Penitent Eyes February 18, 2024 / Anthony / 0 Comments Seems like each year I come back to this place,looking for that quiet grace,that can only be found by much water laid outin front of penitent eyes,that despise such things asschedulesand alarm clocks. anthony forrest
summer storm August 1, 2022 / Anthony / 0 Comments A heavy fall of rain dots my hearingAwake to the tiny dashes against the nightMy sleep-sodden mind fights with all mightBut these tired eyes open to the dark-sky stormBorn of heatSummer rainLike pent up pain released upon the Earth anthony forrest
Meeting Him in the Wild April 4, 2022 / Anthony / 0 Comments Whether desert or jungle or lost upona range of mountains,where there is no clean water or fountain(or anything at all),those places most forgotten or barrenand filled with the wild things of this life,rife with beautyand treesand seasall lonely and wonderful;here, in the quietness, is found the works of the maker(every bit savored).And if you hold very still,He will come to you like a breeze—and meet you in that jungle of trees. anthony forrest
A Narnia Reference March 28, 2022 / Anthony / 0 Comments “Further up and further in!” Lewis instructed— So we begin:Steadily and readilyWe goAnd bring hopeOf GodTo a people who know nothing of Lewis… anthony forrest
Steps March 21, 2022 / Anthony / 0 Comments We never stop the steps forwardCrossing bordersTo a place—meet a person—tell of a thingA stringOf ideasOf this truth held togetherLike adhesiveWe believe thisGood news of a Man who is GodSent from abroadAnd cross-ed His own borderTo end strifeBring lifeTo the unliving soul of the lostAnd all it costsIs a few stepsForward anthony forrest
Fading February 7, 2022 / Anthony / 0 Comments Teary-eyed, we drive into the sunEnding day raysBegunSimply to end in a grey-dark brooding nightSunlight gone nowAs quick as it started Teary-eyed, we watched as the sun setSat down belowThe roadIn front of usBright day behind and our tire tracksLeading WestTrying our bestTo chase the final vestigeOf a light always fading Clear-eyed, we drive into the nightThis nighttime-reflectionIntrospectionWe can only assume this darknessThis darknessA gift anthony forrest
Prayer of Gratitude and Blessing January 3, 2022 / Anthony / 0 Comments To be spoken to God upon the celebration of a birthday Great Father and keeper of Time:I raise my heart and handsto you whounderstands,and commandsanother year.I come to youin Gratitudeand celebrate this dateof my start.I cry thanks alsofor the time since youfound me,rescued me,reclaimed me,resurrected me;and how you breathed life into my soul.I am now whole,and my life not a dulldim death.Grant me nowanother year of closeness to you.And may the passing oftime be butsign thatreminds meof the ever-presentcareof our Lord.anthony forrest
The Bakery VII October 25, 2021 / Anthony / 0 Comments If these woods were a bakery, the bread baked here would smell of Autumn leaves;red-orange, yellow leavesdropping, swaying down again,prompted by October winds,crowding the trail below.Only a small memory of Summer remains.And soon even Autumn will surrender to snow.All sold out of fresh bread,this bakery’s hours come to a close. anthony forrest read the first stanzasecond stanzathird stanzafourth stanzafifth stanzasixth stanza
Sleep and the Stations of the Cross September 6, 2021 / Anthony / 0 Comments There are nights when fitful sleep comes with frightful,uneasy grins,“mums the word,” he whispers—hand over my mouth—then artful dreamshe spins.Images and situationsflash in a dash—like the Cross Stations—(in broken cathedrals unused,unworshipped in:an unspoken confession)spoken in the tired mind of one tossing,turning. Then there are mornings, ah, mornings!When sleep ends his reign, no matter the night,or the frightsof the nights.Sunlight rays pierceall clouds dark and fierce,even on overcast days.Images, situations,terrifying Cross Stationsstill weave tales oflifethen deaththen life again.Evil cannot mix or spinthe goodness out of that story—hope of day—a ray—during darkest night. anthony forrest
break the night July 26, 2021 / Anthony / 0 Comments Should the summer sun break the nightand rise silently in the eastern sky;bringing hues of reds and golds,peeking through the trees and foldsof leaves,then I shall be therein the morning,when the birds crytheir morning-warning.And sitting on the deckin the New LightI shall watch the summer sunbreak my night.Hope of day begins. anthony forrest