ἔκλαιεν

It’s black (cough!),

The taste of smoke has made its home upon my tongue

Yet you can still see, so can I.

What beauty have we in this day!

This is a house of mirrors, simply put

And with no lack of exigency will I find my way out

I can’t say that I mind; I don’t wish to leave

Every way looks like the right way –they all look the same, to me

The taste is strange –sobering, disheartening, a pestering pestilence

We hasten to debase the taste of smoke that together, we share

It makes the palate dry – as if one were parched

I recognize the smell, but I can’t remember where

The air is hot, and my eyes are burning

This will be intolerable soon.

I DON’T CARE!

I don't live or die by what you scribble!

You’ve shown me the rubble, you say that it’s mine,

You’ve shown me the rubble, I’ll tell you it’s yours!

Lies, they’re all lies!

(cough!) I stumble, the feeling returns

Verily, merrily , I say, what wonder is there in this day!

Smoke! –now I remember; no matter though,

Never again shall it abate my halcyon jubilee!

A stroll down this hallway evokes a bizarre sentiment,

Looking around, mirrors surround me,

The air seems crisp, and yet,

The taste of smoke remains on my tongue

-It always ruins the days worth dying for.

The candid man, speaking to me in smoke –as always.

The feeling is awful –swaggering, staggering; I’ll make it, I swear to you!

Sleeping sunrise to sunset, still with no rest

The air is hot, and my eyes are burning,

I look to my left, then to my right and what do I see?

Reflections of smoke pouring out of me.

The eye is a lamp, and the tongue is a fire,

How the lamp gives fuel to the fire!

Mirrors in all directions telling me the same story,

A story of darkness –and how great is the darkness!

I sing for joy, my requiem aeternam deo

My soul rejoices! (cough!)

Yet, my heart cries out, has it not become colder?

Is not the night continually closing in upon us?

Come one! Come all to this strident masquerade!

This mask is but a casque designed for the heart of man,

For you, for me, for everyone, we’ll be near, here,

To the truth that you and your forefathers gave reproof.

I am no prophet –and here’s no great matter;

But lord knows I have a gut –and a clever one indeed,

I’ve seen the eternal Footman hold my coat, and snicker,

Still my instinct tells me it's simply marvelous,

Isn’t it obvious to us all?

My soul rejoices!

Then he says to me, candidly, mournfully,

“That’s not it at all,

That’s not what I meant, at all.”

- Στεφανος Άρρις

A Psalm of Praise

In the stillness of my thoughts,
You are with me.

When I am in times of trouble,
and I am crushed in rushing rapids,
gasping for air looking, frantically,
for a rock to save myself,

And when I walk in darkness, to fall into a precipice,
and I scramble to find a lantern to light the path at my feet,
I find You.

I am the rocks upon which the seed was sown,

I am the rich man who decided to tear down his storehouses and build larger ones,
and who says to himself, "take ease, eat, drink, be merry."

I am the virgin that did not store up oil for my lantern,
anticipating the arrival of the coming Bridegroom.

I am the wise man made a fool, led astray,
led to be fed to the mouth of Sheol
only to look up as I hang from her jaws,
to see You, and your mighty hand,
keeping her jaws from closing on me.

In the stillness of my mind,
I feel a cool breeze on my face,
I hear quiet waters creeping downstream.
The breeze that moves across my face
brushes the green pastures in which I lay
as a comb through fine hair,

And I hear a whispering voice say to me,
"Am I not more than a rock, or a lantern?
Am I not more than One who restores you,
only for you to shout empty praises,
and again return to darkness?
Am I a fool?"

Lord, Lord! I entreat Thee!
Give grace to your servant,
for my sins outnumber the hairs of my head,
and the grass of the field,
and the sand of the sea.

The Lord, my God, is so much more
than the rope which brings me out of a pit
only to have itself be thrown into the pit.

ADONAI, let every inch of my being cry out to You,
and my praises be heard!

I am as a wave of the sea,
tossed by the wind,
but when You lift me up
I am as the rain and the snow which falls from Heaven!

Let it be so, that I will not return to you in Heavenly Places,
without first watering the Earth,
making it bud and flourish,
yielding for it seed for the sower
and bread for the eater,
not returning empty handed,
but accomplishing what You desire,
and achieving the purpose for which You sent me!

Let it be so, my Master,
that I will be not as the rains which fall on the just and the wicked,
bringing trial and tribulation to them,
blotting out the light which You have sent,

But that I will be as the rains that restore,
washing those upon whom I fall clean,
and giving them seed which will grow up to become the bread which gives life,
blessing all without partiality.

Let me be as the rains that restore the Earth
and reveal the sun to the entire world!
So that they all may see from whom all blessings flow,
and declare with their lips that Yeshua ADONAI is Lord!

My heart aches, for I beseech Thee,
that You may give me understanding of Your love!
Just as allowing the oxen to thresh is not for the benefit of the ox,
likewise is the rock and the lantern with which you save us not for our benefit,
but Yours!

For it is not You, but our own vices and depravity
which has taken us to the rushing rapids
or the darkness and the jaws of Sheol!

Praise be to God!
For all things work together for those who You have called,
according to Your purpose!

You have lifted our eyes to see You -the rock,
the lantern, the Hand which saves us,
and the One, alone,
worthy of praise, worship and service forever and ever!

Amen!

In our weakness, He is strong.

Sometimes when we can't pluck out our eyes
and throw them from us,
God does it for us.

Sometimes when we are blinded to the truth,
He gives us sight.

In times when we are lame
and cannot walk the path set before us,
God says, "Get up and walk!"

Even when we have become the walking dead,
He will resurrect us unto life,
even eternal life.

He is our Savior, our Healer,
the One who restores us,
and the One who brings life.

Praise be to Him forever and ever!
Amen.

Conquered

I am conquered.

Life has crushed me in its inner chambers.
I am no more, for I have tasted the depths of Sheol
and have found the most profound nothingness.

I can hear the screams,
I can feel the pain that you and I,
and all of us are destined to find.

There is no joy here,
only silence, only suffering.
My pain is only magnified by my loss,
my love, forever and always.

You may see it approaching but who can resist it?
For all is from the Lord, my Master, my King.
The rains fall on us all, and noone is spared.
If you have not found Him, He will find you.

You cannot resist Him.
Who can save us from such horror,
such nothingness, such pain?
There is none, not one but the Lord.