All Your Life
lyrics by Rochella, Spring 1999

How long will you carry the world on your shoulders
Must you stand outside with your back to the door
Hand me your weariness---don't wait until the clouds pass over
Come inside and rest in my arms
Please don't ignore my voice anymore.

'Cause I still remember every whisper that you've ever uttered
In the darkest hour of your nights
And I have seen and counted every teardrop
Turning your head, thinking that no one's noticed
But with you I have cried.

You're not too small for my love
Wasn't it for you that I died
You're not too late for my love
It's been waiting for you all your life.

How long will you let the wounds bleed away
Must you bear the pain alone
I'll give you my all if you let me
My heart is here within your reach
Don't wait until after the last day
Come inside
Take my hand
Please let me set you free.

When All Else Fails
poem by me, May 1997

Painful memories
Lazy clouds floating
In the sunny May sky
I look away
Only to return to this old friend
Melancholy.

But I smile
For the Lord knows this sweet pain of life
And how to overcome
So sweet
Because at the foot of the Cross I sit.

He looks at me
With grim determination
Mixed with tender love
And tears of blood
And He says
"FOLLOW ME."

Force (Arrogance...or Heaven-Spawn)
poem by me, July 1998

I ride the storm
The wind in my hair
The rain beating my brow
I attack each wave
With the fury and tenacity
Of the Spirit
My eyes are as flint
Set on His shining face
Which beckons me to come
And capture souls
Through the power from Within.

Body of Death
poem by me, September 1998

Oh, how suffocating is this dreaded shell of a man
Where each sinister thought rips
My heart of cold, lifeless flesh
A heart that once laughed with the children
That cried with the fatherless
Now wallows in the mire
Communing with the darkness
Bold prayers fade
Into faint whimpering
A wistful countenance
Searches the endless horizon
For consolation that will not be found
Reminiscence reveals the origin of this downward spiral
'Twas the loss of a love that began with purity
And ended with the soil of selfishness
The idol of Isaac was not destroyed
Therefore, it turned on me, shackled me
And led me to the valley
Of the shadow of death
How great is the darkness!

Yet that still voice reminds me...
"I am greater!"

Rescued
poem by me, October 1998

I will extol the LORD
I will awaken the dawn
For out from the clouds
My Savior has descended
To restore me and help me
And heal me with His word

My love for Thee
Only knows the bounds
Of Thy nourishing, growing grace
That works so mightily within me
Aye, secure am I
In the shelter of the Most High

Will you join me, my friend?
The pleasure of riding on His wings
Is all the more sweeter when shared
With beloved ones who know
The familiar Adullams

So lift your eyes to the hills
Arise and come away with me
For I long to watch you soar.

Hesed
poem by me, October 1998

What can I give
To a God who gives so freely
Who lavishes without reservation
Upon a wretched sinner deserving 1000 hells?

All that I have
You have given
All that I am
You have made
I am Yours

Cleanse this heart
Fill this cup
Pour me out
Upon the altar of the Cross

Crucify this protesting flesh
Blow away the fantasies
Of this wayward mind
Let me embrace Your reality
Pierce my ear
Consecrate me now
For I grow weary
Of breaking Your heart.

For You
lyrics by me, Nov 1998

Lord, I thank You for You
And for the things that You do
Your tender mercies are new every morning
Under Your wings of grace I lie
Lord, I long now to rise
To become more like Your Son, Jesus Christ.

This fallen world tries to steal our love away
But my Jesus, You have overcome the world
So by the strength that You give me
By Your Spirit within me
I'll wait for that final day
When I'll see You face to face.

Lord, I love You for You
Not just the things that You do
Your glory has swept me away
Calvary love has set my heart free
Now I can love You endlessly
And I will worship You for all eternity.

To Rochella
poem by me, June 1999

Knock knock, Ondarock
Your rhyme was cute, I will not mock
Though hokey it was, I must say
That God used it to start my day
With a big smile and not a little frown
Y'know before I read it I was a teeny-bit down

Thinking about trivial stuff---this, that, and junk
You know how it is---when that little punk
Within me complains about the present brocoli
But the future ice cream he just can't see
And stuck in his mad reverie, he forgets about how
The good Lord has given him sweet stuff right now

Like this REVIVAL---- dream after dream coming true
And new friends to paint his eyes a brighter hue
A new rhyme, a new dance, plus a new song
And answers to prayers he's always longed (for)
And Duh!---not to mention, He's given the Cross
For without it this dude would surely be lost

So the Lord used your clever little rhyme
To remind me once again for the Nth time
That in His great plan He will not lose me
And in this shuffle of life He can still use me
As a KUYA!
To give people a glimpse of His unfailing love
Which is tough, but also tender mushy luvvy dubby wub

I thank God for Ro, for He's shown me what it is
To be a gifted worshipper of God, and not in the pride biz
Sharp, calm, cool, collected on the outside
But hiding behind the Cross, she is on the inside
And it's just like my Lord, that for me He would bring
This precious child to be my thoughtful, soulful, newly-found ADING.

The Art of Blah
poem by me, January 2000

The painstaking effort of making things rhyme
Just takes too much precious time
Hindering my natural expression
Ruining my sense of direction
Navigating to endless verses of leftover digestions
That lost their kick due to fading inspiration

But I have to remember that this level of rhythmical articulation
Is a natural progression in the fireplace of His discipline
It's something I'll just have to learn in Your School of the Anvil
If I want You to appreciate these spiced up
Lyrical nothings to the perishing, but somethings to the life-cherishing
Dumb things to the wise ones but dope things to the dumb ones lookin' to the Cross.

I'm Your huckleberry like Doc Holiday pumpin' led into Johnny---or should I say---LUCIFER Ringo
Ok ok ok, that's enough before I play out this lingo.

Perspective
poem by me, December 2003

Look at me
I am inside looking outside
At your carefree walk
Your confident talk
Your fancy clothes
And everybody knows
You have everything in this world.

But little do they know
The truth will show in the Light.

I am outside looking inside
Your cage of death
Your hands and feet in fetters
Paralyzed by the fear of becoming
What you really want to be---free
Come out
Take my hand
And run with me.

Eyes Opening
poem by me, April 2006

Like splinters in the mind
Cries for resolution echo
The guilt of sins past
Numbed by neglect
Now pricked by the child of innocence remembered

Breaking through
The stone of the years
Emerges the life of hope renewed
The Source unchanging
Nourishment in exchange for time.

When Eyes Close
poem by me, April 2006

colorful lights move
against organic walls
mixed with memories
of smiles, of sunlight, of sky blue
of tears, of clouds, of sky black
fading outlines
of seconds past
of seconds cherished
of seconds wished destroyed

Entering another world beyond
I give an account of the day
A legacy built block by block
With each moment

when i see you
poem by me, April 2006

when i see you smile
i feel our first embrace

when i see you walk
i walk through our first adventure

when i see your eyes look up
i see the hope of orphans

when i see you
i see His grace in woman-form

my grip loosens
and we're both free.