| Michael Translucent spheres, more than paper thin, are floating beneath you, filled with the breath of children. They pull plastic hoops from plastic bottles, brimming with haphazard effects of denatured proteins swimming through desalinized seas of H two O. You watch as rogue breaths are slowly brought into control of their muted motor skills, and lifted past slightly rounded edges. of oris orbitalis muscles straining their pink lips. And suddenly this lifeless protein lives, hollowed by carbon dioxide and passing molecules of low level atmosphere, It wraps its body in an elipitcal sphere and strains to break free from some ring that was formed by the souls of ancient dinosaurs long decayed and buried deep beneath our world. Brilliant prisms of light flash jade and amber swimming across its meager skin, and then it lifts. And you watch them, unseen. Your brillianty wings a shelter from the darkness. As the bubbles softly flutter by you, their protector. Michael. The Smasher of Atoms. My Father is the smasher of atoms. And when he draws back his hammer, mightier than any forged upon the hearth at Valhalla, he brings it down upon the very anvil of the sun. The small sparks that scatter and dance that bounce upon the blackened floor, are more than bright enough to light our bantam world. My Father has strewn them farther than we could ever see. And he is there, as well as here, at the same time. Always. Icarus. Did you see me falling down from heaven, breaking every bone I have? So I tried, to touch the sun, another fall, you do the math. "I was wrong" is what they'll say I'll watch their smiles fade away, I'll watch their black and white turn gray, their picture perfect worlds decay, today. Today I fell to earth again, again. I guess I failed You, I guess I cannot win, today. Yeah, Yeah. Did you see me falling down from heaven, trailing wings of melting wax? Accelerate, at nine point eight, accept the fact I'm going to crash. And so-called friends have gone away, and all advice will cease to stay, Today. Today on fragile wings I tried to touch the sun. as wax and feathers melted, all my dreams have come undone. Today. You lift my battered sould, You mend my broken bones together. The Candle. At five years old I held the candle seizing it between my shaking hands. How frail the flame would flicker, and flutter as it danced. And I held the light up by myself, planting it softly upon the snow. A sundry of undulating flames to spark the hope of five year olds, lining the pathway into God's own house, on the birth of his baby boy. No one could know, and I wouldn't tell them. Instead I laughed as they shivered, as a myriad of teeth began to chatter. For here in softest white, beneath the very heavens, I stood smiling and warm. Dandelions . In a field of yellow flowers underneath the sun, bluest eyes that spark with lightning, boy with shoes undone. He is young, so full of hope, reveling in tiny dreams, filling up his arms with flowers, right for giving any queen. Running to her beaming bright, cradling his prize. a flickering of yellow light, within his mother's eyes. She holds them to her heart, keeping them where they'll be safe, clasped within her very marrow, dandelions in a vase. She sees love where anyone else would see weeds, all hope is found, here is everything he needs. Fathomless your endless mercy, weight I could not lift. Where do I fit in this puzzle, what good are these gifts? Not a martyr, or a saint. Scarcely can I struggle through, all that I have ever wanted, was to give my best to you. Lord, search my heart, create in me something clean, dandelions, you see flowers in these weeds. Gently lifting hands to heaven, softened by the sweetest hush, a Father sings over his children, loving them so very much. More than words could warrant, deeper than the darkest blue, all that I have ever wanted, was to give my heart to you. I Bent to Whisper. I bent to whisper something in her ear and touched the very slightest part of any girl. And I unthinkingly brushed my lips against her ear and yes my heart skipped so words could barely pass through those same lips to even say that I was sorry. Inside hushed walls of this aged theater where years ago I had stood and cried and hung on telephones and whispered words that I can scarcely remeber at all. I do remember my skipping heart and the way that my lips felt tonight as I bent to whisper. Anna. Terrified of another earthquake she came here, with the best of intentions. Something had gone wrong there that made her weary. Such a sweet girl to be turned so jaded. Every song an aria, beautiful, but tired. And as corny as Karaoke was at it's best, she made it palatable. Once she invited me into her house, that maybe we could just sit and have a coke with her before I went home. She said her boyfriend was gone that night, he had to work late to pay for their move, all the way from California. But the house was empty, and he wasn't there. And when I tried to leave she begged me to stay, to spend the night with her, but I had to leave, to get out of there. She was crying. Because she never really lived with her boyfriend, and she was just lonely, and tired. Spartan Billie Holiday on the radio / my sluggish heart is beating seven beats too slow / another sad song and another shot of blue / cold and unconcerned are anything but new / He said “Love endures all things” / and it hurts to think He’s right / If I mark the span of failure / is his burden just as light? / I am, Spartan / close my heart so tight/ Jesus / Save me/ from myself tonight / Limping through the world/ there’s a knowing look or two/ is it just the cripples here / who understand the truth? / Why is love so painful / why do we always lose/ paving pathways for the lost/ the bitter, and recluse? / He said “Love endures all things”/ and it hurts to think it’s true / did it nail Him on a cross / did it crucify Him too? / The angels are singing over the plains / the shepherds are quaking, echoing refrains / And all of our slogans designed to take away the pain / meant nothing to the Son of God that night in Bethlehem/ Every New Day When I was young, the smallest trick of light could catch my eye, then life was new and every new day, I thought that I could fly. I believed in what I hoped for, and I hoped in things unseen, I had wings and dreams could soar, I just don't feel like flying anymore. When the stars threw down their spears, watered Heaven with their tears, before words were spoken, before eternity. Dear Father, I need you, your strength my heart to mend. I want to fly higher, every new day again. When I was small, the furthest I could reach was not so high, then I thought the world was smaller, feeling I could fly. Through distant deeps and skies, behind infinity, below the face of heaven, He stoops to create me. Dear Father, I need you, your strength my heart to mend. I want to fly higher, every new day again. Man vs. Himself, Man vs. Machine, Man vs. The World, Mankind vs. Me. The struggles go on, the wisdom I lack, The burdens keep pilling up on my back. So hard to breathe, to take the next step. The mountain is high, I wait in the depths. yearning for grace, and hoping for peace. dear God... increase. Healing hands of God have mercy on our unclean souls once again. Jesus Christ, light of the world burning bright within our hearts forever. Freedom means love without condition, without a beginning or an end. Here is my heart, let it be forever your's, only you can make every new day seem so new. |
| The Poetry Appreciation Series - Reese Roper |
| Reese Roper can do the splits. AWESOME! Why is he so amazing? For one thing, he has dedicated his life to "Teaching the children of the world to sing lovely songs and frolic endlessly through wildlife infested fields.
" Some say he is so hot that he MELTS faces. "It's all very relative. I try and stand next to hideously ugly people most of the time, so that I am the one that gets picked for the kickball team." He writes things people like to say and dance to, especially the crazy kids! He teaches biology for now, but he will always be the master of funk and cool. Learn more about Reese Roper. |
| The Smasher of Atoms. |
| Icarus. |
| The Candle. |
| Dandelions. |
| I Bent to Whisper. |
| Anna. |
| Spartan. |
| Every New Day. |
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| Michael. |