Stained Glass and Tears

Make the most of your regrets; never smother your sorrow, but tend and cherish it till it comes to have a separate and integral interest. To regret deeply is to live afresh. - Thoreau

Blown from sacred dust by almighty breath but earthly willing.

Weeping colors spilling.

Baked in a tempestuous, carnal oven.

Stirred in a bold witch's coven.

Adorning hues.

Kneeling in pews.

Framed by ying and yang.

Treasonous remorse flies like a boomerang.

Forged in a foundry of creation but long in the tooth.

Rebutted by time like a scrupulous sleuth.

Bound by cold, hard steel.

Hard to tell what is real.

Soldered with religion and spun by undeniable truth.

Aged by covenant yet set free in youth.

Dark as night.

Victim of heart's delight.

Yeast doesn't have time to rise when its hallowed, harrowed and hastened.

We learn a hard lesson when cornered and chastened.

Brought down in a juggernaut at Jericho.

What is it that we really know?

It's always darkest before the dawn.

When a king admits that he's nothing but a disguised pawn.

Reason waits patiently on the sill.

Elusive to the kill.

Peering through a multi-colored prism.

Spiritually dictated in rectangular fascism.

Rolled dice don't automatically add up to eleven but seventy times seven.

According to the laws of heaven.

Faith can be an elusive marauder.

As the entrance bound by pearly gates seems broader.

Ramifications and repercussions.

Impassioned and indignant.

Adorning once rock-solid lives like the Tower of Babel.

Standing guard over bestial rabble.

Wet with a guilty silence.

Crying out from the depths.

An eternity of first steps.

Bold blemishes run in an emotional view.

Victims of me and you.

Yesterday's whispers are tomorrows screams.

Nightmare of epiphany's dreams.

Written in the psalms of all my fears.

My soul cries out to God in ...

... stained glass and tears ...

Author's Note

"Tears come from the heart and not from the brain." - Leonardo da Vinci

Reviews

[emmajoy]

Read this the other day, needed to read it again, now done, i'm still not quite able to appreciate the breadth and depth of your incredible writing, Pete. It holds so much thought, belief and even touches of unwanted not.quite.doubt but the want for a confirmation of what is done and worthy of forgiveneness or understanding how and why. There's something in the light filled rays of stained glass, its splayed stream of differnces, colours, almost sinuous finishes as if finally exhaling. Your faith is very fundamental to this post, your knowledge of how shades can be kept firm.. enduring - is wonderfully worded. True regret is the finest lesson learned.. anything else is a take it or leave it nothingness.

[Pete]

i'm appreciatively amazed. you're clearly in synch. you've gathered everything and even more than could be expected. you have a keen eye and deep, receptive heart my friend. nothing but blessings your way dear one ... :)

[jacob erin-cilberto]

i am enthralled by this write for different reasons.
i remember these windows, my Catholic youth...later realizations and questions....and now feeling there is a supreme being...but doubting much when it comes to organized religions...it's within our spirits and hearts and minds that we believe, what we believe.
your writing sets me thinking ...introspection that is good.
j.

[Pete]

thanks for taking a look and sharing your thoughts jacob. in agreement - there's just something about them. since the time i first saw one in church growing up Catholic too. i guess that's why they use them - causes a sense of awe, being in the presence of a higher power, soul searching, etc ... :)

[Tony]

It's a little mysterious, but I think I got the gist.
I think it something like bringing order to the chaos around us, or learning to deal with chaos as it is happening.
That being said, I enjoyed all the poetic imagery and the rhymes complimented the poem very well. A poem worth a re-read. Which I definitely will. Awesome poem anyway you look into it. Write on!

[Pete]

thank you for taking a peek even if the glass was stained. your thoughts are well appreciated ... :)

[Lydia Shutter]

The scope of this one is mind-boggling, Pete. The rhyming is unexpected and very good. We question everything as we get older....wondering what it's all about and a sort of "Is that all there is?" Still, certain beliefs stay with us through our lifetimes. When my husband and I travel, we often visit churches, though we are Jewish. There is something about the stained glass windows, the rows of pews, the quiet...it sort of calms the soul and makes one think....just as your words did. The philosophical thoughts here are superb, Pete. Well written. Lydi**

[Pete]

thanks Lydi. there's just something about stained glass that speaks so much. i appreciate your "view" very much ... :)

[Onlyme]

Oh, this is very deep, meaningful, thoughtful, philosophical and a questioning piece of write here Pete. A remarkable piece in general Pete. Got my old brain working overdrive. And the mothballs off them at last. First time in my life yeah. lol

[Pete]

Lol. guess there's a first time for everything - just kidding! thank you Dawn, my big-hearted friend ... :)

[Onlyme]

LoL your okay Pete. I am honest. I can take it.

[Sami Khalil]

Very philosophical and questioning the different aspects of life, faith, fortune and outcomes. How we react to all of that can be instrumental in facing life's challenges.
You are waxing philosophical dear poet Pete...

[Pete]

indeed Sami. spot on observations. thank you for peeking throiugh the window ... :)

[Sami Khalil]

You are welcome...

[Sami Khalil]

"Wet with a guilty silence.
Crying out from the depths.
An eternity of first steps.
Yesterday's whispers are tomorrows screams."

[Pete]

a desperate plea ... :)

[Sami Khalil]

:)....................

[Sami Khalil]

"darkest before the dawn.
When a king admits that he's nothing but a disguised pawn."

[Pete]

looking within, questioning and accepting hard truth ... :)

[Sami Khalil]

So true. You are welcome, sir.

[Sami Khalil]

"like a boomerang.
Bound by cold, hard steel.
Hard to tell what is real.
Soldered with religion"

[Pete]

we learn that things have a way of coming back around but what is solid is never in question but that which isn't can be compromised ... :)

[Sami Khalil]

So true. You are welcome Pete.