall

At first I must admit, I was quite scared

What of the demons, that didn't want me there?

The voice was reassuring, and said with tenderly care

There is no danger in that land, there is nothing to fear

I expected the cave to be dark once again

But I came upon a surprise when I reentered in

The once rocky cave now lined with pure gold

Flowing honey and wine, a sight to behold

There was music and dancing, joy in the air

Fanciful clothing, with pomp and with flair

The cave was the location of a beautiful banquet

There were patrons prancing about, the enemy vanquished

I did not understand, I couldn't believe what I saw

Were these the hopeless souls that were too weak to crawl?

“Redemption, Redemption!!” the former prisoners chanted

“The evil in this land has been forever supplanted”

I looked at the walls, not a shackle in sight

What could have turned such despair into delight?

A man heard my question and said, “Don’t you see?

Our king conquered death, our king set us free?”

I looked down the hall, and behold, His throne!

So majestic, so glorious, of beauty unknown

I looked to see if my King was around

But soon could see he was nowhere to be found

At least not in the palace and not in plain sight

“Is he off to a new land, a new battle to fight?”

“He has gone off to show the world what grace is

To turn guilty eyes into innocent faces

To set free more souls bound by their sin

To let them start over fresh once again

Before he left them, he cast a most glorious vision

Of a kingdom of love, with freedom its mission"

#39: My King (Part 3 of 4)

Korean Jesus by Woonbo Kim Ki-chang

Here is part 3. When the character screams out, that means at the top of his lungs. So if you are reading it out loud, you need to actually be screaming as loud and desperately as you can. 

My King (Part 3)

The king was taken to the center of the cave

They shackled him up like the lowliest slave

They burned his hair, they tore his clothes

They pummeled his body with ferocious blows

He took on the punishment, he never fought back

Each demon took a shot, each hit a good crack

The shots got more vicious, the hits became rough

I screamed at the injustice, I screamed out “Enough!”

“This punishment has more than death on its slate

Yet this man has done nothing to deserve this fate”

Then my king looked at me, with peace in his eyes,

And said “Don’t worry my child, the sun will still rise.”

He looked to the heavens as he breathed his last

And the radiant brightness turned back into black.

It was quiet all of the sudden, in the black unknown

I fell to my knees, I wept and I moaned

“What have you done, where is my king?”

“You demons have done a most terrible thing.”

The demons in the darkness shouted and hissed

“You are free wretched one, your names off our list

Go back home, with those burdens you’ve carried

Your king he is gone, he is dead and he is buried

And lastly, a warning, if you ever should return

We will rip you to pieces, your body, it will burn

I went back home but with regret in the air

My king he was dead, my punishment laid bare

He took it out of love, he took it for me

But what am I to become, who shall I be?

My king was innocent; he had done nothing of blame

I couldn’t comprehend that he died in my name

#38: My King (Part 2 of 4)

If you missed part 1, its here http://aalmike.blogspot.com/2015/09/37-my-king-part-1-of-4.html

Part 2 is below. 

The Agony in the Garden, by Kim Ki-chang

My King (Part 2)

I thought it quite extraordinary that a king could feel free

From his powerful position and come here for me

But all battles are perilous; there always will be a cost

And my king was taken prisoner, all was seemingly lost

The monsters were overjoyed to take the king and his crown

But their original mission was to take my soul down

It was withered and rotten, beaten and bruised

I just witnessed my king fall and my soul was confused

My monsters approached with my king in their hands

They shouted out obscenities and cowardly demands

The monsters claimed to be justice, and oddly it was true

They demanded penitence, for my soul was askew

But my king made a deal which kept the monsters at bay

He said “I’ll cover the cost, what is the price he must pay?”

The monsters couldn't believe it; I nearly lost my breath,

“The punishment is quite steep, the punishment is death”

They took my king to the darkest of caves

They claimed it was a terrible prison for slaves

Inside it was darkness, perfect pitch black

No slave who entered ever came back

But when my king entered the prison, it lit up like fire

His radiance shown to be a power much higher

But the brilliant brightness would reveal dismay

We could now see the caves horrors, the death and decay

There were thousands of prisoners, in shackles all around

Malnourished and decrepit, they could not make a sound

Their groans were left silent, for they had become weak

All that hung from their shackles were their boney physiques

Their eyes were glazed over, their gaze like a stone

Their hearts filled with emptiness, they were trapped and alone

The king let me know what he was about to do

“I came for these prisoners, as well as for you

They are imprisoned by evil, by a lesser decree

But soon they'll come alive, soon they’ll be free.

These monsters have not seen the height of my power

But that time soon will come, it is almost the hour”