#5 - Princess

I wrote these poems back when I was in school at UCDavis. It was a hand written piece, so I hadn't edited it until now. I decided to change the perspective of the poem with a few tweaks. This is written from God's point of view as he is speaking to this girl. He wants her to know that He loves her and He will always love her because the nature of Him is love itself. As bad as things get, and no matter how far she falls, God is completely and ridiculously in love with her. On my best days, this is how I comprehend God to be. My worst days tend to be when I forget this. 

Part 1: Princess don’t follow the king of fools

I see you wandering these streets looking for something to eat

And your heart begins to shudder

As you lie down in the gutter

Where is your faith when your mother has abandoned you

Where is your hope when your father keeps abusing you?

Is this the place that you escape as your hope only deteriorates?

Fifteen years is not so far yet I see that needles mark your arm

Searching for the vein

For an escape from your pain.

But it is not worthy of your time

These aren’t the mountains you should climb

And to think your innocence is lost

To a man who could pay the cost...

of a fix

Part 2: Princess please live beyond these darkest of days

These are the dark days of your past

And there are dark days ahead

It seems like every day is a dark day

When your heart is already dead

Feeling cold and alone

Every moment is despair

Your body needs a fix

To get back into gear

They say “things fall apart”

But you had nothing from the start,

Broken from day one

Your innocence undone

Before your life begun

They tell you what you do is wrong

But it’s the only path you know

The darkness is the land you tread

And you tread this path alone

You have no faith because there is no one you could ever trust

You have no hope because the world has never been just

Part 3: Princess you are beautiful 

You are still beautiful in my eyes

Let me redeem you from the world’s lies

For this pain, it is not right

 it's not my ultimate design

Let me carry you out into the light

Beyond your ideas of wrong and right

Despite the dark days, you are my delight

Here I am with my hand extended, I am the light that never fades

#4 - The Disconnect

Do you think our relationships are strengthened or weakened by the rise of the internet and social media?

Oh sweet connection of the fastest kind

Downloading information in the shortest of time

Of things consequential, my computer doesn’t know

Of things unimportant, on the monitor it’ll glow

You light up my face as I open each file

But of meaningful moments, I’m in denial

For the brightness comes from an artificial light

And it confuses my heart on humanities plight

There are so many places on the web to surf

So much to read that is of little to no worth

#3 - The Road to Moriah

I believe that the Bible is the inspired word of God. Now that is a loaded thing to say, but I have good reason to believe what I believe. I hope for you, that you understand and have good reason to believe what you believe, because if you don't, then why believe it? 

This poem is written from the perspective of Abraham as he is walking to the region of  Moriah to sacrifice his son Isaac as told in Genesis 22:1-19. I would recommend reading the story from the Bible if you haven't yet for context. 

The basic plot is God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac but just as he is about to, an Angel tells Abraham to stop and then congratulates him for putting God first. For Abraham, his son Isaac was the son born from God's promise which wasn't fulfilled until his wife was 90 years old. So its safe to say it was a miracle that Isaac was born because I can't imagine my Great Grandma giving birth to someone at 90. The idea of sacrificing his son (especially given the circumstances) must have been difficult to swallow. The poem below is my attempt at understanding Abraham's heart and the turmoil within, but also the conclusion he comes to based on what he knows of God. 

The Road to Moriah

The promise of my faith is put to the test as feelings of dread overwhelm

My miracle and joy I will lay on the altar and give to the heavenly realm

For what have I to gain if I disobey the creator?

What is there left to pursue if there is no one greater?

For I cannot turn away from the one true blesser

I cannot ask for the heavens from anyone lesser

For to do that would be the end of my being

It would mean the betrayal of my heavenly king

#2 - Beam of Light

I love outer space; all of its mystery and wonder. Whenever humanity peers out farther and farther, the universe gets bigger and bigger. I remember hearing about the Hubble Space Telescope taking a picture of the darkest part of the sky. The result from 2012's Hubble eXtreme Deep Field was 5000 new galaxies discovered. Not planets or stars... but galaxies. Outer space is also the place where our comprehension of physics and mathematics get completely wrecked. It's humbling.

  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubble_eXtreme_Deep_Field

If I recall correctly, this poem was written over two sittings and one revision. When you're really interested in something and try to write about it, I find oftentimes that the words come naturally. This was one of those occasions. 

I woke up in the middle of the night

And transformed into a beam of light

I shot off into the vastness of space

A hundred eighty six thousand miles per second I raced

In a matter of seconds I flew past the moon

The earth transformed to a tiny speck of blue

I shot past the sun in a matter of minutes

Saw the fusion first hand and everything in it

I skipped past Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune

They soon disappeared like a pebble in a sand dune

It took years till I reached another star in the distance

But a new concept of time made it feel like an instant

I flew so fast I saw the constellations change

I avoided black holes, their event horizon’s range

I passed by magnificent gamma ray bursts

And other unknown phenomena of our universe

Nebulas, asteroids and comets were sparse

When considering the length of space at large

I eventually reached the galaxies center

It was a massive black hole, too dangerous to enter

I decided to travel to the galaxies opposite side

I found new stars hidden from earth’s eyes

Binary systems and tertiary ones too

Sprinkled the darkness through and through

I passed beyond the reach of the Milky Way

Into an emptiness where only darkness would stay

The nothingness tested my sanity's reach

But I found Andromeda before my mind found defeat

It was the nearest galaxy and it will eventually collide

With the Milky Way galaxy and all that’s inside

But for me it became a haven of light

Of a billion more stars and other wondrous sights

I continued to travel for I wanted to see

If there was life out there aside from you and me

I guess the complexities on earth are quite scary

For I saw nothing like it during my journey

I had no idea how far I would go

How long I would travel, I’ll never know

For years I seemingly traveled the endless black

Wondering if I would ever come back

I passed by stars greater than the sun

Gaining in speed after passing each one

The size of the universe I could not comprehend

The wondrous sights, they never seemed to end

Farther and farther I continued to explore

There was one truth that I could not ignore

I am but a speck of dust in the grandest abode

Blown into the sky by the wind unknown

#1 - Ghostly

I've written a lot of poems in my life, but have never shared too many of them. On occasion I've sent some to friends by request, and a few of my best ones are posted on this blog, but for the most part, my poems have been kept to myself.

Some of them are funny, others philosophical, and others very personal. Some were written in seconds, others took months. I thought for this year, I'd post a poem I've written on a weekly basis and include a little blurb about the poem.

I'll begin with the poem that I am most fearful of sharing, because... why not start with a bang? It's about my struggles with connecting with people. I often find myself unable to truly connect with people on a deep level. I am blessed with some great friends, and do enjoy the depth of those relationships, but I often find myself asking the safe questions, instead of the important ones that really strengthen a friendship. In essence, I choose not to connect on a deeper level out of fear which causes me to miss out on things. As our souls are meant to connect with others, I often feel that mine does not. My soul then, feels ghostly. 

Ghostly

You cannot see me

You cannot hear me

You cannot touch me

You cannot taste me

You cannot feel me

You cannot hold me

You cannot know me

You cannot love me

My existence, in this instance

Is only witnessed by eyes unseeing

My only hope for you to reach me

Is if I climb into your dreams

In this plain of life, this menagerie

Of souls alive but not living

I do not see you

I do not hear you

I do not touch you

I do not taste you

I do not feel you

I do not hold you

I do not know you

I do not love you… but I want to.

The other side of sorrow

           My cousin Erin passed away after a fight with cancer yesterday. When I was a little kid living in San Jose, my family would often make the trip to visit aunt Karen and Uncle Thor in Mountain View. They are two of the most fun-loving people on the planet. One of the highlights growing up was watching aunt Karen and my mom fight over the check for who would pay for dinner when we ate out. It was literally a battle of two very strong willed people who were very close. I don't remember who won those battles over the check more often, but it was always hilarious to watch. 

          Their kids Erin, Jason, and Nicole were about the same age as my brother and I. Erin and Jason were a little older and Nicole was my age and they always knew how to have fun. Whether we were playing hide and seek, or Super NES, it was a very innocent and joyful time. When I got a little older, my family moved down to Orange County so we didn't get to see them as often, but the memories of those times will always be warm and happy.

           About a year ago, I got to see Erin during a family get together and her joy was ever present, despite the battle with cancer. She really was a woman full of joy and that will be a lasting memory.

            Grief is always hard because of the inherent circumstances but the blessings that arise from times of mourning are numerous and important. Memories we have grow fonder in times of mourning. Treasured moments increase in value. The pain of loss is soothed by the warm memories made warmer by our time of reflection. Reality can bite pretty hard in these moments but I find people tend to love harder as a result.         

            Here is a poem I wrote a while ago about mourning. It was written in the eyes of a husband mourning the loss of his wife but it seems to work universally. Prayers go out to my aunt Karen and Uncle Thor, Jason, and Nicole as the mourn the loss of a loved one.

The other side of sorrow

On loving someone my very best… I will behest

A reprieve from her eternal rest

A lost love will forever bequeath… such bountiful grief

Its melancholy mood won’t ever be brief.

Of the grand feeling of love so sure… pain will endure

But that is proof it ever so pure

The sun will arise each bright new day… as memories decay

The pain of loss moves farther away.

But genuine love will often bestow… misery only love can know

From there a river of tears will flow

Of life so meaningful and hallowed… the one I followed

At her deaths end I weep and wallow.

But still, the other side of sorrow… is tomorrow

The White Rose

 
59 Years ago today, devout Christian Sophie Scholl of the White Rose was put on trial by the Nazi government and executed for distributing pamphlets that called for an end to Hitlers regime. Nazi justice took a mere day for a show trial and execution, as justice itself was marred by a corrupt government. 
The White Rose was a German resistance group that formed to speak out against Nazi Germany. They created six pamphlets that they discreetly passed out to people calling for an end to Hitler's regime. It's primary contributors were caught and executed with their executions occurring on the same day as their trials.

Their call for freedom did not go unheard as their final pamphlet reached allied forces who decided to make mass copies of the work and dropped them over Berlin from war planes. Although the White Rose did not have a decisive impact on the war, it's members showed the importance of moral duty in standing up to injustice and evil. It also showed that an educated people can be privy to an oppressive government even as they themselves are being oppressed. So here's a poem I wrote last year as tribute to the White Rose who resisted oppression in the heart of mankind's darkest and lowest point, the Nazi regime, who not only oppressed (and killed) 12 million in cold blood, but stripped an entire nation of its freedom, freedom from thought and freedom from expression.

The White Rose

Of heroism the world should know

Of freedoms light and how it can glow

Of resistance in the face of foes

Standing brave, is the White Rose

To think for them what sedition brings

Freedom took them to the guillotine

Their bloodless battle can’t go unseen

For all should know what the White Rose means

Huber, Graf, and Wittenstein,

In darkness they made freedom shine

Probst with Hans and Sophie Scholl

Made Germany ponder liberty's role

Amidst the backdrop of tyranny

Where the world would face adversity

They printed papers of freedom’s plea

To wake the conscience of Germany

In secret they would take freedom’s fight

With no worry of their individual plight

In death their faith was their delight

Liberty eternally in their sight

To wellsprings in life where liberty flows

Where the thinker can think before he knows

Of rights and wrongs as goodness glows

Honor is the place of the White Rose