Return to the Path
Return to the Path is my inspirational collection of Christian poetry. It was written, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit, over the course of 1998. Sometimes weeks would go by without a poem being written, but other times a flurry of poems would come out together. Personally, I never really felt that I could take full credit for writing the poems, feeling more of a "tool in the hand of God." Literally, these poems underwent no revision, except spacing and typo-correction. I have published them here on the Web in the hope that they will inspire, guide and let people "Return to the Path." With that said, I ask that you do not copy them off of this web site, but you may link to them freely.
Below I offer some interpretation and commentary on the poems, as well as links to them. The interpretations are by no means definite, as each person reads the poem and applies to their own life -- this is just "my take" and what a poem means to me.
I've also added RealAudio clips, so that you can hear the poems read aloud.
If you like Return to the Path, you may also like Human Dust Alive, a more recent collection of inspirational poetry.
- Foreword - The foreword introduces the collection, with a note from me.
- Dancing on the Edge of the World - This poem, which could be set to music due to the "chorus" that is somewhat present, is one of the older ones in the collection. It speaks of how God is always there for you. The Edge of the World could represent the temptations, struggles, or evil that await you as you follow the path. For me, Dancing's powerful refrain encourages and strengthens me in times of darkness.
- Missionary - Whew. This poem was written all in one sitting, with me continuously typing the words that just came into my head. For me, this poem speaks of how even though we're besieged by evil in the world, we always have the shelter of God. Once we're secure in our faith, God instills in us a desire to go out and tell those without faith of His Glory. We may seem to leave our shelter and travel out into the world, yet God is always with us.
- Show Them the Light - Most of this poem was written with my eyes closed. Literally. I was in a class in the computer lab, and there was a lecture which I already understood. The instructor had turned off the lights so the overhead would be better visible. I simply closed me eyes, tuned out from the classroom and tuned into these words which flowed through my fingers onto the screen. To me, the poem holds many powerful images which it evokes to instill this "force" and power that you can feel. I like this poem, as its words move me deeply.
- Escapade - Too often we trust to ourselves to save us. We find ourselves in the valley of darkness and think that our eyes can pierce the darkness and see an escape. The escape is so close, yet still it eludes us...
- Unto Light - I wrote this poem while I thinking of a friend of mine who was not a Christian and scorned God. I was hoping that she would turn from the darkness and walk unto light... unfortunately, recently she only went deeper into darkness. But the poem remains, encouraging and calling those not on the path.
- Take a Look - I love the opening line of this poem. "Behind your eyes there is a sad doubt" is a line that I feel captures the doubt that lies in every nonbeliever's heart. All the gold, all the riches of the world are worthless without the soul...
- High Road - Sometimes "Just Say No" isn't enough. This poem speaks that we must resist temptations and traps from the devil and continue on the path above that of mortality.
- Asking Outward - Sometimes we are not ready to embark on a journey... until we ready ourselves with the armor of God.
- A Prayer for Faith - This is more of a prayer than poem, written straight from the heart to God. With Faith, we can move mountains. Without it, we are merely "human -- dust alive."