Planting Light

Before the dawn began to shine at noon
It shone at nine, did remove that gray gloom
That loomed over our fair city of gray,
And turned what once was cold into Spring May.
Well, as the day does rise and turn the tide
From darkness into brightness, far and wide,
So too does a word of encouragement
From before the time of maturity
Aid in the creation, as it is meant
To do in the event that it takes root;
And from such words comes forth a new green shoot
That takes in the sun, the brightened rays now
Shining down upon the gloomy old town.
And such a shoot is but a surety
That what shined before has had an effect,
And has helped to make what was imperfect
Into a new creation of God's own;
So too have your words for me now been shown,
Have lighted up the way that I now own,
Have helped to plant the seed from which I've grown...

           Planting Light, (c) Luke Bennette

Gaze Upon Me

You gaze upon that which cowers before your gaze,

and cower before that which holds his own in yours. 

In such a gaze you long to loose yourself, upon the isles of God, mysterious shores.

Such fantasy we all seek, succumb we each to the craze.

Yet treasures are hard to find when you hold on to illusions of what they should be.
Sift through the appearance and your treasure you will see...
Be still the heart, for it cannot see,
Be quiet the mind, for it cannot hear,
See with your heart, and hear with your mind, you will know your true love is near.
You'd never know its what you wanted because you aren't searching for it there;
and so you'll look right through the treasure, as if it were thin air.
So in the gaze you beg the question, what do you want from me?
Begging him to answer, that he will set you free.
Yet he will not see you, until you see yourself.
And when in time that comes, you are true, then comes a time of wealth.
And with that wealth untold,
that cavernous treasure hold,
you'll find yourself now bold,
your heart will not grow cold.
But who can see the heart? Hid behind those seven bars?
Who can check the art, the radiance of stars?
Indeed none can, yet it disappears all the same.
For they wield a shield of distrust, and use it as a frame.
This frame they hold before their eyes, that they may never see,
just how much they mean to the world, how much they color the sea.
Thus he who cleaves the shield of lies and hates deceit,
Made from poisons of the mouth, and carried out in feat,
He who brushes past those eyes of iron clad,
Who makes you see yourself, for he see's that you are sad,
He who triumphs over your gaze of fire, your wrath,
Who stands even still in the shades of the aftermath,
He shall woe your heart, and you shall answer well,
But would that you could let go your shield,
And be by God self healed,
Rather than wait for him, and risk loosing love for hell.
So dry your tears, and listen; act, and be revealed,
Allow your light to shine, let Christ in you be sealed.

And if, having done this, your heart is ill content,
Then pray that God find out where your man went.
He'll turn him round, upside down, frustrate his designs,
Until he, before you stands, his true love in you finds.
So come away my daffodil,
no more with this foul gaze,
Smile, laugh, and love God still,
let go of this foul haze.
For he who seeks for God himself
shall break the bonds that hold him,
Or she who seeks in God her wealth,
her cup flows to the brim,
And pouring out, it is like a shout, a man comes running from sin,
To be converted by God's call, the heart of his fair maiden to win.

The light is clearly there,
Though we cannot see it's ray,
Unlike the devils snare,
That blocks the light of day,
This beam of light becomes us,
Reveals us as we are,
Like an oncoming bus,
Or a man that's run from far.
But tempting God we sit down,
We wait behind our shield,
When truth be told, this town,
Is waiting by God to be healed.
His gaze is strong, his eyes piercing,
Perhaps that's why we run?
In sin have we neglected thee? Sing,
Often, and do not our God shun.

The gaze is built upon the past,
The past upon our thoughts,
The thoughts upon our yearnings,
And the yearnings from what we wrought.
Then build upon a firm made ground,
Your yearnings will turn solid, and true.
Your thoughts will be with God, sound,
And fast coming will be what God has for you.
For in that gaze you will not be abashed,
And so in neighbor will not be ashamed;
Many tire of looking, they do not last,
For in neighbor they have God profaned.

False expectations become a muddy stream,
A muddy stream without a rain,
Becomes a nightmare, not a dream.
And would that I had more stamina,
To speak the rest of this tale,
But I think you've got the gist of it,
To carry on; do not fail.
Use this catalyst for growth,
Now gaze upon yourself.
Look inside, and see what's wrong,
Let go of it, that you may acquire wealth.

Man and woman, yes, was how it was meant to be,
But each though each other better, from each other free.

Now answer this riddle,
With the sound of a fiddle,
The sound of my voice,
With the tone of your choice,
But know that I love you,
Know, I desire to be true,
Know I am the mouth of God,
In love of neighbor, I do him laud.
And so I gaze in sorrow,
Upon the woes of they,
Who know their sorrows to be great,
But will not seek to pray...

Now I'm done, done for now,
I quit my place upon the bow,
I stand back for you to see,
What marvels God has in thee.
Gaze upon them, and see them new,
Gaze upon him, give him his due.

                             Gaze Upon Me, (c) Luke Bennette, August 2012

The Pairing

Simple, a flair of ease,
Not to much if you please.
Yet give me what I need,
With all haste, with all speed.
A dash of pepper,
Mint also, if you will,
Grind up some fire,
So that her frame you may fill,
Shorten the hair,
For sake of appeal,
Then open the snare,
That this man you may heal.
Eyes must be brown,
Or are they black as the night?
The slightest of frowns,
That the strongest may fright.
Short, but not petite,
Tough, just a little sweet,
Upon seeing her he must gaulk,
His face eschewed in a twist,
And he, unable to talk,
Should understand in her the gist
Of what he see's,
Will bring him to his knees.
Now add some shortening,
Not of the food, but of the mind,
Be she not of intellect string,
But in her heart may he find
A strong will, a firm grip,
A loving gaze, and a steady lip;
The will to keep him in check,
The grip to keep him in respect,
The gaze to keep his own,
And the lip to stop his moan.
That just about does it,
And yet I can think of more,
Add a little spit,
And then see what's in store.
She's got a sad past,
But it's not bound to last,
Her current estate,
Has thrown off her fate,
And I can think of no better pair,
Than she and he, what better flare?
Now leave your glass ball,
Make what you can of this,
Do not these forestall,
Lest between them be no bliss.
And I from afar may watch with ease,
To see how he, and she, each other please.

                          The Pairing, (c) Luke Bennette, August 2012

Visionary

Upon the westward shore there draws nigh
As stormy sea; and you I do espy.
Wherefore came you? From a misty spray?
Upon a whales back, the heat of the day
Bearing down upon me like a charging
Bull; one that lowers its head for a fight
When it see's the color red, it's delight,
Upon the backside of some wanton spring
That's just sprung up. Such a misty gale,
A turbulent force of peppermint scent,
And the evidence that there is a sale
On the market for the love that is bent
From your fiery brow, makes me step back.
Yet though I be overwhelmed by Gods grace,
I find myself walking forward, I place
One foot after the other, defiance
Runs a muck on a shore of  bitter taste
And causes me such shame, bitter disgrace!
I hear from behind, upon the eastward,
That shore from whence I came to this middle
Ground of bile, this place where love is a sword
To the lover, and a curse, like spittle
That's cast out of one's mouth from foul taste's bite,
A sound that crashes over my senses!
Of thunder and lightning! A great fright
Sweeps through my soul looking on her! Says
The voice inside me to turn around,
Lest she drag me into the sea,
Where I shall go to be, and not be found.
Here eyes are maiden's hue, of deepest blue,
Her lips are cherry red, a blood filled stew,
Her cheeks bespeak a pale lit sky at night,
Her forehead gleams, a star within, a flight
Of stairs that leads me to her hidden mind,
And all the while, that voice reminds me,
Calls out faintly, over the thrum of drums
That courses through my veins like a great tree
That feeds upon the sap within it's gums!
Her gaze holds me, and I walk in the deep,
Not upon the water, her gaze is steep,
And steeps me in a haze of godly scent;
Yet in my heart there appears a rent.

And suddenly the storm breaks forth,
And bitter cold comes from the north,
Her eyes become a blackened hole,
They dig deep pits down in my soul,
Her lips become a graven pit,
From which spews forth a crimson spit,
Her cheeks bespeak of hollow graves,
And in them lie her other slaves...

But there upon the eastward shore,
Behind me now, forevermore,
A light goes forth, enters the fray,
Corruption fights the light of day.
Alight with white, this gentle hue,
It fights back darkness, the stormy brew,
And as the tide pulls me under,
As though to cleave me asunder
With it's sharp crescent waves of foam,
A hand stretches out from behind,
Plucks me from beasts dreaded comb;
Now am I no more than a rind,
No more fit to live than a pig,
A barren tree without a fig.

Here I the sirens song,
And try to sing along,
But suddenly I wake,
And then my life would take,
Were it not for light itself
That nourishes my health,
I hear the screech inside my head,
And wish I were no more than dead.
Yet harken to that gentle touch,
That tells me I am more than such.
That beckons me eastward now,
As though a sailor on a bow,
And turning on the ground now damp,
From deaths hand, that icy clamp,
I see the sun rising from the deep,
And so I wake, no longer asleep. 

Guided by the light I walk,
Unbridled from the churning shock
That held me but an hour ago,
And now I walk, I run, I go!
But reaching for that golden light,
It rises up upon the height,
Obscured from view by the dreadful storm,
A sudden chill, and I am forlorn.
Behind me, once more, the sound,
And I know I'm lost, I've not been found.
Yet as the whale doth rise again,
The corrupt virgin on it's head,
The sound of caresses, foul fen,
The wishful thinking of a bed,
Even as this sound reaches out,
Another sound cascades about,
And seizing on this sound, this rope,
That falls from the cloudy sky,
I know that I can climb, can cope,
And turn my sorrows to joy, will fly.

Thus climbing higher, my eyes now set,
I hear a change, and begin to fret.
But once more the light shines forth,
As I climb I take another breath.

And though the creature climb after me,
I am already higher, am already free.
Reaching the clouds I make to grasp,
The firmaments, God's door clasp.
Then grasping at the door I gasp,
For the rope has fell, as has the asp.
I look into the sky and see,
A light so bright, gentility. 
Here eyes are pure, and innocent,
Her lips are sure, great merriment
Upon her cheeks, a thousand stars
Her forehead holds, the cure of Ars
Stands near, and throws to me a line,
A beautiful strand such as the Rhine.

Upon the skyward cloud I gave a sign
Of my servility towards my mother,
Was given a cape of souls that did shine
With many a sister, and brother.
I asked her who these may be, these threads, these
Woven strands within my cape, these bobble
Heads that adorn the cloth? And upon my knees
I begged her tell me! And I did topple
From the sky with her words following fast,
That for these souls I should pray, and fast.
And for a moment, the glory of of God,
Became present, and him I did laud,
Even as I fell on icy winds back
To the Earth where I dwell, this old haystack.

Thus I opened my eyes, the vision gone;
But in my hands held fast a golden strand.
And though in time mankind doth fade and wan,
Like a moon that's shaken from sun lit stand,
I know at last that the shaking hand fails
To win the end game, and like day it pales.   

             Visionary, (c) Luke Bennette, August 2012

Measured by Measure

The measure is broken;
It cannot now speak.
And by this same token,
We've lost what we seek.

I've lived a life of sorrow,
Of pain and self deceit,
I've always wanted tomorrow
To give me finest wheat...

But the trials and tribulations,
That came in with the tide,
All these simple aggravations,
I can't surrender pride!

And what is the measure now?
I can't see my own way.
Where do I go and how?
And why can't I stay?

There's nowhere to go, nowhere to run,
I think I'm broken down.
By my own self I am undone!
Left alone inside this town.

Why can't like be a measuring glass?
Clear, simple, and sweet!
Yet life is like a mountain pass,
Wherein the rocks do meet.
You turn around, go upside down,
And falter on the path.
Your smile turns into a frown,
And you cannot add the math.






Complication comes again,
And ruins your pretty day.
Clouds do form and blot the sun,
In pretty sunlit May.
My easy way, my clear cut path,
Amid the torrents of the stream,
Have become for me a broken raft,
And does only I demean.
Yet had I seen the narrow straight,
The one that twists and turns,
And not contemplated my hate,
Given in to what man yearns,
I'd never have been measured by
The measurements I did so try,
Now judged by my own measurement,
I've found myself trapped in this tent,
And now the cloud comes thundering,
To take me away, a bolt of lightening.

Why could my measurement not work?
Was it due to some preexisting being?
My life did many people Irk,
And of me they now sing--
O sing the tune of he who lies
Within the grave of mud therein.
In measurement he now replies,
That he did turn measure to sin.

                             Measured by Measure, (c) Luke Bennette, August 2012

In Sight I Heard what in Song I Saw

Without the slightest, faintest, clue of sight,
That is to say I cannot see what I
Might if I had eyes to see with, I slight
Away all prejudice with but a sigh,
And so I hear in your voice that draws nigh
A gentle soul I could not so espy
Were I to see it in the bright light of
Day; for I, a man, am blind in the heart
When I say that I see your Christ like Love,
When I say that I know what you impart.
And in the darkness you appear as bright,
A keen lit blade of some fairy sprite bid
To shatter the thought that is made from sight;
And sound out from the depths, where there is hid
A wave of melodies, a vastness sweet,
A single note wherein I may meet my
God in my neighbor, my Lord in the street,
As I met in you; and you were so sly
To take on humility by which you
May die to self. Yet understand by this
Metaphor, do not mistake it's meaning.
For you sound out your sight by such a bliss
As the voice which you do employ, and sing
In sight and sound of you a woman true.
Thus by the contradiction, the closing
Of mine eyelids, did I see you at last;
A light shining in the darkness, a being
Vast as the empty space wherein I am cast. 
And upon the shutting of mine ears heard
I a melody in your looks that has stirred
The depths of my being with a song of
Praise, the everlasting word from above.

                In Sight I Heard what In Song I Saw (c) Luke Bennette, August 2012

The Other Net

Silent is the grave, but loud are the depths
Wherein one dives; it is full of bereft.
Soft is the thrum that wakens the body,
A shaft of light that colors the eyes, sea
Of water that ripples too and fro, tree
Of life that beckons; and we who know, we
Who walk towards it without a thought for
Those who wade behind, we who walk the shore,
We who pay no mind to those that struggle
Within the stormy depths of the ocean,
Who may reach out with but a hand, do shun
Our brothers and sisters without a thought,
Are undone by our illusions, are caught
By the net of deceit. For apart from
The rest we shall be caught by another,
Whose hand has caressed us with rose made rum,
And laughter; one that bears the light under
A mask of fools gold... 

               The other Net, (c) Luke Bennette, July 2012