A heap of bones

Alma 2:38 -- " . . . and their bones have been found, and have been heaped up on the earth."

A heap of bones is all that's left when conflicts end at last;
a brittle monument of follies dreadfully amassed.
The widow and the orphan and the breast of reason torn;
such are the sure harvest of our hatred and our scorn. 
To battle one another unless for our self-defense
is to be a stench and a rude rock of deep offense. 
O, help me bring a little peace into this mortal broil;
I do not want my garments with cross blood to ever soil!  

Wonderful Contentions

Alma 2:5 --  " . . .  having much dispute and wonderful contentions one with another."

When bodies meet together to consider future routes
for their own salvation there are often many doubts.
How easier to let a king or tyrant lead the way,
to cede to them the power to control us day-by-day.
Then we can sit in stupor, never pondering a thing,
or feed our lust for power in brown-nosing thug or king.
The tyrant of all tyrants is the devil, who decrees
how to think and act with calculating expertise.
But God would have us struggle with our conduct and with rules.
And for his Son the Savior we may stumble and be fools.  

Limerick

There once was a banker who craved
charging all those who had saved
funds in his bank
with int'rest so rank
that decency had to be waived. 

When Revolution Comes from God

"This is a message of life and love that strikes squarely against all stifling traditions based on race, language, economic or political standing, educational rank, or cultural background . . . "  Howard W. Hunter.


When revolution comes from God it does not spread bloodshed,
but quietly and joyously old doctrines it will shred.
Scales from eyes and chains from hearts are cast aside at last,
and slaves and masters, rich and poor, will look beyond their past.
The tyrants of the mind and icons of our culture wars
are seen as nothing more than dupes and tantalizing bores.
In fellowship our hearts expand as to gods we may mature,
leaving off our prattling and love of things obscure.
Yes, I declare a mutiny against my sin and vice
that keep me from the light and love of Christ's own sacrifice.

Limerick

The age of the video binge

is making me bitterly cringe;

this fetish to screen

is moral gangrene -- 

and grates like a rusty old hinge.

Limerick

 When voters will not lean your way

a new party name you display.

But it should be clear

unless it's "Free Beer",

the new tag is just a toupee. 

I intend to outwit Death

 I intend to outwit Death, no matter what the stats;

what care I for healthcare or location or trans-fats?

When that rascal calls for me I'll not be home at all,

but shall instead be browsing at the largest shopping mall.

If he can find me in the crush and press of bargain chasers

he can have me fair & square -- that king of dull erasers. 

The Kaleidoscope

Mosiah 29:11 -- " . . . and we will newly arrange the affairs of this people . . . "

Each day I live again, reborn, and newly managed, too;
my affairs can change as fast as any burning coup.
The mundane tasks and dull concerns that weigh my spirit down
are scattered far and wide beneath my Savior's tender crown.
Perhaps I'm treading water to the undiscerning eye;
 but I will turn kaleidoscope in wonder by and by!  

Limerick

When Adam was placed in the Garden

of Eden his heart he did harden

and ate of the fruit

that made him unsuit-

able for any kind of Green pardon. 

I hated someone once

Mosiah 28:2 -- " . . . that perhaps they might cure them of their hatred . . . "

I hated someone once, someone close enough to rip
the tendons of my soul and make my eyelids drip.
Betrayed and left alone, I vowed to keep awake
such bitterness as would preserve my deepest ache.
Yet slowly as the poison spread throughout my frame
I saw its only purpose was to cripple and to maim.
At last the Great Physician in humility I pressed
to cure me of this malady that left me so distressed.
He ever listens close to those who plead in trust;
and thus the venom drained away and turned to harmless dust.
Now my heart is on the mend and my spirit leaps amain
as I walk more fearlessly in this ardent world of pain.