Resurrection, a Sonnet

Pull away the muslin, wash the sleep from my eyes
That the stretch of years have painted in familiar hew
Fill the urns of my flesh with waters anew
Open the windows of my breath ~ To utter sighs
Of sleep sloughed off with the caress of dawn
A wash of newness and light refreshing
My limbs to stretch from sleep awakening
What held them down ~ My sin now gone
This dance I dance like cicadas in resurrection
I too am disgorged, by the rare throes of grace
To new life ~ washed clean of that slightest trace
Of stain or blemish or black insurrection
Cleansed and awakened by the Lord Jesus Christ
Bought by his blood at tremendous, yet so free of price


ELAshley
122608.112639.1

A Tale of Certainties

Life is an empty shell
Waiting to be filled
The heart an empty tomb
Yearning to be willed
The soul an empty field
Virgin and untilled
With what we fill
With what we will
Behind each step
Lie the furrows we till
We do not look back
For if ever we should
Regret would smile to mock us
Our tears could turn a mill


ELAshley
080908.125157.01
Revised:
093008.064630.6

Pears and Solace

Since new years eve 2000 I've written what I call 'New Years Poems.' Typically they've been about war and death-- the muslin opaque, but this year something else arose from the mish-mash of ideas clamoring for a good airing... something more personal.


Pears and Solace

She fed me pear in the light dimmed doorway
And the savor of each dripping succulent
Mirrored the light in her eye ~ just as clear, just as sweet
Every moment a tenderness
And every kiss that followed, a testament

Nineteen years and no answer still
No secure mooring, no harbor yet home
And what would I give for a simple yes?

Will she feed me solace in the months to come
As nourishing as any dripping succulent
Fed and followed by testamental kisses ~ clear and sweet?
And every moment tender
A promissory vow ringed in gold?

Nineteen years and no answer still
What I would not give for a simple yes


ELAshley
123107.114911.6