Time, how thee steadily move on

Time, how thee steadily move on
Whether I wait for thee
Or keep in motion
Thy notion remains
Continuous

I cannot beg or plead
That thee return
To what was
Only now what is
While still it is here

And a moment (I fear)
And it too is a year
Since last twas here

So time
Whether acknowledged
Or no
Thee continue
And shall remain
Unchanged

May I then
Learn from thee
How to use what time
That I am given

For I cannot keep thee
Thee move as easily
As oil in the hand
And more freely still

None has the will
Save thy creator
And none can cease

So, indeed
May we invest
In these precious
Few moments

That we may be blessed
With moments
We cherish

And may we not despair
When such seasons
Disappear

For all things
Have a beginning
And end

And who can know
When this moment too
Shall end

-Joshua Lee Foist

And so I must depart

And so I must depart
And leave behind all longings of the heart
Nature hath taken its course
And so I shall seek its source

I journey outward
Into the great expanse
Not knowing where I shall go
Or how long I must remain
In this trance

Yet steadily on
I advance
With great courage
And with all joy
I can employ

The great unknown
Is far too wondrous
And mysterious for words

Yet glorious lies the view ahead
Unlike any other land I have tread
The sea is wild and the journey treacherous
But there's no turning back

Always looking ahead
For there the journey shall end
And there the journey shall begin

What troubles may lie ahead
Who can know
Still steadily on we go
Engaging this course

With all speed
And all strength
We heed to the calling
From which none shall return
Yet all the while our heart's burn

Awaiting this glorious voyage
Into such uncharted waters
Where no eye hath seen
Nor any other hath been

We journey home
To that place
Which all our lives have longed
To live within those gates

Where the gardens grow wild
And the currents are strong
And all streams converge
At it's source

The source of all life
Tis here, our journey's end
When we have truly come home
To our one and greatest friend

-Joshua Lee Foist

I did reason with love for a season

I did reason with love for a season
Did share my strivings and struggles
Still it did so steadfastly
Love on
Without a thought or care

Such love so rare
With none couldst I compare
Nor comprehend
How I was so privy to such a friend
None had I known
So faithful and true

"Love," inquired I
"Why dost thou love
Such imperfection as I
What hath thou to gain
From such a pursuit"

Love replied
Without hesitation
"Twas for thy own sake
This bond of affection
I did stake"

"I do not love for my own gain
For I need not love to remain
For such love I give
For indeed Love I am
There is no love
To compare to mine"

"My love is complete
I love all
Whether in despair
Or without a care
My love exceeds all
Boundaries"

"So accept as thou wilt
My love without guilt
No "good" could thee do
To merit my love
For you"

"My love is true
My love is pure
It is the only cure
For all else is counterfeit
And will not satisfy"

"But my love remains
It bears all stains
And sorrows that one bares
In my love
One casts their cares
Upon"

And so breaks the dawn
Of hope
And what lies beyond
Indescribable
And too wonderful
For words

-Joshua Lee Foist

Why so oft do I seek such solitude and seclusion

Why so oft do I seek such solitude and seclusion
When ere I spend mere moments among stranged folk
Ist not I that art more strange than they
For though in my eyes they appear more common
I am more to them (I imagine) an exhibit at the zoo

Lost in the lonely hours
Where dismal days are all a maze
I venture here or there
For hours of years
And venture out again
When ere the dawn hath broke
Or twilight doth take

Once again, fair friend
We embark upon another day
And this one I pray
May be more of joy
Than the day before

Still sorrow doth seep in once more
And knocks at my door
As oft I engage it

So much I give of time these days
I wonder tis selfish for a season of silence
When moment to moment
I rush in or rush out
Ist too much to ask
Not to converse about

Some are given to speech
Whenever others are near
Yet when this is one's profession
One's work (one's obsession)
Tis tiresome to engage in
At the end of the day

Too engage in the mindless melodies
That meander their way
Throughout the moments of the day
I find more restful
Than talk or play

True in its own
Tis not a terrible trait
At least not all the time
At any rate

Perhaps tis fate
I did fall to this trade
For which I am
All too often little paid

Other professions
Surely have their obsessions
Though perhaps more subtle than this

I do care for those
Whether common or rare
Tis just not always
I like to share

And whether to be known
Or not known by name
I wish at least
To be known
As fellow
As friend

-Joshua Lee Foist