JANUS PSALM
And – Innocence – Experience –
Are Complements of Life –
Perfection is a Composite
Of Harmony and Strife.
Caprices – Whims of Time and Change
Are meaningful as Scrims –
Dark Curtains for the bright Exchange
Of Light and subtle Dims.
(1 January 2012, Pleasant Grove, Utah)
WEIGHT PSALM
The gift of Exposition is
A Talent to Expound –
A willing Proposition is
A Dower to Propound.
A solid Composition has
A Power to Expose
A simple Intuition that
Our pride cannot Compose.
(15 January 2012, Pleasant Grove, Utah)
PAVAN PSALM
I do not hear the Muse’s nudge
In meters every day –
I do not see the Birds suspend
In synchronized display.
I do not fear the Absence of
The Parallels of Sense –
The Spirit is Incomp’rable –
Providing Recompense.
(Winter 2012, Pleasant Grove, Utah)
TRANSLATION PSALM
The Birds know that I’m moving –
The Deer sense that I’ll go –
Their understanding certain:
Migration is their mode.
They’ll miss my morning greeting –
And midnight sentinel –
I’ll miss their shy entreating –
And sentry seasonal.
The Deer know that I’m going –
The Birds sense that I’ll leave –
The House begins its mourning –
The Garden starts to grieve.
(16 February 2012, Pleasant Grove, Utah)
CALENDAR PSALM
The days are not defined by us –
But rather Nature’s whirl –
They leap across our boundaries –
They spill into our world –
They overflow the finitude –
They interrupt the sense –
Their surplus makes us add more time
At Gravity’s behest.
(29 February 2012, Springville, Utah)
SAD PSALM
My heart aches for Syria –
Damascus is rain –
The “Spring” that was boasted
Has ended in pain.
The balance that Egypt had –
Threatened by ruin –
The promise of Liberty
Banished too soon.
(3 March 2012, Paris to Helsinki)
SIBELIUS PSALM
A longing to move across water –
I’ve come to the Home of the Elf –
A yearning for order, not clutter –
I’ve found the domain of the Self.
I’ve followed the foot-prints of Rein-deer –
I’ve noted the fin-tips of Fish –
I’ve swallowed an Ocean of Beauty –
I’ve sipped from the Blue Delphic Dish.
(3 March 2012, Paris to Helsinki)
PLANET PSALM
The marvelous work of the Lord
Proceeds unto one as with all.
The miracles He has in store
Go forward to Great and to Small.
The promises He hath set forth
Pertain unto you and to me.
His Word issues forth from the Earth
To us, and the Isles of the Sea.
(8 March 2012, Helsinki, Finland)
SNORE SONG
I’m desiccating into dance –
My hair like spider silk –
A pirouette to Home from France
Like dandelion milk.
I shoo away the pesky snore
That startles me awake –
The other passengers ignore
The gentle buzz I make.
(12 March 2012, flight from Paris to Salt Lake)
LITE LYRIC
While you were away, my Bonny –
While you were away –
I learned the legend, lore, and script
Of things that I could say.
(13 March 2012, Springville, Utah)
MALLARD PSALM
Mysterious March morning storm –
Not lonesome – desiccate, but warm.
A male duck lying in the leaves –
Not living – emerald, one grieves.
A branch serves as a sextant stave –
Piled stones on leaves appoint a grave –
Prompt hyacinths on higher hill
Could contemplate the silenced bill –
Nearby his counterpart – awake –
Who waits – not wallows – for his sake –
In curly willow’s winding shade –
Sits fallow on the spilling grade.
To shudder at the wounded wings –
To stutter from unuttered strings
Of empathy is requisite.
To murmur – spring is dedicate.
(26 March 2012, BYU Botany Pond, Provo, Utah)
ABBA PSALM
Father dances with His Daughters –
He wrestles with His Sons –
He fences with the Brother Saints –
With Sisterhood, He runs.
Enchanting all His Women –
He humors all His Men –
His wittiness for Masculine –
His charm for Feminine.
A Dowry for His little girls –
And Power for His boys –
A Mantle for His Kings and Priests –
For Queens, His keenest joys.
(19 April 2012, Provo, Utah)
CALM PSALM (Isaiah 51-54)
How could He bear the Smiter’s flail?
How could He take the shame?
How could He hear the Mocker’s rail?
How could He stand the blame –
Endure Chastisement’s flinted whip –
Accept the stinging barb –
Remain as silent as a Lamb –
Unflinch His broken heart?
How could He turn His thoughts to us
On Torture’s brutal rack?
Can I return my thoughts to Him
When Censure strikes my back?
Can I remember His disgrace
When my repute is torn?
Can I forget a loss of face
When bludgeoned by Man’s scorn?
Can I forgive as He forgave –
Receiving punishment –
And lose myself when lashes bruise –
When words misrepresent?
My weaknesses may merit pain
And ostracizing doom –
But I can help Him bind up wounds
Because He whispers, “Boon.”
(20 April 2012, Provo, Utah)
AUTHORITY PSALM
Some rulers push us to our Knees –
While Leaders gently draw –
Some use dominion to control
The subjects of their law.
Some use Persuasion’s Gentle Steps
To guide us unto God –
How Beautiful upon the Hills
A Shepherd’s Feet so shod.
(21 April 2012, Springville, Utah)
CIRCULAR PSALM (D&C 42:61)
When we but ask in simple prayer
The Revelation springs
From point to point and line to line –
And Knowledge also sings
That we may know the Mysteries –
The Peace-enabled things
That bring forth Joy and wheeling Life
On Everlasting wings.
(26 April 2012, Springville, Utah)
FLOOD PSALM
When we pray for revelation –
Put out the Pots and Pans –
Roll out the Water Barrell –
The Reservoir expands!
(29 April 2012, Springville, Utah)
SINGULAR PSALM
Thy Love – my only Dowry Gift –
Thy Hand – my only Trow –
Thy House – my only Covenant –
Thy Word – my only Vow.
Thy Heart – my only Resting Place –
Thy Will – my only Ward –
Thy Face – my only Surety –
Thy Arm – my only Guard.
Thy Light – my only Radiance –
My only Grace – Thy Name –
Thy Sake – my only Benefit –
My one Renown – Thy Fame.
(2 May 2012, Provo, Utah)
HALLEN’S MOVING CASTLE
The word for House means Family –
The word for Build means Child –
My new Home is a Gallery
Of Timbers Reconciled.
The upper Floor has Attic rooms –
The lower Level – Space –
The Fireplace hosts “Calcifer” –
Who smiles a gas-log Face.
The Sliding door shows Southern warmth –
The Front Port meets the West –
Enchanting books line built-in Shelves –
Here – Sophie’s Bones can Rest.
(7 May 2012, Springville, Utah)
JAMES’ PSALM
“Light travels faster in Water –
We use five percent of our Brain –
The Missing Matter found My Mind –
Our Lives more than Zero-Sum Gain.”
(16 May 2012, Phoenix, Arizona)
MANTRA PSALM
Music is the portal to
The mansions of the mind.
Chariot of influence
Can constantly remind.
(7 June 2012, Springville, Utah)
ALL WE LIKE SHEEP
None of us know love,
But we love the learning –
None of us are clean,
But we cleanse by yearning.
(9 June 2012, Springville, Utah)
WHIT PSALM
Pure water is adhesive –
With transitory glide
It washes off pollutions –
Then into dust it glides.
The Godlings work by Power
And not just Gentleness –
They offer strong solutions
To laver wickedness.
(20 June 2012, Springville, Utah)
INSCAPE PSALM
The Mountains are inside
That we are called to scale –
The looming Challenges reside
Within the neural veil.
Exhilaration rides –
Discovery entails
The will to rise as joy provides
Renewal on the trails.
No need to wait for guide –
The Quest has Holy tales
Inscribed on crimson canyon sides
Where memory prevails.
Interior ascent –
Enticing slopes concave –
To traverse switchbacks of the soul
Where every step is brave.
(21 June 2012, Springville, Utah)
WHIP PSALM
He cleansed the Temple twice –
They scorned Him for the first –
He – fearless – finished His grim chore –
They scourged Him for the last.
They dealt in avarice –
He fed them Bread and Fish –
Provided Manna from His store –
They flayed Him with a lash.
(15 July 2012, Springville, Utah)
BACKSTAGE PSALM
Sincerity, Simplicity –
A Blessing from a King –
Tranquility, Transparency
Mean more than anything.
A Poet’s Mind a greater Find
Than Scholarly acclaim –
The “Music of Endorsement” leans
Behind the Scenes of Fame.
(21 July 2012, Springville, Utah)
CASTING OUT PSALM
Remember Jesus and His Life –
Not fears and phantom foes –
He spoke to Mary Magdalene
And others who had woes.
(24 July 2012, Springville, Utah)
RABBONI PSALM
From clear Galilee’s shore
To Gethsemane’s door
The depth of His soul knows no bounds.
From youth’s Nazareth home
To the Heavenly throne
The breadth of His wisdom resounds.
(July 2012 Springville, Utah)
INWARD PSALM
Son of David – Beloved Son –
Only Begotten Holy One –
Prince of Peace – Principalities –
Everlasting Eternities –
How shall I remember this Lord?
Internalize His saving Word?
Acquire such divinity
And seek His face in All I see?
Envision Jesus and His Life –
Not fears and foes, not phantom strife –
He spoke to Mary Magdalene –
He lifted woes to make us clean.
These letters on this paper page –
Obscure remarks cannot presage –
The power of His blessed gaze –
The beauty of His smiling face.
(31 July 2012, Springville, Utah)
SKRIM PSALM
As if a rainbow had melted –
Reflecting reverse rays –
Southeastern mountainous moonrise –
Invisible displays –
Anticrepuscular evening
Aligns each fleet of cloud –
As if a secret silent code
Translated light aloud.
(1 August 2012, Springville, Utah)
VEIL PSALM
Surrounded by Angels and Ancestors –
A Life begins to Relinquish its wills –
Astounded by how its Predecessors
Recover the Light notwithstanding ills.
(12 August 2012, Springville, Utah)
MOTE PSALM
Not log nor speck within the eye
But rather load on back –
The burden being cumbersome
Explains our neighbor’s lack.
A seemingly self-righteous stance
May mask a crucible –
Supposéd hypocritic glance
Might mask a crucifix.
(20 August 2012, Springville, Utah)
LAUGH SONNET
The better part of virtue is a smile,
A miracle, a mirror of the soul.
The better part of valor without guile,
But whimsical, a giggle with control.
The better part of poetry is rime,
A metrical, a smidgen of restraint.
The better part of prosody is time,
But lyrical, a grin without a feint.
The better part of singing is a note,
But musical, an arching singeing line.
The better part of opera is rote,
In memory, a tinge of quaint design.
The better part of comedy is mirth,
But mystical, with spirited accord.
The better part of humor is its girth,
Quite spherical, a girdle for a gourd.
The best intents of solemn prose retire
When elements of joy meet to inspire.
(2 September 2012, Springville, Utah)
HOSPICE OF THE VALLEY (For JKH)
What kills us is losing each other –
As loss by loss we shrink –
The pathos of tending a brother
No matter how we sink.
What keeps us is comforting strangers –
As cell by cell we fall –
The logos of coping with dangers
Not caring if we crawl.
What heals us is finding the Master –
As step by step we learn
The ethos of foiling disaster
While watching candles burn.
(4 September 2012)
ANCESTOR PSALM
Redeeming the Dead within us –
Essential life-long Quest –
Reclaiming their Inheritance –
Their Songs yet unexpressed –
Fulfilling promised Heritage –
Walking the Lands they worked –
Repairing Breeches in the walls –
Restoring their Paths they walked.
(10 October 2012, Springville, Utah)
CALCIFER PSALM
My little lamp was sputtering –
You came, relit the flare –
A candelabra fluency –
A cruise of oil to spare.
As if the flame came through the voice –
Not from a mortal glow –
As if the light was from a Star –
Not from the earth below.
(28 October 2012, Provo, Utah)
WING PSALM (Ruth 2:12)
Thus marriage is a peace treaty –
A recompense of time –
A covenant of full reward –
A harvest paradigm –
Repayment for the widow’s mite –
A settlement for loss –
A vindication for the meek –
A hearty paradox –
Requital of a solemn vow –
Amends for all who fell –
Assent to new equivalence –
Amen in parallel.
(14 November 2012, Springville, Utah)
DAILY BREAD PSALM
Real Prayer is not a Monologue –
Soliloquy of one –
Oration is a Dialogue
Provided through the Son.
The Thankfulness is actual –
The Pleading is sincere –
Significance is mutual
When we touch Father’s Ear.
Translation is the Spirit’s role –
The words – an Angel’s gift –
Interpretation of the Soul
When invocations lift.
(16 November 2012, Springville, Utah)
TITLE SONNET
Symbolic and deictic – He is the Vine –
The Truth, the Way, the Christ, the Bread, the Wine –
The Path, the Lord, the King, the Prince, the Son –
The Light, the Judge, the Priest, the Holy One –
The Pearl, the Manna, God, the great I AM –
The Friend, the Tree, the Star, the Gift, the Lamb –
The Life, the Branch, the Seed, the Rod, the Hymn –
The Word, the Fruit, the Smile, the Calm, the Him –
Omega, Alpha, Present, Future, Past –
The Song, the Dance, the Shepherd, First and Last –
The Husband, Maker, Temple, Cornerstone –
The Sign, the Rock, Creator, Man Alone –
The Sip, the Drink, the Fount, the Mount, the End –
The Head, the Cup, the Supper, Love, Amen.
(18 November, Phoenix, Arizona)
SUNDAY SCHOOL PSALM
The Master is the Prototype –
His conduct is the Plan –
The Template of His Holiness
Similitude for Man –
For Women – Children – Babies – Beasts
Commandment to be One –
Mimesis of a Shepherd’s love
Presented by the Son.
No other Promise can compare
To Patterns He provides –
We’re saved by Grace – we’re judged by Works –
The Record coincides
With His atoning Sacrifice
That covers us with Light –
Disowning all that is not Him –
Invested with His Sight.
(18 November, Phoenix, Arizona)
ETYMOLOGY PSALM
The “Lamb” means one who’s lifted up –
The “thyme” is incense prayer –
And “Worthiness” means bringing forth –
A “King” means base of power.
This lesson is an endless song
For words are infinite –
Seek out the meanings in each verse –
The odes are definite.
(19 November 2012, Phoenix, Arizona)
COMPOSED PSALM
So Writing is a way to think –
To draw a way to see
Dimensions of the layered world
Through relativity –
And Music is a way to feel –
To sing a way to be –
A record of the heart’s return
To love’s reality.
(20 November 2012, Phoenix, Arizona)
MEETING PSALM
Is His hair white? Has He a beard?
Would He wear robes if He appeared?
Are His eyes brown, or are they blue?
Or green, or grey, some other hue?
Will He sit down, or will He stand?
Sail on the sea, or walk on land?
Will He talk first, or have me speak?
Will He use English? Hebrew? Greek?
Will He embrace me? Shake my palm?
Will He be active? busy? calm?
Will rainbows arch above His head?
Will He eat honeycomb, or bread?
Will He be friendly? Is He strong?
Will I be welcome in His throng?
Are His feet beautiful but scarred?
Is His face sanctified but marred?
Will I approach, or will I shrink?
Will He know everything I think?
Will He look mortal? Glorious?
Look humble, or victorious?
Will I feel hope, or will I fear?
Be confident when He draws near?
Will I be free to meet His eye?
Will I feel glad, or will I cry?
(27 November 2012, Springville, Utah)
MILKY WAY PSALM
The stars align – the orbs recline –
The planets hold their course –
The solar system spins its wheels
In paradox reverse.
Our ignorance and arrogance
Progress with noisy stealth –
The distance, diffidence, disdain
Deprive the soul of health.
The suns decline – the moons resign –
The orbits hide their spin –
The universes turn as one
In paradigm within.
Our finitude and multitude
Proceed with awkward speed –
The darkness, dissonance, despair
Deny the hearts we need.
(21 December 2012, Springville, Utah)
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