Oh let us leave this place

Oh let us leave this place
Before we further disgrace
Our fragile imaginings

Oh to break free
To depart from
All judgments of the heart

What ease could there be
In but a sense of simplicity
All things cannot be so hard

Must it always be the climb
The seemingly unending accent
Into the unknown

Where future things
Are said to be much more
Greater than before

Yet to toil and tread
Through this muck and mire
All for this one desire

For from earth we are fed
And to earth we are dead
As in its form we were born
Yet still we morn at the loss

Ah so trivial these trials
Yet they consume so much
Too much do we engage them

How long must it be
Will we one day see
Will we one day be free

One hopes it to be true
That there is hope
For me and you

I know that it is
Though some days
I feel it not

Though I know I aught
My faith is wrought with worry
And my thoughts oft but scurry

Where shall we be
In a moment or three
I cannot tell

All remains to me
A splendid mystery
And I wallow once more
In misery

For at least
Its faithful form
Seems company

To a troubled mind
A little more
Is hardly a chore

Still somewhere amidst the pain
There is still hope
And a longing of such things to remain

Perchance in time
We will be (as we believe)
Taken from this place

Yet who can know
What trials we must endure
Until then

-Joshua Lee Foist

When to stand

When to stand
And when to stand still
There is the conflict
That will battle within
To engage without
Or in

Where must all this lead
This longing, this plead
A heart that burns
A soul that yearns

For what

What lies outside
This cold existence
Who can know the jagged edges
Of this throbbing heart

Can one engage in its beating
These short shallow breaths
This air receding
This light amid the eyes
Diminishing

Will it be quenched
This flame
Once so ferocious
It burns
Though hardly visible
It longs to grow

But it does not remember
How once
The kindling that then caught its course
Has now near lost its life force

These burdens bare deep
Their callous consumes
What senses did remain
Now all grows distant
But this pain
Which seems the only kin
That comforts within

Oh to break free
Of these chains
These cords that
Dig in
And hold one fast

Oh to cast
All to the wind
Come fly away
Oh friend

All cast away
The night to the day
Where all is caught up
Between the dawn
And the gray

Light and dark
Fade away
In a sea
Of endless day

Where color once grew
So free
Now night
Has caught thee
In its grip

It's shadows
Cast across
Thy pigment
To shade all that remains

Can one be reborn
Into a new morn
Where the slate is washed clean
And no more is what had been

Oh for such a day
When one could
Toss away
All tarnished existence

And live
Live
And be loved
Loved completely

At times its thought
Too wonderful for words
But it lives
Oh it lives
And longs to be free

To be caught up with thee
For all eternity
Oh to never flee
This moment
May it ever be

Its warmth
Engages all senses
And wraps round
All defenses

It will not be ignored
It will not be tamed
For it doth not know how
For love is its character
Every fiber of its being
Is this

So come oh love
Not quietly
But with all joy
Amidst all anguish and sorrow
And carry me upon thy wings
And never let go

Though I may
Near but succumb
To doubt and fear
May they not reside here

May only thy love
Embrace
And cast out
All fear and doubt
With thy mercy and grace

-Joshua Lee Foist

Ah, for a moment I was lost in a distant daydream

Ah, for a moment I was lost in a distant daydream
The world before me, was not as it seemed to be
There was something most pleasant and alluring
Beckoning, drawing me towards it

But I could not see it clearly
It was more of a feeling which entangled me
Warmth, soft cool breeze
Gently caressing my skin
And drawing me in

To feel it's touch
Upon my face
So soothingly soft and still
Oh, to be caught up in this thrill

As awakening for the first time
To the break of day
The coolness of the early morn
In which a new day is born

All is fresh and new
The earth smells so sweet
As it discharges its dew
Oh, to drink in this view

As though times passing
Were as tender as the waves at sea
How they flock around me
And soar out from the shore
And return much stronger
Than before

They toss, and turn
They bubble and break
And slither softly and slowly to shore
Once more to cleanse
And wash away
And carry off to sea
These dregs of debris

-Joshua Lee Foist

So I sit here silently and still

So I sit here silently and still
Lacking much in heart and thrill
Our company is mixed
My eyes are fixed
On a point on the wall
Caring very little at all
For the atmosphere around
So I sit and stare
And perhaps hear a sound
But none can compare
To this somber sentiment

I play a roll
And hold a rank
And raise my glass
And take a drink
Once was I fond of it here
Once I think

But now
Less fond I feel
And more a fraud
It is perhaps somewhat odd
That I did once love it here
How very queer
Twas once quaint and charming
Yet not so now

I begin to see another path
Not far from here
A future not so far ahead
And I oft but wonder
Where it will lead

I am too much caught up in
My desires and my sin
That I let them shut me in
And all the world out
Alas I seem to doubt
What life was once
All about

At times all strength is gone
I care not to sing its song
For sorrow doth carry on
And what little joy may prolong
There are but a few drops left
To quench my calm

So all is quiet
And I once again engage the darkness
Though it is cold and dismal
It holds the comfort of solitude
Where I can cast away the world
For an hour or a day

And none may look in
While I rage and wrench
Within my ravaging sin
Here are no kin
Just me and it
I covet it
This crazed thing
But it doth no joy to me bring

All satisfaction is gone
And only the addict
A mere shard of humanity remains
Searching for but a few scraps
Of that once initial fix

But it hath stolen
His soul
And taken control
It plays the whore
That craves for more
And sucks as a sycophant
Till it seizes the last exhalation of life

And as it draws its last gleam of life
It ponders on its path and plight
How once it did delight
In all of life
Till it gave its soul
To the sorcerer's control
And never regained
Its personal role
All was lost
And such a cost

Oh that wisdom's plead
Would somehow bleed
A little life once more
Into this tortured existence
That perchance
This pilgrim
Might journey
Out from this shroud of existence
And into a life of meaning
Where hopes and longings are fulfilled
In the heart and hand of the one who willed
That all space and time should be stilled
As He saw fit
While all the world
In His craftsmanship were knit
To make such a thing of it
That He would
Give so much
To a race that cared so little
For its Creator
And King
He would give it all
Though it would cost Him everything
That they may one day return
To that which their hearts
Did once burn

-Joshua Lee Foist

Now to spring

Now to spring
That doth bring
Everything

Everything new
All that had been
Has past

And now
Comes the new
The beginning

It is here
Now
It is growing

All around
Is life
Beginning
Anew

For the first time
The song is sung
Yes spring has begun

And it welcomes
Everyone
To come

Come share in this joy
Come and be a part
Of this splendid art

Now to the new
Take it in
Breath it in

It is glorious
And wonderful
It is fresh and full

So much here
One is overwhelmed in it
Caught up in a fit of wundermeant

Oh what beauty
What virgin grace
There is in this place

So tender
And free
Oh to be

To be caught up too
In this wondrous view
Here all things are new

Everything grows
Strong
And agile

Each has its purpose and form
Each plays its part
In this work of art

It is here now
For all who come
Free to everyone

So share in the joy
Share in the fun
Now's the time for living

Free and full
Within the joy
Of life's simple pleasures

Here lies the joys of spring
And with it
Everything

For it is a time of rebirth
When all the earth
Begins again

Where hope
Is let in
And stays a season

One is offered
A reason
To live

Hope has come to live
And walk amongst us for a time
To share with us a hope that may come

To each that would follow
To each that would share
In this

So come
And enjoy
In the hope of spring

And share in the life
It does bring
To the glory of it's king!

-Joshua Lee Foist

Oh to time that marches steadily on

Oh to time that marches steadily on
So march these days
And Seasons
And moments of time

So many things we share
In these brief bits of time
Do we know how precious
Each one
Truly is

Whether, short or long
Each one we tarry on
Do we truly know that what is here
Tomorrow will be gone
What we have glanced upon
Now move we from
To another that's just begun

We've only the one
To cherish
Now
Each in its part
Has it's measure
In this art

So tender
So troubled
Can we be
May we open wide
Our eyes
To this mystery
For though
We see
Only through
A thin glass
Alas it only holds
What it reflects
It cannot share more

So look we not so long
To the future
As if to merit
This moment now
But rather somehow
May we live these moment
Here and now
And so set a course
Toward what may be
Our future days

But may we not be caught in
Its gaze
Or sing so oft of it's feeble praise
These are the days
These are the days
In which we live

So may we measure them
By what we give
Of ourselves
Each breath
Each beating heart
Is but a part
Of this glorious
Work of art

-Joshua Lee Foist

Farewell oh februare

Farewell oh februare
Twas not long ago
We did share
A moment here

How quickly the days go by
When you and I
Did think
This season would never die

Alas, another season has past
Another month is near but gone
And we look ahead
To time that marches on

Each season has it's moments
Those special surprises
Those small joys
Behind each corner

For you and I
It was a moment
Once thought I
To fly and touch the sky

Now away
We must venture
From this day
And move on
As the break of dawn
There is much ahead
Many things left unsaid

Yet still we tread
Into the waves of the unknown
As the waters engulf us
They capture this moment
Capsuled in time

So drift we on
The surface of the sea
What lies ahead
Such mystery
We cannot know

But earnestly we go
With eager longing
We look ahead
All things are possible

Who can say
Where a wave may carry us
Who can know
Where we will go from here

So may we rest
In these waves
As they carry us along
May we share in the song
Of the sea

May we sing of the days we knew
And earnestly pursue
That which lies ahead
Just beyond the shore
There lies much more
Than we ever imagined before

-Joshua Lee Foist