Ah faithful februare

Ah faithful februare
Hath thee found at last
Thy refreshment in
This flurry which hath
Taken from thee all worry

So soft sweet and tender did fall
The snow upon us all
Twas brilliant to behold

Whether young or old
Didst much care
But to descend here
Or there

And such beauty found
In every thing
All covered in white
Ah such a sight indeed

Thine eye doth feed
On the gracious display
Somehow hath stolen us away
With its refreshing chill
Our hearts within us thrill
Within this wintered wonder

Pure and white it covers
Everything in sight
As if what might die or decay
Should shine once more
Upon its final day

So as all lights go out
So too may sprout
From beneath the ground
The coming spring

For with it all things new
To cherish and to do
Reborn anew
Tis glorious to be

To wash away the darkness
And despair
And dwell here
Where all is growing
And beginning to be

Such mystery
Such wonder to behold
So glorious it is

Once more
Life is beginning anew
And with it
A chance once more
To start fresh
And adore

What was forgot
Is again remembered
All is possible

And so here to begin
To breathe out
And breathe in
To let out
And let in
Again

Joshua Lee Foist

And when I look back on my life

And when I look back on my life
At the end of my days
I should not think I would say:
"If I'd only had this, or that
or married her, then truly
I would have been happy!"

Yet rather I think it would be:
"Had I only stopped to reflect a little more
Had I only but more time to adore
If only to have gazed off a bit more
Into the beauty wide and waiting

"If to have ceased from all the petty toil
Or less to carry the angst and worry
That oft plagued me to hurry
To rush about with no end or direction in sight
And no knowledge of whether day or night

"If only a little more to have seen the sun
Rise and fall - to have been there
To see it all

"To stop and see the buds that blossom
and see the seasons change
To help the poor man in his distress
Or share a day with a friend
With no care of when the time should end

"If only, if only, if only..."

But now, even now, while the days are still but young
May I but spend every one
With the hope of what is to come

That I may then say:
"Ah, twas time did fly fast
Yea at least it was well spent
I've little to regret of it
For the many things of which I was blessed
Those whom I loved or lost
Yet found the time to share

"We found some joy in our early-mid days
And in the eve did thy glory praise
Yea though these hours were precious few
They were but glimpses of a greater
Reality to pursue"

For there the time is always new
It does not toil or spoil
It simply is
And spent with great extent
And satisfaction

Each moment is a wondrous event
And the next is far better than
The one before it spent

To simply share it with
The lover of life
Our greatest friend
Tis here the story hath no end
But simply new
Richer and fuller days

Tis for these of which we eagerly pursue
From this vantage point
Our goal lies
Just a little ways beyond
The mountains there

Where the air is fresh and full
Of sweetness
Tis there where our home shall be
Tis there we shall spend it
You and me

And so this life
Though hourly wasting away
Tis eagerly spent
Towards preparing
For that glorious event

-Joshua Lee Foist

Fairest Februare

Fairest Februare
It hath been some time
Since last we were acquainted

For my part
It hath come to busy idleness
How the days I've toiled since last
Our time had past

And thy cold hath chilled
My cunning heart hath willed
Thee come and meet again

Romantic dissolution
Is oft thy conclusion
Of the brief and shortened stay

But I think few truly see
Thee for what thee are
Thy style is much to desire

For only February holds
The shortest days
And only February leaps its years

Come then shall we make a time of it
Come thee and me awhile shall we sit
I hope dear friend we may
Share a few sweet hours

For our romance it seems
Twas only happenchance
Though I care not to wallow
In thy uncharted meeting

For though we have
But a few spare threads
May we sew them through and fair
While they too are here

And perchance come another year
Once more may find us here
For that I shall hope
Fondest Februare

-Joshua Lee Foist

What disinterest dwells within me

What disinterest dwells within me
Desire drifts away a little more each day
And the weight slowly presses in
Little by little colors begin to fade

So gray this ominous view
It doth grip me with wonder
And strips me of the joy which once I knew

Sorrow shades the sadness that stains
Superficial smiles surface awhile
But slowly fade away
Out of the lonesome day

Turning, tossing, tearing within
Wandring, wallowing, wasting away
Seasons and shadows
Portraits of day

All are but wasting, wasting away
Early morn and laten eve
Each melancholy has its moment of bereave

But beneath this barrier
Lies a soul once merrier
Longing to be free
Hoping once more
To find something
To adore

Earnestly waiting
Waiting and wondering
If ever joy will return
Return to it once more

-Joshua Lee Foist

In these five short minutes

In these five short minutes
Who can say where ere these seconds may slip away
Whether the temperature may rise or fall
Or if it shall change at all

But surely something will come
Before this moment is done
While oft my thoughts steal me away
To the present anxiety of the day

I pray in some small way
I might pause and take in
The wondrous new day
As it begins

-Joshua Lee Foist

Blow winds of winter

Blow winds of winter
Where ere thee may
Blow to Spring
And too bring
Thee joy of life
Once More

Thy deadened branch
Hath caught thy chill
And lost all will to live

Yet life lives on in thy sap
Ere this season departs
Soon shall find the longing
Of thy heart

For then twill life anew
Thy branches pursue
With new awakened blossoms
Bursting forth into the morning light

So shall it be
Once more

All shall be fresh and new
When thee hath found thy taste
For dew and drink it sure and true
Thy roots will sweetly sing
Of the joy of Spring

Cometh soon
To warm thee
And bring new life
To a soul once lost
In despair
Now found repair
In heaven's gentle
Care

-Joshua Lee Foist

This life is wondrous full of possibility

This life is wondrous full of possibility
Of happen chance and improbability
Such inexplicable fate
Lies ahead for those who do not hesitate

To live, to live is life
Living free and full
Not withholding to anything
That comes in its way

But giving the most
To each and every day
Not letting the seconds
Slip away

But forever and everyday
Living for what may

Come now to the moment that is
And what ahead
Can be anything true

All in the mind
Of meaning and virtue
For those who live for their dreams
And dream to live
Most anything

The future lies ere before us
And it will not ignore us
So let us free and full
Run on ahead

With not a moment to waste
We make the greatest haste
Toward the infinite and unknown

For what lies ahead
Anything

And what before it
Ere wonderful
Than these words said

-Joshua Lee Foist