And why these days must come to this

And why these days must come to this
For all the answers sure to miss
Why must the doubt
And ere the pain
Yet still remain
Ah still remain

Is this the thing
Tis all a game
Of fate
A fever
Come to late

If to debate
Then what's to come
If all the answers
All become

What of this
Or what of that
Can't hope it all
Should be revealed

Yet for what is
What stares one
In the face
Cannot replace
Cannot withstand

And so we hide
Behind our words
Our idols of obsession
The worlds within
Our own possession

And this our one
And true confession
At least for this
One can assess

Here lies the loneliness
Here lies the twilight days
When all the world
Fixed in its gaze

And wonder still
Beyond the thrill
What comes of it
What comes of it

To wait
And wonder
And plunder it
That fit is mad
And overspent

These things
For which one does
Resent
Of habits born
Yet to
Repent

And all for this
One cannot trace
The words of which
One wish
Erase

If to again
How would it be
For you
Or me
Could we
Agree

If for the now
If it should change
Or all remain
What would we
Gain

Inside the pain
What we obtain
Can we yet
Find
The freedom
We desire

Or lead we
All our lives
Upon a
Wire

Yea to the end
What come
My friend
May it be
If now
As to
the
End

-Joshua Lee Foist

Oh to but trust tomorrow and ere what lie ahead

Oh to but trust tomorrow and ere what lie ahead
For this day near over and what ere remains
So much undone, yet as for that which lies before
May I yet learn to be thankful for

There are but days I long for what's to come
And yet, here I sit and wait for it
And wait, and wonder, and wait for it

Oh to be, the wonders of now
While still I think on that which may one day
If tomorrow should ne'er yet be
What shall come of me
In this moment, in this day

So much we easily let slip away
While we linger on
To come what may

And so as I retire the day
May I not forget
That to which this moment
Hath spent

May I not lead a life
Of regret
Nay, may it be
Of moments of wonderment
That I should be so very blessed

For hows and whys
And saying goodbyes
Are all of things
That ere one strives
To change

One's palm outstretched
To hold the sand
And watch it sift
Through one's hand

I life less planned
And more by chance
As free and full
Without control
Of what may come
And come again

Yet thankful for
A pleasant trip
Of travels scarce
Outside one's grip

These moments yet have spent
And all a part
That's known by heart
For all their pieces do align
Into a life that's known as mine

-Joshua Lee Foist

There is a voice within the wind

There is a voice within the wind
An eerie echo envelops one's skin
That pierces through the darkest place
Convicting and compelling one
Concede to its grace

How deep the scars
And gushing wounds
Though pain prolonged
With healing proves
It penetrates
One's very being
Yet this it must
To gain one's trust

And more the means of grace
To death must face
To know the healing power
Within its veins
Redemption found
In hearts contrite

Forgiveness follows faith
Whose foundation lies
Upon the one
Who opens eyes
And hearts to know
The gift of life
Is found in this

When love so great
Should pay the price
To die the death
Deserved for all
That they may find
In sacrifice
Salvation comes
To all who fall
And rise again

Who cast their sin
Upon the lamb
Who comes to heal
And restore
The lost, the broken,
And the poor

That those who thirst
May never more
For full and filled
Are they
Who fall before the throne
And claim him for their own

Yet only by his grace can come
To those he's called from everyone
To leave this world and all behind
That they in him salvation find

-Joshua Lee Foist

There is a joy that yet descends this day

There is a joy that yet descends this day
Despite the ups and downs that often may
For this day of thankfulness
May we ere yet be reminded of this

For what trials or troubles may come this day
May we yet cheer them away with a true display
For joy crumbles away the proud of heart
And reminds them of a simpler stronger art

There is a strength beneath the marrow
That flutters as the youthful sparrow
Yet poignant as the piercing arrow
It penetrates the hardest of hearts

For though we each in part play a convincing role
We ne'er have strength of which to control
For all in vain are we
Wasting away in our own vanity

Humility reminds of what we have forgot
That we are far more fragile than we dare express
Yet for all our false hopes of happiness
Canst come they close to this

A thankful heart knows its part
For all it knows tis given it
In grace and bounty rare
None other of which it can compare

Yea thankful are the hearts that care
That see beyond their own despair
For all one is and ere shall be
Tis wound up in the grand mystery

For life itself a gift
And how shall we invest in it
How shall we remember it
While still this life remains

May we walk its course in thankfulness
With all our strength and exuberance
May we yet shine through the dismal grime
The light of hope while still there's time

-Joshua Lee Foist

Look not thee to the world for thine own fulfillment

Look not thee to the world for thine own fulfillment
Let not the idle tongue of man be thy initiative
For frail and feeble are their follies
They flounder from far and wide

There is a dismal trace of dillusion
That ere yet captures thee
The portrait is cracked and crumbling
And minions are mumbling
Of thy undoing

All desire affection
Yet upon its collection
Perfection is fleeting
And jealous they
Deceiving 

For all their heart's desire
And yet require
Tis all of vanity 
This thing of humanity

None shall attain
This world of gain
The cost too great
The price too high

Twere better instead
To die
For all their deeds
Shall scarce remain
When all their fame
Is gone

-Joshua Lee Foist

Sit quiet and idle I

Sit quiet and idle I
In a company that do deny
Hypocritical am I
And they as I

Yet try as I
Canst seem to tread
This path I dread
Of sickness am fed

Deep beneath the surface
A cancer yet grows
And each one knows
Still the masquerade of woes
Erodes the accurate analysis

How long must the fungus
Ferment this merriment
When shall the scars
Shed their scales
And reveal
The wound as real

Each is not without excuse
Ere it a verbal or emotional
abuse
A portrait obtuse
To distract itself

From lies well hidden
In a shroud forbidden
Seen by a precious few
The rue that cannot be true
Yet is

When shall we
Be as we really are
Naked, hemorrhaging and rank

And worse it is real
For no fiction
Can scarce remove
This infliction

It must be removed
From without
And within
This sin
That devours
And erupts
Under our skin

Can only be killed
And revealed in full
By one in complete
Control

And we must bear it
We must let
The healing ravish us
To humility
And awe

For we are far worse
Than we think we are
And more loved
Than ere we ever can know

If only we would learn
At last to let go
Before the hours
And moments
Should pass

Alas at this
Shall we betray
With a kiss

Or repent
And believe
Shall leave
This life
We grieve

In anguish
In shame
In glory
Proclaim

Tis finished
Tis done
Release
The son

-Joshua Lee Foist

There is a great noise in the void

There is a great noise in the void
Of mind and men
Mesmerizingly manipulative
It seethes through the soul
Like a sycophant out of control
Sucking all life in its full

Anxiety overloads
The imagination explodes
In the possibilities
The terrors of all existence
Devouring all reality
In its presence

Yet deep in the pit of this despair
There is something out there
Something amidst the chaos
Unscathed by all that's around

It tears through the layers of deceit
And causes all to melt away
Like vapor dissipating
Under its feet

Nothing can overcome it

And slowly breath
Gives birth to breath
And breathes through
This existence

It yearns in its repentance
To join this new resistance
The victor is near
He comes to quench all fear

Now is the hour
Comes haste he to devour
All dread and despair
For all who do not draw near

Come quick then to join him
For he shall surely
Carry thee under his wing
And safe and secure thee
To his kingdom bring

-Joshua Lee Foist

In this momentry bliss

In this momentry bliss
I am lost in the wonder
Of your welcoming kiss
The sweet joyous surrender
In the autumn of november

There is a taste in the air
Fluttering leaves a'falling
Colours of red and amber
In a sunset scene

Lost in a mesmerizing dream
A moment suspended in part
The wonders of thy glorious art
Yet a taste so sweet and tender

Of a world once known
And yet still shown
In these breathes of bounty
Where one wishes never to leave

Still deep in my melancholy heart
There is a joy that cannot be tamed
In an hour yet known
Or wonders yet seen

Shall awake as one lost in a dream
Of something long ago
Once familiar
Now returned

And ever shall be
A world of mystery
Revealed
Once winter's wonders
Have ceased

Come spring
And joyous dawn
The dew of which
We look upon

The day forevermore
When at once
Walk we through
That open door

The journey ended
Reunion sweet
When at last
Our lifelong love
Shall meet

-Joshua Lee Foist

The Winds are Changing in Ways I know not Where

The Winds are Changing in Ways I know not Where
The airs of innocence elude me
Their ominous shroud encircles me

The dying and the old world once new
Now drift all they from view
Once romantic were they the warmth of their touch
We waltzed in the wonders of winter's affair

Yet no longer are the days most rare
The sun is cold upon my skin
The wintered wind that brushes in
Chills to the bone

And I all alone
Must endure this eerie silence

Who can know the heart that softly beats
The hunger and the pain
The moments that remain
Scars that sear with every tear

How long the waiting
For what may yet come again
Is this the end of things
Or the beginning

Of once known now ending
Could hope yet be
Waiting in wonder
Just beyond the dusk and thunder

If only the chill
Would warm again
The rain would cleanse
And find thy fondest friends

Oh days without number
In a world of wonder
Where all is made new
When things come steadily into view

Perchance the pain
Is on the path
That leads to pleasure
That which is found in thy greatest treasure
Of wonders without measure
When all things pass away
Into the dismal gray
And light and life anew
Shine through the morning dew

-Joshua Lee Foist


*Inspire in part from Philip Glass's Violin Concerto