POETRY

SHATTERED ASPIRATIONS

A World of glass turned upside down
Shaken as a hurricane
The snowflakes fall down to the ground
Just like a steady rain.
People dance and sing and play
And face life with a grin
The outside forces have their way
And the World is upset again.
The crystal orb, they all know
Misfortune has it blest
But from the sky come flakes of snow,
And the World is now at rest.
The World sits high upon the mantle
Its balance hangs in death
For all to see by the light of a candle,
All will hold their breath.
The World teeters on the brink of despair
And plummets to the ground
Without a thought, without a care,
Snow washes all around.

05.28.96

© Philip A. Lee

THE WHISPERING OF THE MORNING

From the waterlilies

You greet me in the morning

In the midst of dreams

Among hopes and visions

In the soft whispering of a new day

You greet me in the evenings with a sweet embrace

And fly away on the wings of a dove

Oh oft that I wish I could fly

That I might fly away with you

That we might become one with the stars

Defying time itself

But time is the test

Time is the source of all passionate flame

That flame that melts away the stony coldness

And all that remains is a heart filled with patience

Patience to endure all trials

Bring on the fire say I

Melt me inside and out

Until all that is left behind is what was meant to be

Love remains true

Love remains everlasting

03.12.99

© Philip A. Lee

THE MOUNTAIN TRIAL

A ray of sunlight,

A laugh, a smile

Made the darkness seem worthwhile.

A full, clasped hand

Swinging in the breeze

Finally set my mind at ease.

We journey, we travel,

We set off to see

What the future will turn out to be,

But the road, it narrows;

Clouds roll overhead.

Doubt replaced Hope in its stead.

And soon it appeared,

A grave, dark mountain,

Dark, as dark as an evil fountain

Flowing with hate.

She beckoned as she climbed,

“Come on. I’ll meet you on the other side.”

Grasping the crag,

She scrambled from sight;

With her left the presence of light.

And the rain, it pours,

Drenching the soul,

But I press ever onward towards my goal.

While scaling the mount,

My mouth ran dry;

Drops of rain passed my mouth by.

I could touch the clouds;

I was near the peak,

But than I suddenly grew very weak.

I heard a sound—

An astonished cry

From the mount, of the clouds it was surrounded by.

My heart dropped, but I could not fall;

By doing so I would give up it all.

And I race to the top

To teeter the mound

Encompassed by the clouds all around.

I saw to look

And looked to see

The darkened clouds enveloped me

And my love, at the foot of the mound

Where her broken flesh lay without a sound.

What to do?

What to think?

As my mind toppled over the brink

Of despair, so lonely,

So empty and cold,

With thoughts that I would never grow old,

But live on forever,

Without love or friend,

Wasting away to a bitter end…

Should I leap and meet her there,

Instead of wallowing in pits of despair?

But I closed my eyes

And heard a voice,

One I heard by eternal choice,

And open them;

The vision is gone.

Darkness disappears; I can continue on.

The cloud cover lifts

And she is there—

No need for sorrow, death or despair.

With arms outstretched

She was praising the view,

Worshipping the Maker of everything new.

All the while

There was nothing to fear,

For the Maker of All had led us here.

We had conquered

And carried on;

Together, it had made both of us strong.

Hand in hand

We walked down together,

Ready to face any kind of weather.

11.18.96

© Philip A. Lee

PRIDE AND LONELINESS

            I

A lonely lady in an empty wood,

Upon a footstool, there she stood,

With a visage so plain yet full of glory

Begins the saga of this sad story.

I knew her face, and I knew her name,

Yet I longed for something that was not quite the same.

My heart held a thought that could not be quelled;

A day with her could not parallel

To anything that shines under God's glorious sun--

A dream of a prize that is fought for and won.

In my weary hands I held a crown,

A tiara of beauty, of world renown.

"Who are you?" she called and beckoned to me

In a voice of angelic purity.

"Here I am, and here I stand

To give you this crown and to ask for your hand."

She did not thank me, but instead

Took the crown, placing it on her head.

"So little you know," she said, "and you fail to see

That I am already nobility."

I left with an empty heart and hands.

I left her there, and there she still stands.

            II

A lonely princess in an empty wood,

Atop a high pedestal she then stood.

Her face was stern with her nose in the air,

Her garments wondrous, and her hair very fair.

I wished to see all that I could

Inside that dark and empty wood,

But could not view all to see;

Her face was turned away from me.

I loosened my collar and approached from below,

For I had nowhere else to go.

Red roses in hand as a symbol of hope;

I prayed for earnest that I would not choke.

"Who goes there?" she called from above,

In a voice of anything other than love.

"I am here, and here I stand

To give you these roses and ask for your hand."

She laughed a laugh, a laugh full of hate.

"Be on your way; your gift I'll not take."

The flowers fell down and withered away

Just as my soul did that day.

My head hung in shame, and my body went slack

As I trudged away and never looked back.

            III

A lonely princess in a blackened wood,

By herself again she stood.

Her face grew cold, and her eyes were dim;

She could banish demons with just a whim.

I took a chance to see her again,

But only every now and then

I could see her beauty, hidden so deep

In the depth of her soul, in the dungeon of her keep.

The pedestal this time was much higher still,

Strengthened and heightened by her very own will,

But in my hands I carried a ring;

I had spent my life's savings on this very thing.

"Who goes there?" she rasped at me

With a voice of hatred and hostility.

"Here I am, and here I stand

To give you this ring and ask for your hand."

She shuddered a shudder of apathy

And again turned her face away from me.

The ring fell down, down to the ground;

It rolled away, never to be found.

The soul I had lost was lost ever still,

And my coat could not fight off the wavering chill.

            IV

A lonely princess in an empty wood

Had fallen down from where she stood.

She no longer held the angel's essence,

Yet I remained enraptured by her presence.

Her weary, hurt, and tear filled eyes

Met my own with much surprise.

Apprehension held me, but I wanted to stay.

I wanted to help, but fear kept me at bay;

Fear of empty hands-- I had nothing to give.

But what does one give one who no longer lives?

Pride had killed her in many years past,

But I was the only one to notice that fact.

"Who is it?" she called while squinting to see,

Although I knew she knew it was me.

"I am here, and here I stand

To give you all I have, just an empty hand."

She forced a smile behind a tear,

And I left behind all my fear.

I took her hand and helped her to her feet,

For in that wood, two souls were destined to meet.

Two lives were restored that day,

And with united hands, we walked away.

05.16.96

© Philip A. Lee

SCREAMING FROM WITHIN

Storm clouds traverse o'er darkened days
O'er the world as a whole
To its tribute one can hear
A scream within the soul.

Deep recesses of hidden thoughts,
Insanity takes its toll
A sound to show that all is naught--
A scream within the soul.

A shattered dream without success,
Fallen in an abyss, a hole
Inside, a shriek of mental abscess--
A scream within the soul.

Striving for something out of reach,
The beating heart grows cold
This cruel lesson the demons teach--
A scream within the soul.

A cry for help from in this cage
The Evil keeps its hold
Let it loose and free the rage
A scream within the soul.

An inferno of hate, the fires of wrath
Impugn the evil roll
Destroy the smile and let loose in its path
A scream within the soul.

03.25.96

© Philip A. Lee

THE HEARTS OF MEN

Evil lurks under the bed.

It rouses the living and wakes the dead,

Creeps on the pillow and into one’s head.

Evil lurks inside the closet.

It finds your fear, and then it flaunts it.

It seeks for ways to create and cause it.

Evil lurks behind closed doors.

It urges the soul to dig and explore

In places one should never know more.

Evil lurks behind the mirror.

It tells the ear to become a hearer;

The myst’ries of life grow so much clearer.

Evil lurks upon the shelf.

It leads the soul to doubt itself,

Filching the soul and stealing its wealth.

Evil lurks beyond the walls.

It waits, it beckons, it calls, it calls,

Lies in wait for a victim to fall.

Evil lurks inside the sleep.

It steals the soul the Lord will keep

And stretches the path of life so steep.

Evil lurks where it can hide—

a gaping hole, so deep, so wide—

To trap the soul, destroy and divide.

Evil lurks where it can be found.

It lies in wait and utters no sound,

To trip its prey into falling down.

Evil lurks in the hearts of men,

The place where the root of evil stems...

And slowly eats away at them.

03.28.96

© Philip A. Lee

WHAT ANGELS TAKE FOR GRANTED

Far be it from me

To say what you can and cannot do,

But you chose to stay

When all else was buried in smoke.

For to linger a moment

Is to lift high heaven’s veil

To see what Angels

Often take for granted

And behold for a lifetime

That which mortals can barely perceive.

Once it is yours,

May you never let it go,

And dream through the smoke

Before the fires sweep us away

Into a glad repose

Of matchless, endless oblivion,

Where the few, the proud

And the brave can say at last:

“You are my strength!

You are the wings I spread to fly!

So I can dream with you

And never regret a moment,

For when you are here,

Clothed in Love and Honesty,

All the world’s cares

Are naught but drifting smoke.”

03.01.02

© Philip A. Lee