Wednesday, August 7, 2013

Voice Of A Muse/& Qualifications

Note: I went out this evening - something I REALLY should do more - and have come back with my mind jammed full of thoughts, ideas, and words.  I'm not a very social person, but the irony is interesting to me that much of my writing is fueled BY social interaction.  Maybe that's in part because I'm so often uncomfortable in social settings, especially large groups, and as it kicks up my emotions, it kicks up my writing brain.  This evening, however, I was in a small, quiet group which I enjoy much more than larger gatherings (or work settings), and thus my inspiration is coming from that, and hopefully from a more relaxed perspective.  There are other writings I will post tonight as well.

ANYWAY...

I rarely feel the need or desire to qualify any of my postings here on my Blog, and am rather annoyed with myself for feeling the need to do so now.  However, there are times when I worry how my writing (poetry or otherwise) may be taken, particularly by those I love and respect.  This is the case with one of the last posts I made entitled 'A Coffin, A Cross, And A Martyr.  To me, writing (particularly with my poetry) often is "a language of emotional extremity".  Let me explain:

In many ways, this 'language of emotional extremities' is the beauty of the written word.  We can express ourselves in colors as bright and vivid or muted and somber as we choose.  And if because some might deem putting emotion into words an impossible task, we end up over-compensating and writing more "loudly" than some situations or people might warrant, perhaps we may be forgiven.  For maybe words cannot fully sing the potency of our deepest feelings after all.  But - as writers - we must try.  We must try or risk being a liar to ourselves and unworthy of the gift of speech.  

My poetry, to me, is in some ways the act of thrusting my heart forward, or to put it less eloquently, vomiting myself onto a page.  While this may in some ways leave me naked and vulnerable, it is also very cathartic and I hope someday it will become both a catalyst and a relieving method for others to identify with their own feelings and thoughts that they cannot put into words as easily.  

In regards to the writing of 'A Coffin, A Cross, And A Martyr', 'NO', I have not done anything about that situation than you already know about.  No, I do not feel that I was hurt on purpose, nor do I feel like a victim of anything but my own overly critical self.

To put this is the most succinct possible way:  Please take my poetry with a grain of salt and do not draw conclusions of any kind about me or others when reading it.  As movies are larger than life, so at times is the human mind and imagination.  Please, allow me the freedom to exercise my imagination and emotional muscles without condescension or judgment.  If my writing concerns you, (and it might - I can't blame anyone for what they feel or how they react) its okay, you're allowed, just PLEASE talk to me about it.  And fair warning - it is extremely offensive to me for a reader of my writing to suggest to me that I should seek out counseling.  >: (  Seriously?  I got this. -----  And I know, those of you who know me well (and anyone who is reading my Blog should), you are not necessarily guilty of that, but please come directly to me if you have a concern or any speculations on the writing.

To give you just a little taste of my psychology, yes, I do tend to blame myself for everything wrong that happens.  I think its fair to say that I was raised to see things that way, though I won't go into any details about that here.  I blame myself for hurts and complications in relationships even when I am not guilty at all or there should be no blame associated with anyone involved.  I point the finger at myself.  Yes, yes, I KNOW that's wrong and I'm VERY aware of it.  I'm working on it... And sometimes when I write, it really does seem that I make myself out to be this terrible villain to everyone including myself.  I know it.  I would NEVER EVER intentionally be an evil villain or hurt ANYONE, ESPECIALLY those that I care about the most, whatever my writing may portray.  Again, I know this is a hang-up that I have, but PLEASE don't judge.  If anything, just be a friend to me and be respectful enough to come to me with any concerns you might have rather than try to figure it out for yourself or make assumptions or... refer me for counseling.  :)  --- And again, just because you happen to be one of the few reading this does NOT mean that I'm trying to lecture anyone in particular or that any of you have done this.  I'm just laying it out there, probably more for myself than anyone else.

Thanks,
~Kaylie

Friday, July 26, 2013

Spinning (Song) - temporary title

Note: I literally woke up thinking the lyrics and tune of this song.  I listen a lot to 'Plumb' & 'Meredith Andrews' and I kind of get the vibe of a combination of the two in this song.  Simple, clean, straight-forward and honest like Andrews and a little broken, ballad-like, and full of feeling like Plumb.  But naturally, its as-yet unfinished.


My head is spinning
The world is winning
Things are still moving just as fast
As when I laid down

Alarm clock's screaming
The sun is grinning
 To see me in the same mess as before

I am tired
Uninspired
How can I keep swimming so hard
Against the stream

Guess I don't have what it takes
To fight this fight
Anymore

Then You remind me with a smile
That I've been trying far too hard
Looked too much at all my scars
You are here
You are near
And its all in Your hands


*     *     *


 *     *     *

When all I can do...
Is follow You

Monday, July 22, 2013

Unfinished

Lost in the big woods
Adrift in a lonely sea
Sometimes its hard
To find the better part of me

Must poke my head above the water
To confront the waves
They loom larger than life
Threaten to take us to our graves

I would drown to calm the storm
In the hearts of those I love
But would hurt them in the process
When will the hurting be enough?

Sometimes we retreat
To draw the unfriendly fire away
Only to confuse our allies
When we've nothing left to say


Wednesday, July 10, 2013

A Coffin, A Cross, And A Martyr



I have played the jester
I have been another nail in the coffin
While the hammer-strokes still ring from long ago

I will carry this rough-hewn cross
And try to ignore the splinters
That prick with every step

A martyr of spirit hurts more
Than a martyr of flesh
What love was meant to lift up
Love has torn apart
But every stone was deserved

No more deserving am I
Of further affection and sacrifice
Than the cat who wore down the sparrow

From a high and lofty place
There were heavy, mighty blows
A hammer was mine
A hammer was theirs
The true damage only God knows

A candy-covered, tissue-paper flower
That holds a mighty sting
A poison thorn of self-deception
Ensnaring any who draw too near

Like the wounded banshee who calls for help
Yet destroys any who respond
Needing a savior as deeply as any
But dragging any compassionate friends down

A keepsake grave
A box to crawl back into
When shame or hurt strikes
And I, possessing the only faulty key
When ages pass into foggy memory
We see our faces are the same
As countless children gone before
Needy, but fallen from grace
Who will, at the last, remember these
Those who had fought and died
Amongst themselves
For want of a secure father?

I have an abstract heart
That was beaten into a deformed shape
Lost underground in the box it sleeps
Needing what it can never have

A child despising its youth
Despising innocense that has long spoiled
What the adult has killed
The child has left behind
What little remains is forever broken

A blanket of blue has covered the top of the sky
Light only peeks through from reflected sun
The heavens are hidden
What more reason is there to look up?

Still there is a beauty in the storm
In its passion and ferocity
In its midnight blues and silver jags
In its desperation to expend all energy
Spill out its full poisonous potency in such a short time
To this, I can relate

The storm makes the air lighter
Takes away its oppressive weight
Fully reveals what it had flashed before in momentary glimpses
Turns the sinister into softness

And so I pray that the storm will pass
Will leave redemption in its wake
Will turn the sinister light of fear into willingness
A pliable soul that You can shape
Rather than a granite block of obstinate shame

Sunday, June 23, 2013

The God I Know

As I often have been in my life, I presently find myself torn between two different, and equally powerful emotions... Sadness and hope.  The erm... 'reflection' of sadness (which I will post separately) is what I have been feeling.  But this morning, ironically in the very midst of my sadness, I began writing something else in response to what I was hearing spoken.... Someone I care about is leaving soon... And while he has expressed his own sadness and uncertainty in the future, he also is doing what he has always done - pointing us to God, and giving us hope for the future - a future that, soon, won't include him. : ' ( 
 
He reminded us again that God is not finished with this church yet and that there are greater things still to be done here.  He also reminded us of who God is - whether he is there or not.  And so I began to think back... to who God has been to me personally throughout the course of my life... in a personal and special way that He's reserved for me.  Even when I've been without anyone close to me (and honestly, that's been the greater part of my life - though blessedly not recently) or who understood, God has still been here with me and loved me and walked me through the storm.  HE has never changed and HE will never leave me... And even in the writing of this, I know that God is trying to comfort me.  There are some melodic notes and accents in there somewhere, so I may put it to music later.  The second stanza (father part) makes me cry... And I know the words were not my own...


The God I know
Is the one who called me back from a prodigal journey
The God I know
Is the One who did not reprimand
But loved and welcomed back
Who held me instead of punished me
 
The God I know
Is a father
When all earthly fathers fade away...
Who saves me from my personal hell
Pulls me back from the edge of self-destruction...
 
The God I know
Does not expect me to rise to His height
He reaches down to where I am
And saves me from drowning...
 
The God I know
Has always walked before me
Always knows the struggles long before
And the same God I know
Doesn't save me from the journey
But holds my hand the whole way through
 
Ooh yeah
The God I know
 
The God I know
Gives my little life new meaning
The God I know has a face that's beaming
Knowing that His child has now come home


Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Miraculous Upgrade



You took away my voice
So I could hear You speak
Took away my ears
So my heart could hear, and know, Your voice

You took away my security
So I could find comfort in You alone
And my pride
So I could find my worth in You alone

You took away my direction
So that I would find myself in You
Took away the broad pathway
So I could see that every road leads back to You
You took away myself
And gave me You







Tuesday, May 21, 2013

Do We Ever Really Know

Sometimes I wonder
Do we ever really know?

How often does the clock chime
A note that's out of tune?
How often are the stars seen
From the dark side of the moon?

How often does God make a mistake
Breaking the already broken
To make something whole?
To rescue something lost
Only to lose the hopeless in soul?
Sometimes I wonder
Do we ever really know?

And this is love
To die that we might live
We live so that we may die
And He might more fully live...
Thoughts come too swiftly 
and understanding far too slow
And sometimes I must wonder
Do we ever really know??

What makes the dawn come up like thunder
Redemption fall like gentle snow?
What makes grace embrace the shame
In places we would not ordinarily go?
A grief too terrible to mention
Tears that never fully show