DavidBRADLEY.org » Poetry

A Heart Refuses to Open

David Bradley — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 09:25:34 +0000

People that I love surround me every which direction.
My heart so big has no limit to my compassion towards others.
Why do I feel that I alone have this unique design?
Can no other person’s heart be as big as mine?
I hurt so deeply and I begin to scar.
Because people do not return the proper gratitude and love.
I open my heart so wide that everyone should fit in.
But why do they refuse to enter?
Is it me?
Am I doing something wrong?
I want to be loved by everyone, that is why I live by the Golden Rule.
But what do I get in return?
Closed doors, empty drawers, nothing more.
Need I change who I am in order to find acceptance?
Need I find a way to force people to let me in?
Nay, this is not the way it should be.
Man is free to do as he pleases unfortunately for me.
And I refuse to change who I am on the inside.
I refuse to compromise myself in any way, shape or form.
So I remain alone, falling silently in an endless abyss with no end in sight.
I have hope, but nothing more.
Hope does not keep me warm at night.
Hope does not tell me what is wrong or right.
Hope is only the mind’s attempt to tell us that all is not lost.
That maybe the future will reap blessings greater than anything we imagine in the present.
Hope is not substantial.
Hope comes and goes.
Who has ever found salvation in hope?
Despite these things, my hope remains.
Perhaps I am naive or perhaps there is a greater cause.
But my hope comforts me even when all seems lost.

Lost and Confused

David Bradley — Wed, 19 Oct 2005 08:17:56 +0000

What is this feeling of emptiness deep in my soul?
What does it mean?
The Lord, My Rock and Refuge Never forsakes.
But I forsake the master.
My flesh leaps at every opportunity to fulfill my selfish lusts.
But my soul continually screams for meaning and purpose.
These things do not appear except through God.
My soul cannot grasp a purpose in life.
Through a foggy marsh I trudge. I look all around me. Why am I here?
I crash to my knees and I plead with God.
“I know that purpose only comes from you, so I give my life and all I possess to You.
Suddenly a thought slithers it’s way to the forefront of my mind.
“Well there is that one thing that I just cannot live without,
…but God is supreme. I give that to him as well.
“Lord, I have given you all that I own. Use my life as a potter uses his potter’s wheel.
What is this? The fog has rolled away. And the emptiness in my soul has departed as well.
What is this creature that rushes on the path to meet me?
It is God’s blessing. I greet it and accept it.
“I must be pretty good. I really deserve more of God’s Blessings.
I walk onward, but I discover that I continue to wade through a marsh.
Why does my way continue with so much difficulty.
“Lord, you control my life now. Yet I stare in the face of Trouble.
It’s nostrils release the foul stench of discouragement.
“I have not forsaken you Lord. Not this time. You forsook me!
Yet You have not departed, have you Lord? I only need to call on you for help.
Free me from this burdensome bog onto a broad and easy path.
Then I will be happy and I will follow you.
My demands fell silent as a chill filled the air.
A Noise! God’s Blessing was traveling quickly to meet me yet again.
But a dense cloud followed close behind it.
The Blessing attended my needs. “Thank you Blessing,
You truly are greater than all. You give me pleasure that none other can provide.
Just then the fog reached my terrain.
“Lord, I insist, take this fog from me that I may see in order to serve you!
I continued to fondle God’s blessing. I was happy!
But I was lost and confused.
I fell into the slush of the mire in which I stood.
All lights go out, all sounds fall silent.
Unconscious, my soul wanders aimlessly through shrub and thicket,
as the waters of life push me every which way with no goal in mind.
A New Day confronts me. I welcome Him.
New Opportunities follow closely behind Him.
And on the fiery, sun-lit horizon, I see peace; magnificent, everlasting peace.

Look to Jesus

David Bradley — Mon, 10 Oct 2005 08:22:25 +0000

This is yet another poem old poem of mine I found, which I will archive as well.

Where Are you Lord When I needed you the most?
Where’s the comfort that I long for from your Holy Ghost?
When Satan’s hordes of darts attack me from the left,
I look over to my right to get comfort from the Best.
But today I did not see you there in the midst of my attack.
In the time I needed you, have you run and turned your back?
This cannot be, you said you’d never leave me alone,
And this truth has been evident to me even now that I am grown.
I look to my left only to see that Satan’s held his ground.
But I look to my right and I see Jesus is not around.
My limbs start to weaken while my will is giving in,
But there is a force inside of me that’s causing me to win.
How can this be? I feel weak, I want to fall,
But something holds me up in the midst of it all.
Am I stronger than I realized? Is this the reason I still stand?
But at the very moment of that thought, I feel a gentle hand.
Startled and in wonder I turned to see the face
Of the one who touched – to send them to their proper place.
I slowly looked around to study the face of the one.
But to my disbelief it was Jesus! For Truly he had not run!
In the time I needed Him, he didn’t comfort me just with words,
He stayed with me and held me up so I wouldn’t fall victim to the world.
I said, “Jesus, I thought you’d left me at the moment I needed you the most.
I wondered why I felt no comfort from your Holy Ghost.
But Now I realize that you were with me all along.
It was my selfishness that made me think that You had gone.
Your comfort was always with me where I needed it the most,
But the world had drawn my attention away from your still, calm voice.
Jesus spoke to me and said, “My Son, please do not fear.
I would never leave you or forsake you, I will always be right here.
With that Jesus pointed his powerful finger at my pathetic heart.
That is where Jesus will be when my own will starts to fall apart.
Look to Jesus, Look to Jesus, He’s the one Behind.
Look to Jesus, Look to Jesus, and His comfort you will find.
If you feel like a lone traveler in a wicked world of hate.
Look to Jesus, Look to Jesus. He’ll walk you to Heaven’s Gate.

Poem of Trials

David Bradley — Sun, 09 Oct 2005 08:20:22 +0000

This is an old poem of mine that I came across, so I decided to archive it on my blog.

On the distant horizon I can see,
A massive storm cloud heading straight for me.
A cloud that brewed from the fires of the earth,
My faith in God has given it its birth.
I look to God to guide me through the pain,
As the cloud draws near it tests me with the flame.
Now the storm has come, I feel like I’m alone,
Where was He at the time I needed him the most?
I cry out to Jesus and tell Him I can’t go on,
And then I hear His voice beckon me with a song.
I turn to look at Jesus, I see He’s on a narrow path,
The broad detour I had taken could only lead to wrath.
So I ran to the arms of Jesus, and He took away my pain,
The cloud that still afflicted me was doing so in vain.
Jesus carried me through the cloud, and brought me out the other side,
And even though the storm has gone, in Him I still abide.
I praise Him for His majesty, I thank Him for loving me,
And even if more trials come, I’ll call Him my God and King.