It was a different life A different scene Life was tough And the streets were mean
Life was about respect Asking for the something better to be had Was maybe a bit too much to expect But the beauty seen could make him glad
The scene was a content night out That led to the moment's heartbreak Of a life lived in desperation and doubt It was the drag of desire that brought mistakes
Playing life's games we didn't know As we flirted in the back row of the picture show Making love out of nothing at all How did I know that you'd catch my fall?
Somewhere over life's proverbial rainbow A bluebird sings melancholy from the shadows This is the way that champions are made By standing, not falling, and facing the world unafraid
(c) November 20, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
A Split Decision Leaves Us Standing by Michael Doyle
In self-awareness, we look into the mirror Unwilling to walk this world in error But instead, seeking to understand, not undermine Understanding first as the defining line
Loving one another as part of our worship Paul and Barnabas teach us about relationship Modeling leadership in Antioch as missionaries Out into a world that was often contrary
Two heroes of faith came to disagree And passed into conflict with dignity It was a split decision for all to see Both were left standing in their humility
Considering the two sides of who was right Barnabas arose in encouragement and light The Road to Damascus was recalled, turning wrong to right As Christ met Paul to give him new insight
From killer to Apostle in three days grace It was a remarkable timing for Paul to embrace It came down to Jesus being that kind of good When all of God comes to be infinitely understood
The holiness of doubt moves us forward Step by step and ever moving toward Along this journey, we seek to be wise In following our hearts and not just our eyes
Errors happen when both sides are right As we forget this truth that is brought to light It's not the being right but in getting it right As we move forward with humility's sight
We don't need to always be on the same page To be on the same team in any given age Different directions are sometimes needed If it is the real truth that is to be heeded
Some come into our lives only for a season To be the source of newly discovered reasons While some come as a needed set of lessons Leaving their traces as much needed blessings
Wisdom doesn't come in some kind of monochrome That finds its definition in only one zone But in multiple colors other than black and white This then, is seeing life with godly sight
Let's remember that having differences of opinion Does not necessarily need to make for opposition Instead let's be living bridges carrying life forward Keeping our relationships open to moving toward
What God has called us to do in closing the deal We must honor and respect one another, keeping it real As bridges that lead to both sides of the water This is how we live the strategy of our loving Father
It all comes full circle into something wonderful As life is lived in God's calling into the beautiful That we must engage in our conflicts fully understanding That in the end, opposing hearts are best left standing
(c) November 19, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
With the pressure of coal refractive In a life hard lived and extractive A diamond's aspects glitter in their hues The Bronx Bull lived his blackened blues
When out of the ring, his prowess was as abusive As his desire to feel love was tragically elusive The Raging Bull could not outrun the jabs and jeers That he remembered, along with footwork and cheers
Born to be a ready-made champion who had a hunch That he would not go down despite the worst punch It was a hard life lived in his parade of years That brought its harm by causing others so many tears
This then was the treadmill that became his journey Alongside his Shakespearian quest for his destiny Wishing that somehow he could be Sir Olivier His shadow box became the contests with Sugar Ray
Until even he wondered if life could be more than a fight As he kept knocking them out, night after night Broken down into bruises that no one should endure There were no good answers to be found or serve as a cure
For his need to push beyond the walls of the unknown He would take the punches in his pursuit of his crown This was the currency of a soured life spent in a ring Where even the caged canary would choose not to sing
(c) November 18, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
“We need acts of restoration, not only for polluted waters and degraded lands, but also for our relationship to the world. We need to restore honor to the way we live, so that when we walk through the world we don’t have to avert our eyes with shame, so that we can hold our heads up high and receive the respectful acknowledgment of the rest of the earth’s beings.” – Robin Wall Kimmerer, in Braiding Sweetgrass
“Guard with jealous attention the public liberty. Suspect every one who approaches that jewel. Unfortunately, nothing will preserve it but downright force. Whenever you give up that force, you are inevitably ruined.” – Patrick Henry (1788)
A story must be told through its end However little we think that we can defend As the hero struggles to free himself from chains While holding onto the dreams of the morning rains
It's hard to cut through the blur of tired eyes Knowing that only a lifetime of pain comes to recognize The price of tickets being paid in full to paradise It's even higher when no one knows the truth from attendant lies
These are the lies that bring us to our maturity Knowing that ignorance brings its sense of security When what is needed to know is the offense Of giving up only to agree to the majority's pretense
That all of life might yet become known Through traveling the hidden roads yet to be shown However far we travel, there is further still to grow Life's secrets are given in the tease that flows
It is anger and fear that strips us of our humanity As the charade of life kills off our remaining vanity We think on all we have dreamed we might have had If we'd fought harder, never succumbing to feeling sad
The truth is that the world holds mostly lies That, though transparent, are veiled before our eyes As we push forward, hoping to live out our dreams While feeling that we are coming apart at the seams
The expense for this comes from our search within As we are filled with a lost void of lived-out sins These lands are as vast as the depths of our hearts With one void ending where yet another quietly begins
However much we act with what we believe to be diligence We cannot help but guard ourselves, hiding with vigilance When we finally stand up to what we believe are our fears We will come to be better than the sum of our years
Our bravery becomes and writes the pages of our tale Even as we learn that we've created our own Hells In life's waters, we stare at our shimmered reflections And know the future past is made from our creation
The connections on which we will build our tomorrows As we dare to dream of some sort of end to our sorrows And yet we wake again to our nightmares lived instead And we find we are shaped by the falsehoods in our heads
(c) November 17, 2023 Michael Doyle All Rights Reserved
Heading out of Australia to escape this Aussie winter. First stop Japan, then UK/Ireland and if work doesn't call me back, onto Chicago. I will make it up as I go along
