Pebbles

We kick our pebbles down the road
Watching them bounce to and fro
Wondering where they will travel
Down this seemingly endless road

We give them the start that they need
Trying to roll them a certain way
But the road that we wish them to travel
Is not smooth or even or level

And yet, down this road they must travel
All of our little pebbles
Never gliding the way we intended
And yet, sometimes, they do still make it

We wrap our prayers and love
Into each precious little pebble
The tiny rolling and tumbling little pebbles
That hold onto our hopes and dreams

Some pebbles fall by the wayside
Mired and lost in the grass
A tiny piece of our selves and our lives
That now will forever be lost

And yet we always have hope
That our lost little pebbles are found
Picked up with care and love
And placed back on the right path

Sometimes we feel the pain
From the overbearing hurt
An ache felt deep in our bosoms
Caused by our pebbles gone astray

But, we kick our pebbles again
Down the same road
Watching them bounce in new directions
Still hoping they reach our home

Barely Alive

I gave my heart freely
An act only done once before
And now I see it laid before me
Ripped from my chest, placed on the floor

How could you have been so fooled?
How could you have been so mislead?
Didn't you see the clues?
Didn't you know what was ahead?

I can hear all the questions
Coming from those I know and love
Everyone pointing fingers
At the signs I should have seen

Yet love has a funny way
Of making you blind to things
Actions which may be out in the open
But your heart won't see a thing

Now as I lay clutching
My chest as I writhe in pain
What once knew love is now dead
Will it ever beat with life again?

I look toward the heavens
And gaze into God's creation
Surely he must have a plan
For I know the evil one won't triumph.

So I place my gaze on God
It's all I have left to do
My heart must re-awaken
Or I know that I am through...

Speck

A million lights dance across the sky
But I'm just a speck among them
What causes some of us
To burn so brightly
While others are always dim

I can't see my own shimmer
I can't tell where I belong
I keep floating like a speck
I flitter among the stars
Dull, and black, just a speck

I've been told
That it is quite the sight
When you are so close
To a star
Especially one burning bright

And yet all I am is singed
And still I cannot pull away
I cannot save myself
Must I be consumed
God spare me from this

And in an instance
I am transformed
My very own radiance
Shines through
Giving a warmth I never knew

I was never just a speck
Just a dimly lit star
Hidden amongst the heavens
Covered by others gems
But I do have my place

I will go forward
I will be the light
I will lead others
I will pull them from the night
And all of us will shine!

Little Whispers

Shadows flicker
In the corner of my eyes
Maybe just a trick of the light?
Ever so quietly
The shadow creeps toward me
I turn my head to see
But there is nothing there.

Sometimes I hear
The faint flutter of wings
As of a thousand little pixies
As they're dancing around me
Other times I hear
Their hushed voices
Coaxing and misleading me.

Oh if not
For this pill
That I must take each evening
I can only imagine
The wondrous sounds
That would acccompany
These Pixies dancing.

Their muted laughter
Their shrieks of joy
Their whispers in my ear
Yet I can only see them
When the shadow flickers
And perchance
Catch them there

But now the pill
Has done its work
As the music slowly fades
Yet I know
They're still out there
For that shadow still flickers
In the corner of my eye

Shadow Dweller

The light shines but does not illuminate
I am left in the shadows
My hands reach out
But the light burns my skin

Slowly I slink
Back into the pit
Ever desolate
Ever despairing

I am outcast
A pariah amongst friends
Harbinger of death and despair
All turn from me

I try to grasp the light
Where I once dwelt
Where I can no longer live
Never to know the warmth again

12 Años Hermosos (Escrito en 2008)

El cielo es azul y los pájaros están cantando

Una hermosa canción para ti

El tiempo pasa lentamente

Y disfrutar de la actuación

Esto me recuerda el día en que se reunió por primera vez

Una sonrisa cruza mi cara

La alegría que me sentía

Mi corazón late con fuerza en mi pecho

Su belleza derramado sobre mí

Al igual que el del sol los rayos de oro

Mi piel caliente de su resplandor

Mi sangre es un fuego por ti

12 años han pasado

Hemos crecido más prudente

Mi corazón todovía libras en mi pecho

Mi sangre está todavía en el fuego

Te quiero con toda mi alma!

12 Beautiful Years (written in 2008)

The sky is blue and the birds are singing

A beautiful song to you

Time goes by slowly

And we enjoy the performance

It reminds me of the day we first met

A smile crosses my face

The joy that I felt

My heart pounding in my chest

Your beauty poured on me

Like the sun’s golden rays

My skin warmed by your glow

My blood on fire for you

12 years have passed

We have grown wiser

My heart still pounds in my chest

My blood is still on fire

I love you with all my soul!

The Brook

You shimmer and move
Like the clearest mountain stream
Ever-changing, constantly flowing
Teeming with life and strength

Through every one you befriend
You etch an eternal memory
Just as the stream carves its way
Finding the easiest of paths

But, I reach out toward you
With timidity and trepidation
My arms encircle your translucent body
But like the stream, I cannot hold you

I’m just a difficult path
An obstacle you must navigate
An impediment to your movement
But I am also your future

You will carve your image into me
You will push on searching, seeking and finding
The path is not easy, and at times insurmountable
Still you will move ahead

Revealing that easy path
Carving through my resistance
Washing over my trepidations
Forever leaving your mark on me

The Raven

The Raven

I sit and watch as the night falls
Shuddering, shaking, afraid.
I know what awaits me
when I close my eyes;
But I must face it anyway.

Everyday is a trial
Just to exist as a being.
But most of us have to face that;
It's life as we know it
Unyielding, cold and harsh
But we push on anyway.

My sole solace is in my redeemer
Without him
I would be nothing
Just a speck in the universe
Waiting to be swallowed
By the first star I come to close to

Stars shine and they attract
But they also singe and burn
If not for my redeemer,
I would merely be ash
Consumed by the heat of this monster

I look toward the Raven
As it waits to lead me
Away from this torture and pain.
But it says it's not my time
That's not a choice I get to make.

I look toward my redeemer
And he tells me to be patient
He is not done with me yet.
My future still waits
And I must endure
Until He says it is time.

So I look toward the Raven
And ask him to leave
Return when my time has been called.
Until then I will push on
Doing the will of my Lord!

Efrem Leach