The Snake

Creeping silently in the darkness    

Come the lies the world adores.
Dressed in fine exotic costumes,
Luring like a street corner whore.
Quietly hiding in dark corners,.
Waiting for precise moments when
The time arrives to take the prisoner.
Evil wins. It begins again.
Watch your back! You're seldom safe.
Guard your heart! Don't look away!
Evil lurks to take you captive.
Entering in wherever he may.

No Spring Chicken

I've gotten so old I can hardly walk.

I forget what I'm saying when I'm trying to talk.

I cannot leave home without taking my cane,

But they just can't find anything to jump start my brain.

My aching back would cause Hercules to weep.

It wakes me at night when I'm trying to sleep.

I have corns and bunions that are hard to remove.

They're quite bothersome when I get in my groove.

 

I have old age spots, cataracts, and weak knees.

I no longer tackle the stairsteps with ease.

I have twenty doctors for all of my ills.

And I'm sure that I rattle from all of my pills.

You'll have to speak up for it's now hard to hear.

Can't have sex anymore without stripping a gear.

My hands started shaking, the treadmill is sold

Cause it's tough falling off now that I am so old.

Happy Birthday to me! Senior citizen for hire!
Can't have birthday cake without starting a fire.
I'm begging for sympathy as I'm approaching the mold

Of a gaffer and codger now that I am so old.

Metamorphosis

Once I was dead.
I enjoyed all the fun with the other dead people
Doing dead people fun.
I was cocky and proud,
And I'd spit in your face
If you'd try a discussion about Jesus and grace.
I hadn't the time
For reflection or guilt.
I lived my life my way.
It was carefully built.
But, oh! What a mess in my miserable home!
And still I refused
To step down from my throne.

The stench of my deadness
Was toxic and strong.
To know its extent would have filled you with dread.
My family suffered
From all my bad choices.
My focus was me.
I did nothing for you.

But the hand of grace
Worked in me over the years.
Little changes. Some regrets.
My mother's death, and my fears.
My sin was uncomfortable,
And I wanted out
Of this life I'd created and started to doubt.
The prayers of my mother and family were strong.
I'd held out a long time.
Some would say much too long.
Then one Saturday morning
A pastor came to our home,
And with serenity and peace
I stepped down from my throne.
The changes in my life
Were miraculous and true.
To obey Him and please Him
Is all I want to do.

I was hungry for Jesus.
I poured over His word.
I devoured every sentence.
I hid in my heart all I learned.
The purging and cleansing
Refining my life was not easy.
So much to remove it felt like a knife
That was carving and shaping
And soon I could see
The person I was becoming
Was the one I always wanted to be.
God's people were helpful.
God's people were fun.
I delighted in my new life
When each day was done.
God's people were accepting
Even when they knew
What I was before Jesus.
They were faithful and true.

Over thirty years now
I have reveled in His grace.
I have good days
And bad days when I fall on my face.
I'm not perfect, but I know
That the devil is on the run.
My Redeemer paid my ransom and the victory is won.

Love's Expression

His anger used to ruin my day;

His childish pouting to shut me out.

The years have opened wide my eyes.

I no longer suffer to his manipulative way.

For years I have chosen to simply ignore

The rants of the anger he cannot contain.

The source that enables my calmness with love

Is the source he refuses. He won't open that door.

So Jesus, my source of love, showed me a way

To display how I love him by using my art.

As I draw I think lovingly, keeping him close.

Each stroke that I make is to cheer up his day.

I have chosen a subject so dear to his heart.

I am eager to love him in my motherly way.

It's enough for the moment to love an adult child

In my late evening quietness while we are far apart.