The dead trees give off life
The barren branches grow green
The brown grass becomes lush
The flowers become fruitful
The sun shows its face
And the warmth shows proof
For spring has come

The months of dying have ended
The season of laments has drawn to a close
As warmth has come to our land
The frozen ground has thawed
As the snow has melted away
And the cold has left the air
For spring has come

We live in the cool morning
Dwell in the warm afternoon
Then sleep in the cold night
Spring has come
As our days get longer
And our nights become shorter
For spring is here

The air is filled with singing
We build houses and plant gardens
We wed and have sons and daughters
We fiind sons for our wives
And we give our daughters into marriage
And they too will have sons and daughters
And we seek peace in this warming spring

Time of growing has come about
A time where all sad things will come untrue
We will live for all good things
And the life of the world in which we live
We leave our small houses
And we venture into the unknown
For spring has come

We venture from our comfortable dwellings
Into centers of pain
To go to hell on earth
To give life to the lifeless
Hope to the hopeless
Life for the world
For all sad things are becoming untrue

For He will wipe away the tears from all eyes
Death will become no more
Pain will pass away from us
The season is changing
Crying and mourning will be but a memory
For all things will pass away in their time
And all things will be made new

This time of summer is coming
Spring has come
In this spring all is being made new
For The Lord is coming
But Summer will arrive
And all things will be new
For The Lord will have come

"It gets worse"
The words we all dread
Like wind blowing cold air
As if the winter were not yet cold enough
But it gets worse
And the cold air blows
Blows to freeze my flesh

Snow lays on the frozen ground
The world shining brighter than a Bride's dress
But the morning air is biting
The cold air is paining
It seems warm air will never come
And this winter will never end
But it gets worse

Before the warmth of Spring arrives
The snow will cast a white coat on the world again
The land will freeze once more
And people will die, perishing from the freeze
I only hope to live to see the spring
That I will breathe again when the winter passes
Because it gets worse

For the cold wind blows terrible air
And when it leaves, and it feels safe
It only returns, bringing back cold air
And over again and again, it repeats
For this winter will not end
This toil is one everlasting
And I only wish to die

But as I prepare to die
I feel a warm breeze
And I see the flowers blooming
And for the first time in what felt like years
I see the shining sun
And I feel the warmth on my face
For spring is coming

I then hear a calming voice call to me
"Come now, my love
My lovely one, come
See the winter is passed
The rains have come and gone
See the flowers blooming in the land
Hear the joyful singing of the season is come
The calling of the birds has begun
The trees ripen, the vines blossom
And we are given the beautiful fragrance of spring
Come now, my love
My lovely one, come"

For see, The Lord has come

What was made perfect became imperfect
That which was on high fell down low
That which was good became bad
All good things became new
And al things became bad
For fall had come

They had to leave the place where they had dwelled
To become strangers in this strange world
Never to enter that garden in which they had once lived
The gate to be guarded by an Angel for ever
Never again to enter this Paradise lost
For fall had come

The core of a fruit lay on the ground
And naked people stand trembling
Hiding from their loving Creator
Fearing the effect of their disobedience
Imagining a false god
Recreating their Creator

Creating their own Creator in their created minds
One that was angry and impatient
One that was vengeful and paining
Not one of love and grace
Not one of endless mercy and endless knowledge
Their Creator only loved them, His creation

For their protection, they were exiled
Becoming strangers in a strange land
Wandering East of Eden
Where the winter would come
The winter with all its ravages
And the freeze would choke the people of the land
But after the terrible winter comes the warmth of spring

They became darkened in their understanding
Alienated from the life of God
For their ignorance and hard hearts
They were born of flesh
And flesh they remained
Through the fall and the winter
But when spring arrives
So does the recreating of all things
And things will be made new
Sad things will come untrue

Men remember the fall
Fallen men and redeemed men alike remember
The fruit from the tree condemning
But only the men redeemed know what is to come
That in due time a fruit from the vine would save

He created man in His own image
He formed man from the dust of the ground
He breathed breath into the man's nostrils
And raised him up from the ground
He gave man the gift of life
He gave man the gift of companionship
And He gave man the greatness of the Garden
The paradise of Eden

In this beautiful garden
There were rivers flowing gracefully
And trees growing up beautifully
The beautiful summer was upon the earth
And in the garden was given to the man, a woman
A woman from his own bones, his own flesh
And they wed

But in this beautiful garden
In this paradise of Eden
Dark shadows lingered
God gave all things for the man
Except for one tree located at the garden’s center
The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil
And in the garden, more cunning than any other, was a serpent
A fallen servant of The Lord on High

The most beautiful of all created beings
This Fallen Angel who had warred against God
This Fallen Angel was cast down to earth down low
There on the earth he would walk
Going to and fro, and up and down upon it
The serpent, Satan, would challenge God
He questioned the commands of the Triune God
He asked questions that ought not be asked

He approached the woman, the man’s bride
He questioned the words of God
He told her to eat of the tree which she was commanded not
If she did, she would be like God
She would have knowledge of both good and evil
So she ate of the fruit of the tree
And the serpent was not incorrect
They understood good and evil, but distortedly
They were cut off from God
They were ashamed
And they had a lack of reconciliation with God

The summer had ended
The autumn was coming on the horizon
The cold air was soon coming
Seasons changing, times changing
But know, the summer will come again
In due time, what was good, now bad, will be made new again
And all things will be made new
Times will change
And the summer will return
For The Lord will have come

I wrote many poems
I wrote many songs
I even wrote of a life
Before I had even met you
Before I knew even of your existence

I wrote an entire book
This great adventure
Of love lost and gained
Of life gained and lost
This great journey of beautiful proportions

Then I met you
I saw your face, a familiar one
And I heard your voice, a calming one
Like I had seen you before
And I felt safe

In the eyes of someone I hadn't known
I saw beauty I had only before imagined
And as time wore on,
I saw your heart
I saw your beautiful soul

Then the rains came
The cold winter winds came
Blowing apart what we had built
But it was built on crooked foundations
And so it fell, as we allowed

And just like in the ruins of a city
A place once filled with hope
A place once filled with happiness
A place of celebration
The ruins became a lament

And for months lied those ruins
Drowned by flooding rains
Pounded by fierce winds
Covered by paralyzing snow
Then the spring arrived

With spring came the sun
And came the flowers of the fields
Came the singing of the birds of the trees
Came the gentle flowing of cold creeks
Came the beauty of new life

So too with the ruins of our city
When it became safe to do so
We rebuilt our walls
We reconstructed our towers
We resurrected our city

From the crumbling ruins of our once-great city
May come a city with more beauty than before
A city which could only come after the pain of winter
For if there had been no winter
The city in crooked foundations would stand, waiting to fall

So too with her
Had what seemed to have been good not ended
This new city could not be built
And an unstable city would remain
Waiting for a calm rain

But for now, we rebuild our city
Trying to restore its former glory
Where we want to make our home
This beautiful city-to-be
Rising from the rubble

We hope to rebuild
We hope to resurrect
We hope to restore
We hope to review
We hope not to redo
We hope for all to be good
In this beautiful new city-to-be

I can’t explain the reality of it
It’s the perfect mix
Between life & death, joy & pain, peace & war
It’s something everyone has
But deep down it’s truly unwanted
It’s the thing that links us to eternity
The thing we will all one day lose
It’s this life

I see the work of my hands
I see the results of my will
I set my eye over the lands
I know I was too weak on that hill
I didn’t realize the journey’s demands
The pains in my side remain still

I set my foot upon that path
Over my shoulder I saw my pain
I run from the Monster’s wrath
If his way is made, I will be slain
There on my arm, I see the ****** ****
It seems this journey will be in vain

The Monster haunts me in my dreams
He follows on this path with chasing
No matter how loud I cry, it seems they won’t hear my screams
No one knows just what I’m facing
I run until I see flowing streams
And find my love, we’re embracing

From this dream I wake
The truth in this dream I dread
With this Monster, my will may break
But on this path, I will tread
And I will walk until I ache
On the path my Father led

I wander down this lonely road
In this deep dark wood
As I walked alone, my pace it slowed
Until I stopped and stood
By the streams that flowed
And for a time, all was good

The fire I had built begins to smolder
The smoke from the dead warmth rose
The night then grew colder
I thought for sure I would be froze
Then I saw the Monster over my shoulder
I can see in his eyes, my fear shows

I run hastily away from the Monster
He chases me through the dark
I know he leads me to slaughter
If only I could create a spark
In the darkness, I would no longer wander
Then maybe I might hit my mark

The Monster leaves me at sunrise
My pain vanishes with the light
My soul is calm like sunny skies
For a time, all is right
But as soon as the sun dies
There comes the pain of night

My night is filled with torment
And my days filled with fear
This journey is filled with lament
Oftentimes I fear the end is all too near
It seems something I cannot prevent
And the injuries I’ve acquired are all too severe

The pain is too great to continue down this road
Knowing the Monster is on my back
The weight I carry is too heavy of a load
The courage to continue is something I lack
But my Father gave me guide with the words he wrote
And with each encounter, I defend the Monster’s attack

Every night I see I’m not on my own
I’d be dead if not for my Father
With each fight, each night, I’ve grown
I no longer wonder why I bother
At the end, I’ll approach my Father’s throne
And the Monster will be but a scoffer

Still the Monster haunts when the sun is gone
It’s as if I’m stuck in his box
And I can never move on
Because still the Monster mocks
Weak. I feel as weak as a fawn
Yet somehow as strong as an ox

It’s a strange feeling
Being torn between pain and relief
Yet both are healing
It’s hard to hold to belief
When everything is reeling
When it’s always about a new leaf

Still I feel the pain from the hunt
The Monster always drawing blood
He’s always just steps behind, though I’m in front
I tread through deep mud
Only for him to catch me with his heavy brunt
Now I’m caught in this painful flood

Constantly I cry for my Father to save me
For someone to take me from my misery
But what I wanted was not what He gave me
A man came and was my victory
For my evil, He forgave me
And why He did is a mystery

He defeated the Monster on my part
He took on my pain and we limped down the path
He felt the pain I held in my heart
He experienced my pain from the Monster’s wrath
He had been with me from the start
Always interceding on my behalf

He acted as my brother
He defeated my tormentor
He cared for me like my mother
He dwelled in the pain left by my torturer
He was sent by my Father