Poem: A Warm Heart

For Jonathan

Men are weak to tears because they remind
them that life is not a competition,
that hardness of heart is not normal
nor is it virtuous. Tears remind men of pride
which is folly; for in all their
strength, it takes a soft and tender heart to sit
with the wounded. It takes vulnerability
and what is that in the eyes of cold, domineering strength?
It is a power that they cannot comprehend
tears melt a man’s cold heart,
tears trickle through the ice
as they pass through rivers, seas and moats
and in time, hard men shall embrace
the tragic and beautiful reality
of a warm heart’s giant roar.

The Red Between Us

To Michael Hogan

I thought the red
between us
was fire
dark and
brilliant
consuming
all flaxen
but it was blood
and everything began
to exist
in our shared body
of the Lord’s
hands and feet
a majestic wave
like clouds
swallowing the smog
of all covenantal
sacrifices
and all my pain
began to glow and illumine
this darkened soul
who once was spent
cursing
in the shadows
of flames
where rivers of life now flow
waterfalls
from chasms within
a great cathedral