I believe! I Believe! Lord, help my unbelief
I believe, I believe, my constant motif
I believe but don't grow
And my faith doesn't show
Because I can't be bothered to “do”
I know faith is given, not earned
Yet here I sit unconcerned
I'm given to resting
When I should be testing
To see that my faith is real
“You shall know them by their fruits”
But seeds planted on stones don't have roots
My apathy grows
So nobody knows
That I don't follow what I believe
The path down below is a slope
So gradual and smooth that you hope
It stays just the same
Like a current so tame
But leads to a waterfall
I'm not living, or learning
I'm sitting and burning
Lord I want to live
But not if I give
My time or my life
My comfort for strife
Is there an easier way?
You said believe and I shall be clean
Believe, and come home again
But how can I start
If only my heart
Wasn't an armchair theologian
*
23 POEMS OF BELIEVING
-saiom shriver-
**
ARK OF THE COVENANT
*
The eternal truth
of the Covenant's Ark
... and of the promise
of God's rainbow arc
is that all beings
are always
within God's Ark
Human eyes
.. transmit lies
.. for they fracture
the oneness
into little bits
and cannot see
the higher
frequencies
.. that as bodies
leave
amd many believe
.. others with
certainty know
*
BELLIES OF OCTOPI
*
"My ashes shall occupy
the bellies of octopi.
My aging brings
senility
and its even
more evil
twin sterility.
Declines my body's
utility.
All is futility"
did I moan to my teacher
who to my mind's
intuition replied
"It is a lie from hell
to think yourself
the body's shell"
"Do not cling
to the petals of spring
for that retards
the ripening fruit"
"Each day all spirits
uncover more of
their infinite
love, power, beauty,
peace, miraclemaking."
*
WINDSTAR
*
Whenever winds howled
and whirled
and around homes
curled
he knew that beyond
them shone
the unchanging
evening star
*
FAITH SPRING
*
Faith did upward
from the heartrocks
spring..
and run through ryefields
into rivers of knowing
which
did merge in
the sea's community..
before upward assumed
by God Sun into unity
*
GODORIENTED
*
The God oriented scientist
prays and is given
a revelation..
by the GOD who made all bodies and knows
how they work..
one need not bulldoze the forest
to research the life of a tree
nor torture animals to
find the secrets of GOD
*
(Albert Einstein: I was given the theory of a relativity in a dream... paraphrased from
his autobiography)
*
PIGEON RELIGION
*
The atheist pigeon
faced with rivers Stygian
abruptly saw the light
..suddenly found religion..
and when he came back
from the abyss
began to tell others
of his supernal vision.
(thank you to Tom Lehrer for rhyming pigeon and
religion.. in his satire on govt. cruelty to
animals)
*
EASTER BASKET
*
If it harms none
and in prayer you ask it
God has it for you
in your Easter basket.
And as time and tide
flow on
one sees that
his own heart
is the Easter basket.
*
TABLE TURNING IN THE TEMPLES
*
He overturned
with divine temper
the tables
of the
dovekillers
in the temple
and sheepbutchers
and even now
the killers of
the Dove of Peace
the butchers of God's
animals
need to be removed
from modern temples
*
BLUEPRINTS AND FIGS
*
When the Spirit
conceives blueprints
.. these seeddreams
become trees of quince
And imagination's figments
by sun are woven
into figs
*
FROM MORNRISE TO MOONRISE
*
From mornrise
to moonrise
.. all is contained
.. in God's eyes
*
UNWAVERING WAVES FOR PETER
*
The first time Peter walked upon the water
he sank
because his faith wavered in the waves.
But later his faith become
unwavering
and as Peter became a rock for Christ
.. the sea became for Peter a rock.
One is nonChristian firewalker
another a Christian waterwalker..
both believe
*
KNITTING CLOUDS BRAIDING GOALS
*
He is not nonexistent, nor sleeping
nor cruel, powerless nor on vacation,
things of which he is accused,
the Sun, with His warming SoulFire.
It is we who knit clouds
of false ambition,
We braid clouds of mean
revenge..
We weave sunblocking
clouds of immature desire.
*
PINNIPED
*
More angels dance on
the head of a pinniped
than on the shiny
surface of a pinhead
*
FLY RIGHTS
*
We're more likely to
to fly right
when honoring
animal bird and fly rights
*
THEY BELIEVE IN YOU
*
The photographer
snapped
of the picture straight ahead
so that
one could not see
the sky
but the clouds
reflected in lake water
Those who were not able
to believe in a God
they could not see
were drawn to God
by your love.
*
DOES THE SUN DIP INTO THE SEA?
*
The sun does not bathe in the sea
nor rise in the air..
nor is God confined by our
limited perceptions.
*
THE LIGHT PRESUMES A SOURCE
OF LIGHT
*
James Michael Pratt wrote
of those who see the light
but do not know the lighthouse
keeper. Just so, the lives of
many are saved by anonymous
angels they know not.
*
BELIEVING
*
Yesterday's sudden frost
.. yet please do believe
spring is coming
and with it new leaves
*
THE SEED CONCEIVES
*
In doubt's earth,
rain and the seed
do life conceive
Slowly does faith
unfurl her leaves
and then come branches:
she does now fully believe
and then without a doubt
she knows
that all to God go
who do in release
their bodies leave
*
ADVOCATE
*
If I could represent to my
mind another's opposite
point of view as if I
were an attorney without
emotional involvement,
I would pass a test.
*
FAITH MOVES MOUNTAINS
*
Faith moves mountains
Truth soars over them
at the speed of light.
*
THE GIFT OF BELIEF
*
Lasting as long
as the dewdrop in
the dawn sun or
the snowflake in
the spring stream
was his belief...
so brief..
until he witnessed
how God uncurls
the limehued leaf
*
DOES ICE HATE GOD
*
To ice it may seem
that God does scheme
to destroy his form
in the stream
melting him into water
and then to dawnmist steam.
But he changes his mind
as he sparkles in sunbeams
and begins to merge
with the Supreme.
*
Note: apologies to atheists
and agnostics for
the assertion
-saiom shriver-
ADVOCATE
ARK OF THE COVENANT
BELLIES OF OCTOPI
BELIEVING
BLUEPRINTS AND FIGS
DOES ICE HATE GOD
DOES THE SUN DIP INTO THE SEA
EASTER BASKET
FAITH MOVES MOUNTAINS
FAITH SPRING
FLY RIGHTS
FROM MOONRISE TO MOONRISE
GIFT OF BELIEF
GODORIENTED SCIENTIST
KNITTING CLOUDS BRAIDING GOALS
LIGHT PRESUMES A SOURCE OF LIGHT
PIGEON RELIGION
PINNIPED
THE SEED CONCEIVES
TABLE TURNING IN THE TEMPLES
THEY BELIEVE IN YOU
UNWAVERING WAVES FOR PETER
WINDSTAR
23
I need to believe
By jfarrell
In anything…
Some mystical power called god; mohammed; jaweh; the one;
The newest trendiest diet “cures all ills”;
Luck; synchronicity; love; faith; “trust in the Force, Luke Skywalker”;
Anything.
Green Day sang “in the land of make believe, I don’t believe in me”
But, it’s such a truth;
I don’t believe in me
And, I am the only one here.
And being the only one here…
I’m the only one to blame;
But I don’t believe in me.. this is why I am such a nothing
My thinking concludes that I don’t exist, and I can’t argue.
Though I try, I need to…
But I don’t believe in anything.
But…
Something tells me right from wrong
I can be very arrogant and conceited…
Something beyond that tells me, compels me, right from wrong;
When hurt, I can wish the cruellest, most painful revenge;
But something beyond that keeps it all a fantasy
And, yes, the voices from the bottom of my beer glass are very tempting;
But I know they are only sirens - I to die in the beauty of their songs.
With nothing…
Life is a raging river, I give up and let it take me where it will
I am not a sinner
By jfarrell
To hurt another is wrong;
Known that as long as I can remember remembering;
And lotsa things I might do, can hurt;
So, I try not to; I don’t always succeed.
You ‘know’ god - you think I less moral than you?
By what right?
I brought me up; no god; no parents;
Think I did a pretty good job.
I am not a sinner;
I was not born into sin;
I am a nobody; nothing;
Ask your god.
He’ll tell you.. “Don’t get near his shoes; don’t even smell his shoes”;
I dare you, walk in my shoes 5 minutes…
“smell it… smell it… now TAKE it!” (adam sandler should be a god)
I am a nobody with very, very bad smelling feet.
Please don’t judge me. You don’t have any right.
So, I don’t shave often as I might; I swear more then you like;
And I fantasise about killing my neighbour; very, very slowly;
But you have no right, wotsoever, to judge me.
I wish you all rainbows ;-)
Small God
By jfarrell
- Terry Pratchett was a genius, and his Discworld will be sorely missed -
What makes a god?
Belief.
My cat believes in me to feed him; and her, and the others;
Wow, not where I was expecting this to go;
Four cats believe In me;
I am god.
Their god, anyway.
And, you wouldn’t believe how much cleaning God has to do.
I wish I could afford a cleaner.
I write things you like;
“yeah! Totally agree! Spread this message!”
I write things you don’t;
“stop writing you judgemental little pri*k”;
As a god, I just grew a little bigger, a little larger,
A little more god-size
Well, my ego did anyway;
Please, before you claim me the messiah,
And tie me up on that cross;
Know this…
I will press the button;
Just to see the world burn.
As long as you understand that..
YES, I WILL BE YOUR GOD,
IF YOU ASK
IF ENOUGH BELIEVE
Don’t Listen to Them
By Jfarrell
Don’t listen to them;
Anyone who tells you “You can’t”;
Don’t listen;
Believe in yourself.
You CAN be anything you wanna be
Do ANYTHING you wanna do
You gotta work at it; you can’t snap your fingers and ‘pow’
But, believe in yourself
Learn, practice - everything IS achievable
By you; because you want to, you choose to;
It’s when you start believing “You can’t” that you’re stuffed
So believe in yourself
There is nothing that can’t be done;
We haven’t found a way to do everything,
Maybe you’ll find the answer and build our first time machine
Or teach the child who will cure cancer
Believe in yourself; I believe in You
:-)
How to read The Bible
By JFarrell
It’s always struck me
No-one reads the Bible properly
Everyone reads
With preconceived ideas
Inspired by god, maybe
But written by men
For the benefit of men
For the control of men and women
And nowhere
Does it say what Jesus said
And nowhere
Does it say what Jesus did
It tells
What others say Jesus said and did
And in any court
That is called “here-say”
So, dear believer
Next time you read the Bible
Please try reading it with an open mind;
Maybe, god will speak back.
I pray the same way the world taught me,
both hands dipped in fire,
lying until I somehow get the truth out,
in questions I think I’ll never get used to.
I speak the same way I always have,
slowing down when the sticks have crossed
or I can’t breathe for swearing on everything I see,
like how I think you can’t be held for too long.
I shatter the same way the sun taught me,
painful as diving below the earth
just as the magic starts to happen,
wanting so much to stay
that I leave streaks of my setting behind on your skyline.
I don’t often believe where I come from,
to make me believe in something
you have to push it in my face
or mix it like a scent
into the saltwater I rub into my skin every night.