Sunlight brushes breathlessly over the horizon

Sunlight brushes breathlessly over the horizon
Drop by drop it descends down the mountainside
Slowly yet steadily it fills this void of darkness
Quickly consuming all blackness that stands in its way

So breaks the dawn into the day
And so steals away the dark to the light
No more stars and no more night
The day has broken with the morning light

Oh come and wrap yourself in its warmth
Let it soak through your skin and warm you within
Gone is the cold of night
Now full the day and bright

So begins the day
And such a glorious one
The beautiful colorful rays of the sun
Shining down upon everyone

-Joshua Lee Foist

A chance at meeting

A chance at meeting
This heart that is beating
Wondering still
Wondering will

Maybe twill be
Maybe we'll see
Yet life is still
A mystery

Not one moment can be seen for sure
Not one moment than before
Waiting with anticipation
Waking with surprise
As you open your eyes
To some glorious realization
It could be

Why toss it aside
For chance
Or romance
Ah, a distant glance
And let it go
It's all for show
They'll never know

Don't hide beneath
Your riddles and rhyme
There's always time
To reminisce
Don't forget this

All moments are new
And this much is true
They'll always hold
As precious gold
Your glory inside

For twas you who made
Such emotions as pride
Or love
Twere all of
Your creation

Each has its place
In all of time and space
Oh, but hold not long
On any one thing
But gaze instead
On its creator and king

For tis he and he alone
Who is worth everything
Not bride nor brother
Nor any other
Can give so fully as he

For tis he who loves
So perfectly
And if he is good
Will he not also give
Such gifts
And desires
That will bring us closer

To Him who is able
To give this and more
May we always
Long for and only
Adore

-Joshua Lee Foist

I was wide-eyed with anticipation

I was wide-eyed with anticipation
My heart did long with great expectation
For what might come of this destination
In this time of brief association

What could be
What uncharted course
Could be found upon this sea
All was possible

So soft and sweet
Was the touch
That held so much
Whom might I meet

So many prospects of fond imagination
All were candidates by some approximation
Yet I was naive in my desire
In my hope for some friendship to acquire

Too much had I staked
On this short excursion
And sunk deep
In its perversion

To give into this dream
And invest everything
On the chance
Of once found romance

Tis easier now
When removed
From its current
To see it for what it was

The desire was not in itself at fault
But rather the idea
Which I did exalt
To too high a position

I lost a sense of reality
In my flawed morality
This was my idol of satisfaction
Which could never be found
In some mere attraction

Oh how long think I
Must it be until I will see
The truth for what it really is
It remains unchanged

All the while still I am submerged
In a facade of frail diversion
Hoping to satisfy
What seems so long and void

Yet truly avoiding the matter of the heart
Its longing cannot be denied
For it is justified
From birth it has been

Yet sin has skewed its perspective
And drawn it away
To seek after a thing
A mere distraction
That brings short lived satisfaction

Oh take me away
From this endless play
From this false perception
Help me to see in truth
Its deception

Though I oft but fail
May your will in me prevail
That I may once more
Learn to adore
The Lord of the sea and sky

May I learn to glorify
Him who did love me
Amidst all my complacency
To the very end

May I seek after him
Who is both father and friend
For only he breathes life
Into that which was once dead
And gives it a hope instead

Whose foundation is secure
In that which is pure
And completely satisfies

For whether in life
One may find another
To share with it a season
There is still a reason to rejoice

For all great works once begun
Are completed in him
Who knew no sin
Yet bore it all
That we might know him
And find all we ere desire
Or hope or require
For all the ages to come
In God's one and only son

-Joshua Lee Foist

Here I slip away

Here I slip away
Amidst the passing sorrows of the day
None shall see from when I depart
Or know my return
Tis my glorious art
Of which they share no part

My heart is mine alone
I do not wish its contents to be shown
What if they did see
Perchance did catch me in my misery
Did catch me in my acts of obsession
I could not stomach their expression

What I do fear most
Is that they would see me
In my frail form
(Which alas is all too oft the norm)
That they should see my imperfections
My failings and short sighted perceptions

How I strive so hard for their praise
That they should glory in my show
And always see me so
But I care not for them to truly know
All the trials I undergo
They must not see
For fear they should think ill of me
And turn in contempt

Yet how I long for someone to know
What thoughts I feel
What sorrows I face
I wish to heaven someone
Would see it all
As plainly as I do
That somehow they might comfort me
In such toil and misery

What would it cost
To be so sincere
It is the thing I fear most
As much as I desire it
So too I retire it
For fear the pain is too great to bear
To bare one's soul
To shed one's skin
That another may be drawn in
To see it all exposed
To see it all for what it truly is

Oh come now courage
If thou wilt
And give me strength
To acknowledge my guilt
That I would not withhold
One single strand of evidence
For all is guilty
Not one bit is pure
All desire is for more
There is nothing here to adore

But if in such complete admittance
There be some hope in repentance
To wash away all the blackness that remains
Then come oh currents of cleansing
And wash me through
From within and without
Redeem me of all sin and shame
For this I ask in thy most holy and glorious name

-Joshua Lee Foist

We walk in silence

We walk in silence
Deeplessly gazing into nothingness
So we go on our way
Our eyes as glass
Reflect and refract
All encounters one might attract

So we tune out
All earthly life
And we get lost
In the mindless melodies of our misery
And we let no one in
For fear they might catch us
As we truly are within

Enchanted in our isolation
Distant from all relation
Keeping all feeling within
And all onlookers amidst our control

So we hide behind the words we type
Never engaging the thoughts that are raging
Always suppressing while keeping everyone guessing
What we truly think and feel
This is our skill
This is our mask
We wear at will

Yet you see through all the disguise
Through all the troubles and the lies
As one eludes in darkness
And is consumed by the light
So you see it all whether in day or night

Nothing is unnoticed
Nothing forgotten
All is seen
What has been
What is
And what will be
All you see
So clearly

Oh rescue me
From this prison
Capture me
Free me from these lies
And this hypocritic disguise

I long to look into your eyes
To be lost in such love
That will not criticize
For it knows all sin and shame
Its benevolence bore all blame
Though not looking with disdain
Still loving despite all pain

What fidelity is this
So costly
Yet honest as a kiss

Though many may strive and fail
This one thing will prevail
For what boundaries can defend
The love of a friend

-Joshua Lee Foist

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