Burn For You

Cause our hearts to burn
Set our souls ablaze
As we worship you
And offer up our praise
Jesus, set our lives on fire
As we linger in this place
In this secret place
Where we seek to see your face.

We want to see
Our nation set on fire
As your glory comes
And blazes through the streets,
Jesus, we want to see
Our leaders stirred to praise
And our children laughing
Safe within your arms.

So burn,
Burn within us
Set our hearts on fire
And draw us near to you

Burn,
Burn anything,
Anything that keeps us far from you
O’ Lord we want to burn for you.

May we set our eyes on heaven
May we set our eyes on you
May we cast aside the hindrances
That keep us from following through
May we walk with confidence in Christ
And the battle he has won
May we know exactly who we are
Because of Christ the risen one.

May we burn,
Burn for you
As we passionately seek your face
Be our nations saving grace
Lord, may we burn for you
As you burn for us.

Chase

I’m living in a wounded place
And tears are raining on my face
I’m looking for a safer space
Targeted by the bullets that chase

And the race is being run,
As the hunters grab their gun
I am running,
Running, praying
As the air steals from my lungs
I am staring,
Staring down the barrel of a gun

And I hear them snarling at my feet
Their growling stomachs craving meat
In desperation my heart beats
As I pray to God for their defeat

Waiting

***So my Dad, who knows very little about computers, is a genius in general because somehow he's fixed my computer so that it gets power again. Which is amazing and really cheap. (Love your creativity Dad.) It's a temporary fix but my stuff is safe again and I'm over joyed. God is very good... This is 'Waiting', one of the poems rescued by my Dad's genius. It has another half, God's half, but it's not yet complete. So yeah... Waiting.***



Waiting

Isaiah 8:17
--------------------------
I will wait upon the Lord, that hides
His face from the house of Jacob,
and I will look for him.


I sit here quietly,
Waiting…

At first it seems so easy,
And I find the world around me
Is enough to breed content
As I sit,
Waiting…

But the minutes grow longer
The world shifts and changes
And I begin to wonder,
Whether you have forgotten me.
Because, I still sit,
Waiting…

I begin to move and shift,
I glance around,
At the ever moving world,
My reminder that you have not come,
Silence becomes a mocking voice,
It curses me,
As I sit,
Waiting…

When I first came here,
I was eager,
Delighted with the thought of you,
Anxious to make your acquaintance,
My thoughts towards you were happy,
They were rapturous and praised you,
They have since become sour.
I am restless, anxious,
Unhappy as I remain,
Waiting…

I can sit no longer and so I stand,
My feet are taunt,
And bitterness swells in my heart,
As I begin to pace.
Furious and confused,
I confront you in your silence.
Accusing you of indifference.
I do not understand,
Nor do I wish to consider,
The reasons for your delay.
I clench my teeth,
And I wait…

I compose in my head,
Witty remarks and bitter reproaches,
Intending to scold you
Upon your arrival.
I toy with the words,
Pondering their strength
And consider my delivery of them.
I am upset,
Hurt and offended,
No excuse can comfort me.
So I comfort myself,
And inwardly I lash out,
As I pace impatiently.
Waiting…

I drop into my chair once more
Exhausted by the emotions
Coursing through me.
And I rest my head in my hands.
I do not understand your delay,
I do not know where you are.
Confused and hurt I begin to cry,
Perhaps you do not love me as you say
Perhaps I have injured your affection
Towards me in some way.
In hopeless desperation,
I pray it is not true.
And I continue
Waiting…

***BRIEF UPDATE***

I may not be putting much poetry in here for a little while because my laptop died and is, apparently, unfixable. Well, that's not true, it's fixable if I want to pay 500 dollars to get it fixed. For that much I can buy a new laptop... But for now I'm in limbo. I'm really upset about it because all my writing is on there. The beginings of at least 5 new poems; various observations and studies; the beginnings of two screen plays; notes on the dreams and inspirations that God has been giving me concerning 'Isabel'; all of the graphics and picture editing/manipulation I've been working on for months. So basically a solid year and a half worth of work is on my computer and I can't rescue it. There's a chance that someone might be able to recover my stuff off the hard drive, so I'm holding onto that hope. But there probably isn't going to be much new in this blog until things get worked out.

Cole.

Reflections: Song of Solomon 1:3

Draw me away!
We will run after you.
The King has brought me into his chambers.
We will be glad and rejoice in you.
We will remember your love more than wine.
Rightly do they love you.

----------------------------------

Take me away with you.
And draw me close.
I desire to be closer,
Deeper into your arms.
I want to lay still,
Still and safe beside you
To stare into your face.
I want to know every line
Every curve of your face.
I want to know your eyes completely.
I want to see your face.
To memorize each detail
To never look away.
I want to rejoice in your beauty.
In the beauty of your presence.
I want to see the love in your eyes
Until I no longer doubt you.
I want to linger in your arms,
To request that the sun
Be delayed in it’s rising,
So I may remain within your arms.
So that I may always gaze into your face
And drink in your kisses.
Hold me Lord, hold me by your side,
Never let me go.
You have brought me into your chamber
You have lead me to this place of intimacy
And I never want to leave,
I wish to linger there forever.
When I was despised,
When I was rejected,
You reached out your hand
You drew me close.
Draw me close again.
Hold me tightly to your side.
You are all I want,
Give me more of you.
Hold me tightly,
Until we are completely one.
Still my spirit and captivate my thoughts
Until we think as one.
Kiss me and embrace me ,
Until we are one in word and deed.
Gaze into my eyes and let me know
The depth of your love,
Until we see as one.
I want to rest with you.
I want to lie still in your arms,
To feel the trembling of your voice
As you speak to me.
I want to rest my ear against your chest
And hear the thundering of your heart.
I want to press my nose into your hair
And breath deeply of it’s splendour.
Your head is crowned
With authority and justice.
Your mouth speaks only truth.
I want to rest my head
Against your shoulder,
To feel your lips kissing my hair.
Your shoulders are filled
With strength and power.
They are broad and steady.
I want to taste your skin.
To gently caress your skin
And enjoy the depth of our intimacy.
I want to enjoy you.
I want to fall in love with you.
Let me catch you God.
I run after you,
Breathless and desperate.
I long to be held by you.
I long to gaze into your eyes
To soak in the majesty of your presence.
I want to rest in you.
Draw me close.
Draw me nearer.
Hold me Lord,
Hold me and love me.
I desire intimacy with you.
Make me yours.
I am completely yours.

Reflections: Song of Solomon 1:2

Because of the fragrance of your good ointments,
Your name is ointment poured forth;
Therefore the virgins love you.

-----------------------------------

The fragrance of your ointment is good.
It’s soothing medicine to my soul.
It causes hope to rise up inside of me.
I breathe deeply, I take in
The sweetness of your ointment
As I soak in the glory that surrounds you.
I breathe your name
And I fall upon my face before you;
As I praise your name it spills over me.
Precious ointment pours over me.
Let your fragrance soak into my skin,
Let it cover me.
You name is like fragrance spilling over
It fills the room with beauty
And it lavishes itself
Upon everyone in the room
It overwhelms me.
You overwhelm me.
You are amazing God,
You are so amazing.
Awesome, Holy, Powerful.
You desire to consume me in your love.
Your powerful fragrance overcomes me.
It crashes over me,
Soaking me in your love for me.
I desire to be marinated
Marinated in this beautiful fragrance.
I desire to linger inside of it,
To drink deeply
Of the power of your presence.
You are Holy,
You are Awesome.
You are Powerful.
Righteous God I kneel before you.
I kneel before you in reverent fear,
Fear of your beauty,
And fear of your power.
Even your name,
When spoken on my lips
Smells of sweet perfume.
It makes my breath sweet
And humbles my tongue.
It causes me to tremble in desire of you.
Holy God receive me.
Take me up, hold me.
Grasp me to your chest
Fill my senses with the fragrance of you.
Fill my nose with the sweet smell
Of the incense of your presence.
Let me breathe deeply of your fragrance,
Let me breathe it in.
Until I can take it no longer.
Make me despise the air
And desire instead to breath you in.
To fill my lungs with your fragrance,
To live continually in your presence.

Reflections

This is the first of what I hope will be a series under the heading 'Reflections'. It's inspired by a verse or section of scripture that I read and reflect on before picking up a pen and writing.
So we'll see how it works out.
Cole.

Song of Solomon 1:1
Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth- For your love is better than wine.

-------------------------------------

Here I recline in the cool of the evening,
Taunted by the craving of my lips
Tempted by the aroma of your breath

In my hand is a cup,
A goblet filled with fine wine
But as I raise it to my lips,
As I drink of it’s aged sweetness
I am filled with repulsion
I detest the taste of it upon my tongue.

Within my reach is a table
Overflowing with delicacies
Tempting delights to furnish the palate
But my stomach turns at the sight of them
I gag at the taste of them,
Their very fragrance makes me ill.

For I have tasted the kisses of your mouth
I have inhaled your sweet fragrance
And now all others pale in comparison.
I crave the kisses of your mouth
Desire and require them as I crave the air

I wish to drink deep of your embrace
To lose myself in your loving gaze.
I want to be completely consumed by you.
To surrender all of myself to your care
Every fibre of my being
Desires your Lordship.

I wish to be completely yours.
To worship you.
To fall prostrate before you
And raise my voice to sings praises.
And you, in your beauty and elegance,
You reach for me.

You hold my face in your hands
And I cannot look away.
Your eyes cut through me.
They pierce my heart.
I am naked before your gaze.

You delight in my admiration of you
You desire for me to crave your love
To crave your love, as you crave for mine.
You see beauty in me.
I am beautiful,
Beautiful in the light of your glory.

You draw forth all impurity.
And call out every wicked thing,
Every harmful toxin.
Healing all that seeks to hurt and destroy
This delicate love that you desire.

You treat me with tender care
Delicate and frail,
You seek to make me strong.
You watch as I struggle
Fighting against that which binds me

Writhing in desperation
Pushing for breakthrough
I am merely human,
But you see more.

And when my strength is spent
Your loving breath is breathed
And upon my circumstances
Encouragement released.

For your love for me remains
Steadfast and true.
And in confidence I know
You will see me through.

So I rest in the palm of your hand,
Weak in my desire of you.
Breathing of your sweet fragrance.
Drinking deep of your heavenly kisses,
Worshiping you.

River

Rivers rage and crash
They surge and flow
Inspire fear and awe
Appear furious and violent
Rivers ring with laughter
Flow across dappled stones
They beckon and invite
Yes, shamelessly they invite
You weary traveller
To discard your woes
And embrace the waters
Foamy throes.


Really random. Wrote while waiting... For a long time...
Cole.

Teeth.

God there is a cry
There is a wail
Lilting from the throat
Of the jealous beast
It lifts it coy head
And shrieks
To assault the ears of God.
It spits defiance in your face.
And it casts a saddle
Upon the backs of your people.
Prancing in arrogance
It rides them, drives them down.
Feeds upon their suffering,
As their teeth clench and clash
Against the metal of the bit,
Breaking, cracking,
Till they are no longer able to eat
No longer able to sit,
To dine at the banquet you prepare.
And though they crave
The meat of your table,
Your milk is all they can handle.
So they sit in despair
Looking upon the supper of the Lord.
Their bodies withering,
Their tongues crying for a taste.
These your people,
Once great warriors, dear brothers,
Are caught and bound.
God their cries are muted
They go unnoticed.
Amid the shrieks of the beast
They go unheard.
Attune your ear God
To hear the cries of your beloved.
As the pompous beast is casting eyes
Upon the power of heaven.
Jealously eyeing the livelihood,
The inheritance,
Of the sons of God.
As, in his cunning, he casts them low.
Crooning sweet lullabies
He slides the bit between their teeth
Singing sweet anthems in their ears
He digs in his heals
And climbs upon their backs.
Grotesque arrogance is in his grin,
As he ties them hand and foot
And kisses their anointed foreheads
In mockery of their God.
Do not let this travesty continue,
Oh Lord God, Sweet Almighty,
Rise up and call for chariots of fire,
Gird your loins with justice
And lose yourself upon the earth.
Come down in fury and in passion
Your heart pounding after your people.
May the earth resound,
And may your people be stirred
To rise and stand upright.
Casting the brute to the ground
May they dance upon him
Crushing him beneath their feet
As they join in worship
And celebrate the righteousness
Of the Lord God Almighty.
Restore the teeth of your people;
Teeth which were broken,
Ground by the bit of the enemy.
And lead them to your table.
Yes, lead them rejoicing
To your banquet table to eat.

Majesty

Upon your head they placed a crown
And from your scalp there appeared
Majesty.

In your right hand they placed a nail
In your left appeared one matching
And from your hands poured
Majesty.

And in your feet, your precious feet,
Which bore you through your search
Another nail was given.
And from your feet drained
Majesty.

Your body, the dwelling place of God,
A humble living temple.
Thrown in utter disarray
As the violent rending of your body
Drove your pain to fever pitch
Majesty.

Upon your back they forced a cross
And as you fought beneath it
Heart raging inside your chest,
Head pounding,
Skin baking in the scorching sun,
You fell and upon the sand rained
Majesty.

In a garden,
Shielded by the cool of night,
You writhed, distraught, in pain
Grimacing in desperation
You cry out for sweet relief
And fall upon your face in tears
From your eyes surge
Majesty.

Enable Me.

I want to know your ways,
I want to walk in them,
Holy Spirit enable me to walk.

I want to know your truth,
I want to speak your truth,
Holy Spirit enable me to talk.

Enable me to live,
And enable me to love.
Oh Holy Spirit every day,
May I call on you to say,

That I need your strength,
And I need your love.
I need to feel the favour
That you grant to those you love.

I need the power that
Your grace has granted me.
And I need your wisdom
To set the captives free.

Oh, enable me…

Enable me to walk, to live
To love and feel no shame
Enable me to serve and give
As praises due your name.

I want to know your ways,
I want to walk in them,
Holy Spirit enable me to walk.

I want to know your truth,
I want to speak your truth,
Holy Spirit enable me to talk.

Enable me to live,
And enable me to love.
Oh Holy Spirit every day,
Enable me to praise.

Forerunner

He runs across the desert sand
Bare feet burning,
With a message for the masses
Wild eyed,
Crazy,
He lives a life of wild passion
Living as he’s meant to live
Giving as he needs to give
He runs, adrenaline racing
As time slips by like sand

He races through the wilderness
Heart pounding
He throws himself forward
Pushes through the crowds
And raises his voice to shout
‘Repent! For the Messiah is at hand’
Messenger,
Forerunner,
Saddled with knowledge
Bound to great wisdom
Lift your voice still higher.
‘Repent! Repent!’
‘For the Kingdom of God is coming!’

Great humble man
Preparing the way of the Lord
Raise your voice and cry aloud
Proclaim that which is given to you
Cry aloud for righteousness.
Declare righteousness,
Purity, truth, humility
Call for garments purged white.

We smell the sweat upon your brow
We see your peeling skin
You a man of wild origins
Baked by the scorching desert sun
Speak to us,
Rebuke us,
Call us to repentance.
For we hear you.
Our hearts are convicted
Humbled by the righteousness of God
We bow before the throne
And we cry aloud in our repentance.
God make us clean
Buy us with your blood
Upon our faces we speak the word
And we weep,
We cry out for it,
We cry for redemption.
Redeem us Lord.

Oh Holy One of Israel,
Gather your children to you
And release them in your power.
Righteous children robed in glory,
To bring conviction,
To run ahead
And to cry aloud,
‘REPENT!’

Seed

At this spot the spring runs smooth
It spreads thickly across the ground
And it nourishes the soil
It kisses the embedded seed
Breathing inspiration to it’s core
It lies suspended,
Held between what is and what will be.
Agitated by the twisting, pulling
Of the roots that push it deeper.
The roots that hold it steady,
As it waits with baited breath
Anticipating…

The explosion
The eruption
Rends it in two
And it rises to the surface,
Fighting upwards,
Holding tightly to the past
Reaching for destiny.
It springs forth
Coiled too long
It tastes the sweet release
Breath held for far too long
It’s gasping, reaching, pushing
Smelling earth, wanting sky

PUSH!
Feel the sharp intake of air.
The violent breath that is life.
And relish the victory
Celebrate your arrival
But do not stop
Strain to rise higher.
Taste the fragrant air,
But know the trappings of earth
The hold that threatens to overwhelm you.
Fight against it,
Reach to touch the sky.
Strain upwards to kiss the Son.

Walk With Me

A quickly wrote verse that I just liked.
Cole.

Walk With me.

Take my hand
And walk with me
And I will show you
What I see
We’ll gaze across
The desert sand
We’ll peer into
The master’s hand
And in his hand
We will find
A deeper love
Of the dieing kind
Peace and love,
And comfort there
Will meet our ever eager stare.

Each By Name, Each By Pain

You bare your flat face to the world
No substance to you
You smile your flat smile,
And you laugh your cardboard laugh
Thinking no one sees that your not really there
But I can see you hiding
Curled up behind the cardboard cut out you’ve created

You can’t paint yourself invisible
You can’t colour yourself away
Thinking yourself safe
While you laugh the pain away.
You may as well stop trying,
Why don’t you just start crying?
Let someone else hold your burdens today.

It’s so easy to mask the pain
To cover up your shame
To forget to mention
Your third dimension
But you know what’s real,
You know what’s true
You know cause it’s consuming you

Seriously, don’t go thinking your transparent.
Don’t keep assuming no one knows,
That no one cares,
Or utters prayers,
About the things you never show.
Just let it go.
Proudly wave that white flag high.

I know my children,
Each by name, each by pain
And you are no exception
So stop believing the deception.
Trash the pride and stop pretending
‘Cause lets be honest,
The only one you make invisible is me.

In The Name Of God

I was asked to write a poem back in November for a Remembrance day service. I tried several times to do it. I ended up working on 3 different poems, this one, Faint Relations and one about Ishmael and Isaac that I haven't finished yet. Neither of them are polished but I wanted to share them here anyways.

In The Name Of God.

We wage our wars
In the name of God
For we know,
The wage of sin
Is death.
And we can’t overlook
The many faults of our brothers
No.
We can not overlook his sin.

So we,
The hands,
The feet,
Of God
Stand up,
To take up arms against him.
We sharpen
Swords of truth,
And we tighten
Our belts of righteousness
As we sing our warriors song
And engage in bloody battle.

Brother’s,
Turn a blind eye
To what you know you are
Come here,
Come, take up your stone.
For we wage our wars for God.

Our battle plans
Lay scattered
All around us on the floor
Every battles end
Providing fuel for ten more.
But the eyes of God in heaven,
Stay steadfast on just one…

One man,
Who’s broken,
Beaten.

One man,
Who’s torn,
Shattered.

One man,
Who fights a battle
Although he’ll be destroyed

He’s waging war for heaven.
He’s waging war for love.
And as he fights his battle,
He has approval from above.

He cries out to his brothers,
And he curses their blind eyes
As he calls them into battle
Denouncing all their lies
Uniting them as brethren
He declares unto them war:
Wage war.
Wage love war.

Rise up mighty warriors
Wield your swords of love.
As your heart beats with the father’s
Pounding justice from above.

Look beyond the headlines
Don’t see faces, only lives
Know the depth of your forgiveness
See the way your brethren strives.

Love will be your captain
And love will be your cause
As your fighting in this battle,
Always faithful, without pause.

Fight fiercely in this battle
Do not compromise
And don’t forget, Beloved,
The way your Saviour dies.

Cole.

Faint Relations

I’ve read about the hundreds,
Yes, the thousands that were killed
I’ve seen the pictures
I’ve heard the stats
Looked upon them
As they lay out before me
Clean, like white washed crosses.
And the sight becomes expected
It becomes ordinary,
Ordinary, flat.
Flat like the faces,
Flat like the lives,
That peer at me from an open page
Who lays buried here?
Who lays buried there?
Does any body really care?
They had dreams and aspirations
They were talented and young.
But they gathered cares aplenty
As they reached to take a gun.
Perhaps foolish,
Perhaps not,
Their hands accepted fate
And they rushed to be recruited
Afraid to be too late.
I think I can imagine,
That I can see them standing there.
Smiling, bright, ambitious,
All clean uniforms and prayer
I think that I can fathom
The way it must have felt
To rush into the battle
To feel the bullets stealth
Confusing hatred for the enemy
With a brothers fond adieu.

Sin & Ruined

I was thinking about that word, ruined. About the different meanings it can have. I decided to use it as a title and then just started to write some my thoughts on it as a poem. The first one was relatively negative. I'd imagined something more positive and when I reread it later I decided to try again. The result is two poems because I couldn't make them come together. So I've changed the name of the first one to 'Sin', although they are both about Ruin.

Sin.

I’ve heard the stories
Seen the pictures on the walls
I’ve stood to watch as you fall from grace
Ruined, soiled, in need of repair
I’ve rushed off, left you hanging there
Joining in an age old strain
About a snake, a woman and some suffering
I’ve lived my life,
Failed the test,
And well, c’mon, you know the rest
I’ve touched and I’ve tasted
I’ve sneered and I’ve scorned
Ruined all of the garments
I was meant to have worn
Indulgent in nature
Suffering foolish neglect
The words of my mouth
Ensnare me in debt


Ruined


You have damaged me beyond repair
I am fallen, completely overwhelmed,
You have destroyed me,
I am ruined by the love you’ve given
Lost to all my desire for selfishness
I have fallen before you in my devastation
Take me in Lord,
Number me among your flock
And rent the veil that keeps me from you

Ruined, ruined by you,
I want to be ruined by you.
Destroyed and drove to distraction
In you alone I find satisfaction
In your eyes alone do I see hope
And so I cry out, I demand
That you ruin me.

Break my heart,
Tear down my foolish notions
Sear my eyes and scorch my ears
Until what you see is what I see
And what you hear is what I hear
Devastate my senses,
Rewire my brain; I want to think like you
So that every day I’m breathing
Every moment I’ll be seizing
Will be lived in fullness for you.


Cole.