Beatitudes
Beatitude
I
I remember
The train going by at midnight
The fig tree dancing in the moonlight
Empty locust shells clinging to the bark
Bales of cotton on the railroad dock
By the tracks where we used to play
The moon rising over the trees
The distant howl of dogs together in tune
I remember my first grade teacher from school
The county fair in the haze of evening
The rainbow Ferris wheel after dark
Listen... You can hear the children laughing
The train moving farther and farther away
Beyond the silence
The silent memories of my life
I see the universe spinning in the night
Dancing to the stars and the fig tree
To the charge of one atom's oblivion
I remember the Earth turning beneath my feet
How it spins and spins and spins...
The fig tree dancing in the moonlight
Empty locust shells clinging to the bark
Bales of cotton on the railroad dock
By the tracks where we used to play
The moon rising over the trees
The distant howl of dogs together in tune
I remember my first grade teacher from school
The county fair in the haze of evening
The rainbow Ferris wheel after dark
Listen... You can hear the children laughing
The train moving farther and farther away
Beyond the silence
The silent memories of my life
I see the universe spinning in the night
Dancing to the stars and the fig tree
To the charge of one atom's oblivion
I remember the Earth turning beneath my feet
How it spins and spins and spins...
Beatitude
III
Into the Soul of Man
Suddenly words are born
Into existence they arrive
Like manna from the sky
From the tip of this pen
Into the heart of my soul
Every day is a lifetime
Every night an eternity
Suddenly I am born again
Again and again into myself
I begin to understand
Confessing my mortal truth
The meaning of my nothingness
Yet... when all is black and blank
Like this dark night... this page at 3:00am
I again question my honest truth
In my honest darkness
From the tip of this pen
Into the Soul of Me
III
Into the Soul of Man
Suddenly words are born
Into existence they arrive
Like manna from the sky
From the tip of this pen
Into the heart of my soul
Every day is a lifetime
Every night an eternity
Suddenly I am born again
Again and again into myself
I begin to understand
Confessing my mortal truth
The meaning of my nothingness
Yet... when all is black and blank
Like this dark night... this page at 3:00am
I again question my honest truth
In my honest darkness
From the tip of this pen
Into the Soul of Me
Beatitude
II
In the pale of the moon
I see the light
I see the light of a single atom
A trilion yesterdays beyond my sight
I hear the sound of distant drums
Their distance echoes a billion blows
Their rhythms pound my heart
It is the sound of the black hole jungle
One moment conquers the beast of time's burden
One man slays what all men cannot.
In the pale of the moon
I see the light
I see the light of a single Adam
A million yesterdays beyond our sight
In the past there lies the truth
Of a trillion yesterdays
From a future past
Beatitude
IV
We are of the raindrops
Falling upon naked ground
The wistful air of destiny lingers
Silver stars shine their distant brilliance
Beyond the cold crystal window of time
Catherine wheeling on sultry breeze
Harsh winds charge the teeming night
Circling this blessed rock we call home
Spinning like a top it never stops
Riding the edge of God's space time grid
We are like stars reaching out
From the holes of black eternities
Breaking the futile laws of men and mountains
To climb the stairs of Heaven's door
Beyond the mediocrity of mundane existance
We are like kites that soar
Flying the stormy heights of futile times
Into these brutal and windy days
We ebb and flow to the ocean of life
Rising and falling through highs and lows
Over the tops of houses and trees
Finally falling into a pool of tears
From eyes that never cry
And dreams that long
To never be...
IV
We are of the raindrops
Falling upon naked ground
The wistful air of destiny lingers
Silver stars shine their distant brilliance
Beyond the cold crystal window of time
Catherine wheeling on sultry breeze
Harsh winds charge the teeming night
Circling this blessed rock we call home
Spinning like a top it never stops
Riding the edge of God's space time grid
We are like stars reaching out
From the holes of black eternities
Breaking the futile laws of men and mountains
To climb the stairs of Heaven's door
Beyond the mediocrity of mundane existance
We are like kites that soar
Flying the stormy heights of futile times
Into these brutal and windy days
We ebb and flow to the ocean of life
Rising and falling through highs and lows
Over the tops of houses and trees
Finally falling into a pool of tears
From eyes that never cry
And dreams that long
To never be...
Copyright 1981-2018 Michael Barela
