“To admit foreigners indiscriminately to the rights of citizens the moment they put foot in our country would be nothing less than to admit the Grecian horse into the citadel of our liberty and sovereignty.” – Alexander Hamilton, The Examination Number VIII (January 12, 1802)
Moonbow Symphony
by Michael Doyle
My daughters and I are prone
To take all-day drives
Preferably together, not alone
To feel the peace of being alive
Last weekend, early on Saturday
Our packed-up SUV got underway
The goal was to see the Moonbow
To Cumberland Falls, we would go
Lexington horses chased the breeze
Galloping along in their ease
A bluegrass soundtrack made the scene
The love between us couldn't be more serene
We would see part of nature's design
Where the soul of Kentucky forever shines
With luck, we'd see a moonbow across the sky
As the night fell and the moon hung high
Gathered there in a slightly crowded scene
Across the river from a forest green
A spectral bridge brought magic to the night
As a beautiful phenomenon came to light
We didn't get to see the colors we expected
But what was seen would not be rejected
A rainbow in silvers, whites, and grays
As if to hint at an eternity of Cumberland days
Standing there with toes across the ledge
Gathered in wonder at the water's edge
We were misted and mystified without a sun
Looking up at beauty that was second to none
Here, near where Cumberland's gap was blazed
Along the trail that Daniel Boone had made
There is beauty such as this to find and know
Nature's presence is found in a beautiful moonbow
(c) November 19, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
Remembering Prince
by Michael Doyle
I remember listening to a nightingale sing
Somewhere in Europe and just about spring
And thinking about things dismissed in haste
A lot of which was only my imagined waste
One of these was Prince, dead at fifty-seven
Did find his way past the rain into heaven
I suppose that only time will tell me that
The music plays, glad and sad, where I once sat
The purple one felt the pulse of a raised eyebrow
Of a people who loved his music and then somehow
It seems that his pain was forgotten by the blind
Some only want their youthful memories left behind
There's a dark side to nearly everything seen
Where a strong spirit transcends rules for being
A little more than someone standing in the purple rain
How did we miss that diminutive man who was in pain?
Too much freedom often leads to the soul's decay
The truth of this should have been seen without delay
Creating something from nothing comes with its price
The minor gods of rock-n-roll play with loaded dice
The music hums where soft voices come to die
Was this the sound heard when mourning doves cry
Feedback vibrates in a lost culture's memory
Even as we hear America singing in her reverie
The purple one felt the pulse of a raised eyebrow
Of a people who loved his music and then somehow
It seems that his pain was forgotten by the blind
Some only want their youthful memories left behind
There's a dark side to nearly everything seen
Where a strong spirit transcends rules for being
A little more than someone standing in the purple rain
How did we miss that diminutive man who was in pain?
Two parts deviled and one part full of wicked charm
The dirty-minded minstrel intended no one any harm
His was a deep discography filled with funky treasure
Worth the listening and reverence, measure by measure
You have to love a man who argues to open up eyes
There's a wisdom there that takes us all by surprise
Smashing musical genres all into the shape of one
The melodies were written and to be forgotten are none
The purple one felt the pulse of a raised eyebrow
Of a people who loved his music and then somehow
It seems that his pain was forgotten by the blind
Some only want their youthful memories left behind
There's a dark side to nearly everything seen
Where a strong spirit transcends rules for being
A little more than someone standing in the purple rain
How did we miss that diminutive man who was in pain?
(c) November 19, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“Life is a kind of Chess, in which we have often points to gain, and competitors or adversaries to contend with, and in which there is a vast variety of good and ill events, that are, in some degree, the effect of prudence, or the want of it. By playing at Chess then, we may learn: 1st, Foresight, which looks a little into futurity, and considers the consequences that may attend an action … 2nd, Circumspection, which surveys the whole Chess-board, or scene of action: — the relation of the several Pieces, and their situations; … 3rd, Caution, not to make our moves too hastily…” – Benjamin Franklin, The Morals of Chess(1750)
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said.” – Peter Drucker
Jesus Is the Key
by Michael Doyle
The story has been told
Jesus is the key to all I hold
He's there in every victory
As near and far as I can see
Giving sight to the blind
I see how He's healed the lame
Looking further, I know that I find
His is the most powerful name
Every demon trembles under the Lord's gaze
As God's followers continue to praise
I've come alive with right intention
His miracles have my solemn attention
Here in this holiest of hours
I see the validity of His resurrection power
Risen from death to roll the stone from His grave
I'll spread the message that He's come to save
My eyes are fixed on His good
With love and joy, it's understood
I'm alive in His name and understand
It's all according to His Holy plan
(c) November 18, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“A true leader has the confidence to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions, and the compassion to listen to the needs of others. He does not set out to be a leader, but becomes one by the equality of his actions and the integrity of his intent.” – Douglas MacArthur
“History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap.” – Ronald Reagan
Comfortable In the Discomforts of the Heart
by Michael Doyle
Past all the great and well-known speakers
Is the preacher in comfortable sneakers
He's giving a shout-out about Revelation
As he provides a succinct explanation
A life lived in a would-you-rather game
The choice was made to loudly preach it
Even a preacher's kid knows all the same
That for some truths, you have to teach it
You need to lean in with enthusiasm
As the good news is given with optimism
Christ gives us that great things are in store
Until it brings us coming back for more
It's a prayer said for the benefit of everyone
Given in a message spread about the Son
In all that we are given and quietly told
The age of Revelation has begun to unfold
There are critical things that we must say
As we rapidly approach these last days
We are becoming aware as we live in this age we're in
That there will be hard days despite being forgiven
In this place filled with brotherly love
We fill the space through the ways of Heaven above
There will be times filled with great pain
God has told us and made it quite plain
God's open door cannot be shut with just any key
But the key of David, which we have yet to see
Those who stand strong in and for God's holy name
Will be made and kept strong, all without blame
This is the age of coming times for the earth's trial
It's the last leg of our sacred survival
Those who keep the faith given in its affirmation
Will be steadfast by and through God's proclamation
We keep our faith in the creator's divine liberty
Not by the words revealed by the world's insecurity
But that our ears should be tuned to what is right
While blinded eyes are returned to their holy sight
Trusted voices will have the right to assessment
From these truths will come the actual investment
What we need to know comes as our correction
These are the words worth our introspection
The promises God has made are the true motivation
To keep the integrity of our lasting correction
Let us let holiness be grafted into our step
For this is the truth in all that we have left
Let thy will be done in all and in everything
Given the best of our best in what we bring
We receive God's words, knowing they are inspired
While never allowing ourselves to be too tired
We are not to conform God to our points of view
But instead to remake ourselves as He knows true
This world is filled with risky bits of navigation
It requires us to always stay in naked reflection
In these tricky times that question authority
Turning aside Kurious as if it's simply legendary
Choice architecture is nothing but manipulation
That strives to drive division through its insinuations
Living life by a menu of false categories
Is to walk a path that is incendiary
Harm dished out is the primer of false identity
But there are other choices far more friendly
Full of grace and full of truth to discern
This is the path through which we learn
Jesus is the Lord who came to serve us all
This is the truth we must keep in mind and recall
In a world filled with lies, His is the truth
It has been spoken and kept before us since our youth
Christ is the ultimate gatekeeper of the door
That divided good and evil in this spiritual war
So many doors are of unneeded distractions
And can be inherent in their explicit attraction
We should be praying these are shut away
If we are to keep the path and not stray
We Christians are called out as fishers of men
We must focus on this or fall for our sins
This leads away from our needed salvation
And with this fall from grace, we lose our relation
This, then, is our golden opportunity
When we can bring life with our ability
This is the truth; we were born to care
And by our walk, we must share
(c) November 17, 2024 Michael Doyle
All Rights Reserved
“If you get condemnation out of the Gospel, you put the condemnation into it yourselves! It is not the Gospel, but your rejection of it that will condemn you.” – Charles Spurgeon
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