Someone else's clothes

Sipping coffee in the darkness I drink in the silence.
A world apart the gypsy peddles flowers to a sea of broken strangers.
Her bare feet on the cobblestone street beneath a jeweled, ankle length skirt.
Under the same blanket of stars I'm in someone else's shirt.

Wilting carnations in desperate need of water. A fading fire in desperate need of wood.
Heads turned and eyes closed, they both go unattended.
Would she steal my wallet if given the chance?
I've made it easy. I unlock all the doors at twilight.
Fighting not to lose my mind I think I hear a weeping child.
We both need the safety of our blankets.
I'd light a candle, but the glow would reveal these aren't my clothes.

The gift of tongues and an angel comes. He tells me the name of the child.
He asks why I wear clothes that aren't my own.
"I was told they were better than the ones given me."
"You've forgotten how to fly," and he takes me to the gypsy.

I see she's in the clothes that she was given.
Under the stars she peddles flowers to the sea of broken strangers.
My host is gone and I'm in clothes that fit.
Her eyes meet mine and wading through the crowd I stand before her naked feet.
I buy a carnation that needs no water, from a fire that needs no wood.
I take my shoes off and feel the cobblestones beneath my feet.
She smiles.
This is holy ground.

Room to Doubt

"While God has given ample evidence for faith, He will never remove all excuses for unbelief. All who look for hooks to hang their doubts upon will find them. And those who refuse to accept and obey God's word until every objection has been removed, and there is no longer an opportunity for doubt, will never come to the light."

-E.G. White, The Great Controversy

A solemn warning.

"Watch ye therefore:...lest coming suddenly He find you sleeping."
-Mark 13:35,36


"Thou art weighed in the balances, and art found wanting."
-Daniel 5:27

One More Night

Your lips on mine. Your eyes on mine. Your hands on mine.
Frozen in time, I thought I laid down to die tonight.
Our bodies warm and I'm glad I made the phone call.
Lost in the upper room you breathe your life into me as we share our secret one more night.

A mother cries, "My son is dead!" while a father continues working in a field.
She drives all night in a car that's never felt so empty.
Winding through the mountains she wonders when she'll see the sea.
Frozen in time she screams, "How could you?"
Her son laid down to die tonight.

You fall at my feet and wrap your hands around my ankle.
I can feel your fingers tremble.
They speak louder than anything you could ever say.
Shaking. Breaking.
Pausing. Pacing.
We'll share our secret one more night.

An old woman kisses the forehead of her sleeping husband.
She lies next to him on the cold kitchen tiles.
She wonders how he could go home without her.
The refrigerator hums.
Her husband laid down to die tonight.

Alone in the upper room, frozen in time, your body on mine.
We share our secret one more time.
Your lips on mine, your eyes on mine, your hands on mine.
You breathe your life into me and I'm glad I made the phone call.
I swore I laid down to die tonight.

An unexpected smile

What I would give just to feel something.
I remember your touch.
I should have let myself cry.
Touch me again and I'll cry this time.
I don't care who's looking.

How can I be so numb within your embrace?
Unresponsive to your whispers of I love you?
I know you're shouting, but I can't move.

We use to move mountains together, but today I hear the rocks cry out.
Even the longest journey ends in a circle.
Maybe that's why I always come back to fear.
It leaves so much unsaid.
So much undone.

As the clouds loom a smile strikes like lightning.
Strange how deeply cuts the stranger.
Something connects and there's a stir within this empty shell.
Something's missing.
It sticks with me and lingers.
You stick with me and linger.
She sticks with me and lingers.

I wonder if we'll meet again.
It gives me hope and makes me feel foolish, but those are feelings.
She made me feel again and that made the moment precious.
Maybe I'll dance again someday.
Maybe someday we won't be strangers.
Maybe we never were.
Maybe you'll touch me and I'll cry this time.
I don't care who's looking.