RETURN TO VIRTUE

Virginity means future joy,
Intelligent desire,
Resisting decadent despair,
To build the purest fire,
Unspotted from the world of waste,
Enduring all -- fulfilled and chaste.

(9 May 2009, Grove Creek Canyon, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

BASE CAMP

I wish my home were "Bethany" --
That He would stop to rest.
I wish He could find comfort here --
That He would be my guest.

(25 April 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

HURDLES

He's not afraid of obstacles --
The hurdler greets the bars --
He calculates the energy
That vaults him over spars.

He's not ashamed to show his strength --
He only has to run --
In seconds he can meet the lengths
Of barriers we shun.

Time is the test -- mediocre
Or Excellent? We choose.
Just to breathe, exquisite pleasure --
Appreciate -- or lose?

(6 May 2009, Provo, Utah)

RETRIEVAL

The Savior walked on Utah Lake.
He raised the Iron Man
Who drowned in shallow stormy waves.
He dried him, and they ran

To rescue other struggling ones
Who sank, though they were strong --
To lift the weaker lonely souls
Who seeking right, went wrong.

(10 May, Provo, Utah)

TIL SUNDSVALL

I'm traveling to my deepest roots --
The place where mothers wove
The pattern of our DNA --
The codes that bid us rove --

Remembering the ancestors --
The cousins and the kith --
Descending into histories
Beyond the runes of myth.

(11 May 2009, Skåne, Sweden)

THREE

THREE

How can I be clean again?
Like Sunbeams chasing birds?
Like butterflies unfurling?
Like toddlers learning words?

He’s gathering the children.
He’s numbering the herd.
I’ll know Him as the Shepherd.
He feeds me with His word.

He will fulfill the promise –
The banishment will end.
He leads me to the mountain
Where little lambs ascend.

(21 April 2009, Pleasant Grove, Utah)

NATURAL DAY OF PRAYER

Because it is May, and the sun
Yawns over the mountain –
The birds turn into accountants –
Grass dews under the Day.

Because it is Thine, and the trees
Grow next to the hedges –
The way connects to the edges
Of sky – And life is mine.

Because it is Spring, and the air
Dawns out of the canyon –
The east reviews golden banners –
Nature’s prayer bids us sing.

(7 May 2009, Provo, Utah)

"COME FORTH"

Children spring up over hurdles –
But grown ones stay low and intense –
Humbled by gravity’s circuit –
They bow as they face the ascents.

Lazarus bends before rising –
He flexes the tendons and heels –
Loosens the wrappings and bindings –
He stretches each muscle – he kneels –

He steps up – goes through the passage –
He meets expiration with breath –
Dashing to life – old bars passing –
Heart racing – he runs out of death.

(1 May 2009, Provo, Utah)