I followed You
Around, listened to every
Word You said. You
Said You Came for me,
To save me from myself
Before I knew who You
Were, and I believed You.
But before long, I
Forgot, I looked You
In the eyes and
Turned my back on You.
I came to tell you I’m
Sorry, but I looked You
In the eyes and knew:
Grace, forgiveness,
Love.
David K. Carpenter
Pas de Trois
(Invitation)
I wander down
The street, accepted by
Few, but mostly
Not.
There is noise in one big
House, noise and
Light, laughter.
Music that makes me think of
Something I lost a long time ago.
Outside, I can’t help
Looking in.
The door swings
Open, I glance away
Embarrassed for being
Caught peeking.
“Come join us,” calls
A Voice to anyone
But me.
But there is nobody else around.
“Yes you!”
I shuffle toward the
Open door, the Light,
Stumbling toward what
I do not know.
Three figures dance a
Random dance, or
So it first seems.
I stand at the edge, drawn
By warmth of Light, by
Laughter and Love.
A pattern emerges, complex and
Choreographed, yet elegant with
Eternal beauty.
No one leads, each defers to
The Other Two, fluid grace.
I’ve no idea how it works but
It does, the music stirring something deep
Inside, yearnings, long-forgotten dreams.
I laugh, a childish sound, and they
See me,
Know me,
Love me anyway.
“We’ve been waiting for you to dance your part,”
They tell me.
“I don’t know this dance,” I say, and yet I
Find myself joining in.
Clumsy, I fall and ruin
The dance but they
Catch me like it’s part of
The routine, and
Still we dance.
There are no rules to this dance, only
Love and Light and laughter and
Music that is no longer haunting. It is a
Divine dance, a celebration.
You come in too, there’s
Always room for one more.
David K. Carpenter
June 17, 2016
I run away from
You because of something
I did that I wish I hadn’t. I
Can’t face You, You will
Punish me, I deserve it but
Wish I didn’t. I
Finally realize I can’t
Hide from You, not
Now, not ever, so I
Drag myself, a lost boy who
Sometimes wants to stay
Lost, through muck and
Shame back to Your
Presence, and instead of
Punishment, Peace. Not
Peace like no fighting,
Peace like wholeness, like
Nothing was ever broken.
How can that be? I was
Broken, I
Still am.
Why would I ever leave this?
But I do, a lost boy who
Thinks he knows best, who
Thinks maybe it’s better to be
Lost sometimes. But I can
Never be. I wander again, make
Something more important than You, do
Something stupid, say
Something hurtful to
Someone You thought important
Enough to die for. Could
Be a long list.
Why have I left Your
Peace for a piece of
My American dream?
How many times can I
Screw up and crawl back to
You? Maybe this time You
Won’t be there, won’t take
Me back. I’ve used up my
Seventy times seven.
But I try again, turn
Back to You.
What else can I do?
Are You there?
Maybe not this time.
But when hope has
Slipped through the hole in
My pocket, You are there
On the horizon, running
Toward me, arms wide,
Welcoming me back, though
I am so far from deserving it.
I am shame and
You are Extravagant Grace and
I am found again.
David K. Carpenter
April 11, 2016
Face down in the dirt
While you hang there with
Nails I drove through your feet and hands.
How could I let this happen? How
Could I cause this to happen?
Your tears and blood drip into the dust
All around me making strange
Mud that should make any
Blind man see.
I draped my hopes on
Your carpenter shoulders, a
Glowing, precious mantle of
Tomorrow’s victories. You also
Grabbed my fears and worries,
Hoisted them on your back,
Carried them like nothing.
Now I guess I take them back,
Adding more to the pile.
What happens now?
Where are you now?
Glowing mantle gone, dripping
Into the dust with your blood.
Wandering in the wilderness,
Two days that seem like 40.
New week comes, another
Day of hopelessness, but then—
Your body is gone? But then
There you are, wearing my
Golden glowing mantle. On my
Knees at your feet, now
My tears in the dust.
Why have you done this for me?
Where are you now?
Living inside me, really
Everywhere, if I only look hard enough.
David K. Carpenter
March 19, 2016
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Master's Canvas - Writing & Photography by David K. Carpenter 