SOMETHING HIDDEN

SOMETHING HIDDEN

 I do not take the plunge downward

To the streets of homeless bonfires

And the lure of unspoken suicides

A silent river night

Courses through my shivering jellied veins

And I walk the cat strewn alleys

Of life's tentative second dawning.

I do not fire the pistol 

To send my troubled head

Over the mountains where there is cheap refuge.

I take the gamble

And each new breath

Into these bewildered and frazzled lungs

I do not end it all

For who but God knows

Why life is clothed in shady robes

And there may be something hidden

Buried beneath our memories and perfumes 

Who but God knows

And there just may be a lantern

Somewhere past these heavy waves

Beyond these crafty currents

-Bruce Potts

Copyright 2024

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

VISIONS

VISIONS 

I saw visions

When I was prostrate on the ground

Asking the world why

Get up, came the murmur of the clouds

Sail on, came the whisper of the sea.

Blood dried from my wounds

Beneath the welcome sun

With the universe I was made one

I saw visions

God stretched out

On a beautiful chaise lounge in the sky

The saints all held martinis 

With olives very dry

Fly by, came the murmur of the angels

Rise above, came the clamor of the wise

Tears dried from my flooded eyes

Wiped away by the welcome sun

With the universe I was made one

I saw visions, full of light, puffy as sky

When I was prostrate on the ground

Asking the world why

-Bruce Potts

Copyright 2024

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

WHEN GOD PAINTS A SUNRISE

WHEN GOD PAINTS A SUNRISE

When God paints a sunrise.
Implicit is a promise and dream,

Just like the rainbow in Noah's day,
A flood, stopped in midstream.

The promise could be anything,
Bounty for those who lack,

Or that another black man
Will not die for being black.

When God paints a sunrise,
It's a feast for weary eyes,

Gorgeous pink and purple streaks,
That flicker across the skies.

There is a subtlety, a nuance,
A beautiful confluence,

A promise of a day where soft and quiet, not riot,
Is the order of things,

When God paints a sunrise, he takes off our blinders
With a gentle reminder he still pulls the strings,

On the weary jagged puppetry of our lives,
A world where some kind of justice thrives.

A sunrise can gently lift us out of time,
Lead us to somewhere sacred and sublime,

And God at last gives us something transcendent,
Something so weighty, something of precedent,

More than just a chemical reaction
Or gases in the stratosphere,

A sunrise the footsteps of God drawling nearer,
Lifting the veil, our failing eyesight clearer.

A picture worth hanging on refrigerator doors.
A picture of our better selves, a hint of better days
When God paints a sunrise, the heavens set ablaze.

-Bruce Potts
Copyright 2020
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

IF GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

IF GOD IS IN THE DETAILS

If God is in the details,
Then you are surely in the dreams,
Of every living architect,
Who knows what beauty means.
For your soul is vast with many rooms,
That issue forth a sweet perfume,
And I am proud and filled with song
To be sheltered in your vision strong.

If God still walks amongst us men,
He must hold tight unto your hand,
And guide you through the thick of night,
The unforgiving desert sand.
And lead you safely, gently home,
Lest you cast your foot against a stone,
And your blood should soak the evil earth,
That knows not what your life is worth.

If God should know the contents 
Of a single human heart.
Surely he'd be struck with awe,
To know the beauty yours imparts.
And time would heal the wounds of fools
At the end of the longest day.
And you would be protected
From the slings and arrows cast your way.

If God is in the details, 
Then surely he has heard our plans,
Of the life we plan to build together,
Lovers hand in hand.
And surely he won't turn
A blind eye to our private dreams,
Leaving us to labor,
All alone behind the scenes.

But God will rise and call us blessed,
Beloved sons with grand finesse,
Bring us flowers on our wedding day,
An impassioned speech to light our way.

If God is in the details,
We are sitting in his hands,
And he has blessed our union sweet,
All across this quiet land.
You and i will live in peace,
Safe in the harbor of our love,
As the lion lays down with the lamb,
And the eagle courts the dove.

-Bruce Potts
Revised Copyright 2014
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED