Pane

Behold, I see heaven
Through glass that is stained,
Panes breathing hope
So divinely ordained.
And as warm light seeps in
It is colored in tones
Giving life to this world
That's so cold and alone.

You can't see the eternal
Till the dust catches flight,
Then it burns beams of glory,
That streaked, newfound light.
For while dust is the saints
For whose deaths we have cried,
The light it reflects is
God beyond the other side.

Oh Child, who sits
In a corner of shade,
By a window that holds
A Man beaten and flayed:
You shall grow and mature
And then give back your soul.
To dust you'll return;
For your Lord you've extolled.

You can't see the eternal
Till the dust catches flight,
Then it burns beams of glory,
That streaked, newfound light.
For while dust is the saints
For whose deaths we have cried,
The light it reflects is
God beyond the other side.

In a window no draperies hide
Stands a man who bleeds from his side.
With hands and feet broken
On planks He is hung,
Yet He tilts his head back
"Oh my Father," He sighs.
The Father's Light pours through the panes
And the people rejoice and exclaim:
Hallelujah
(again)
Hallelujah
And over and over give praise to His Name!

So sayeth The Brad...

Communion

Why do you feed me
From loaves that were bought with your flesh?
Why can I drink from
The wine-springs that flowed from your wrists?
Your holy communion has given me rest
And, for my future, a hope and a promise

Like wheat from the field,
Or grape from the vine,
They ground up your body
And pummeled your spine
But, next to your harvest,
No other is best
The draught of Life given
From you, The Winepress


So sayeth The Brad...

Cumulus

Stretch out your hand
Lift up your palm
Run fingers through sunlight
And nails 'cross the lawn
See all the beautiful
Things to be found
That began from the moment
We lay on the ground

It's an affirmation of my life
(When raindrops fall)
Let good times roll and run
(And thunder clap loud)
Dance, play with tilted heads
(Let lightning hit ground)
Little child, we have silver linings
(For which we need a cloud)

Sit by a pool
Perfumed by sweet air
Son, hold close your lover
And brush her soft hair
Thank God that he's given
A life with such sun
Inside of a world
Ugly and overrun

It's an affirmation of my life
(When raindrops fall)
Let good times roll and run
(And thunder clap loud)
Dance, play with tilted heads
(Let lightning hit ground)
Little child, we have silver linings
(For which we need a cloud)

If there is no war,
What happens to peace?
If we've never hungered
Why, then, sup at the feast?
And if death didn't come
Would we bother to live?
If clouds never came
Then no linings they'd give.

It's an affirmation of my life
(When raindrops fall)
Let good times roll and run
(And thunder clap loud)
Dance, play with tilted heads
(Let lightning hit ground)
Little child, we have silver linings
(For which we need a cloud)

So sayeth The Brad...

Veritas

Sometimes when I feel like reaching out
To see if I can stretch right through my brown
And dirtied carpet floor
I lay down and listen to the things
Caught wafting upwards, scents and sounds
And secrets uttered nevermore
They’re talking all about me
From several flights below
Seeing through my clever guises
To the me I didn’t want to show

Its keeps me going late at night
The coffee stimulates my mind
And it comforts me to know that
I’m not the only of my kind
But all this talk of my
Dark conformity
Has got me wondering who I am
And why I don’t know me.

Accusations bleeding through the fibers
Of my vintage jacket sleeve and through
The soles of tattered shoes
They would hurt my soul if I still had one
Stolen from the pages of a magazine
That I had flipped and torn through
Slowly they have scrutinized
Everything I thought I had
Made me feel just like the guy
Who says that he's Edge
But only because he still lives with his mom and his dad

It keeps me going late at night
The coffee stimulates my mind
And it comforts me to know that
I'm not the only of my kind
But all this talk of my
Dark conformity
Has got me wondering who I am
And why I don't know me

I can't stand this
Take it away
I'd hurt from the pain,
But its not mine anyway
You say I have nothing
I myself have wrought
I'm losing a battle
Not mine to have fought...

Sometimes at night I cry and moan
I weep alone and sob to no one
And somehow that's alright
I know that none can take away these tears
They're all mine to use and I
Use them all through the night.
They still talk about me
Until this very day
But I don't mind at night when crying
It drives murmers right away

So sayeth The Brad...

Sophia

Though no plaque or inscription bears witness to your name,
Nor do the people shout praises of your fame;
To the boy that belongs to you for all time,
As the one you have brought to this life so divine
Your GREATEST act was giving him a life he loved so
And his HARDEST act will be letting you go

(i love you)