Faith and Fear
Faith is the crisp, clean water
That soothes your thirsting heart.
Fear is the potent poison
That pulls the soul apart.
One cannot stand the other,
They cannot live combined,
Toxins in cleansing water,
Or fear with faith in mind.
One drop of bitter poison
Will spoil all you drink,
Just as one fear you hold to
Can ruin how you think.
And just as cleansing water
Will wash a venom out,
So too can trust through hardship
Rush through, and cleanse your doubt.
You must choose one or other,
You cannot hold to both,
You’ll find you’re drinking poison
And cutting off your growth.
So drink your cleansing water
Completely on its own.
Faith is not true faith, until
You let it stand alone.
– s. Clark
The Courage to Live
He walks through empty pews,
feet crunching on the shards
of stained glass dreams. The news
has reached him: the abyss
gapes and consumes, unmoved
by what one man would miss.
He raises up his head,
though wearied and weighed down,
the smoking dark has bled
beneath the door, but he
looks up to find the light,
though he can barely see
it anymore. The cold
has crept into his hearth.
He feels so very old,
but he is still alive,
sometimes that is the most
that we can do. Survive.
Praying that God will give
the courage that we need
to wake up, and to live.
– s. Clark
The world is a hard, stark place, my love
Life can be a bitter brew
So when there is fear
And the darkness draws near
Love, you must believe in you
Though time and tears weigh you down, my dear,
Show confidence in all you do
For when there is change
And the stars rearrange
You must still believe in you
Remember the love of the ones you hold close,
You are never alone, it is true,
But sometimes you fall.
You will win through it all,
If you will believe in you.
– s. Clark
Unquenchable Light
He reached for the stars
but he stretched out too far,
and they burned up his hands,
left him covered with brands.
But he reaches on still,
for he measures his will
as his light,
Matching might
with the stars.
– s. Clark
You are More
You are not only your muscles and bones
You are spirit and will
You are fire and stone
Life is not made of just blood in your veins
You are anguish and rage
You are lightening and rain
You are not built of synapses and skin
You are made up of dreams,
Oceans storming within
How could you be broken, or fear the night?
You are stars in the dark
You are warmth, you are light
No one can box you, or measure your worth
You are spirit and song
You are wide as the earth
Though life will hurt you, and paint you with scars
Let no one convince you
You are less than you are
– s. Clark
Shigé Clark Writing 