Tenebrae, the darkening, cloaked the earth.
The Spirit wailed from the horns, heralding
The agony of the Christ.
Human cries begot a host of angel choruses.

The Crucifixus crescendoed.
Grey clouds, angry vile cumulus boiled, rolled and roared,
Fervent fury for the sins of all men.
His last breath, surrender to grateful death.

Christ’s ascension, melodious, light and free.
Celestial music, soft, adagio,
A wash of mercy and peace – sweet, sweet peace.
Cherubic words affirm hope through His love:

“Jesus loves me this I know,
For the Bible tells me so.”

Source of Inspiration for Good Friday, A Tenebrae Service
Tenebrae, Latin for shadows or the darkening, is an ancient Christian service recreating the emotional aspect of the passion story, usually celebrated on Good Friday.  I attended such a service at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas, 2007 Holy Week.  I was enthralled by the magnitude of the music from the orchestra and the voices of the choir, each one empowered by the heavens to recreate every emotion felt by the people at the foot of the cross.  I penned this poem that night to commemorate this unforgettable event.
Good Friday, A Tenebrae Service, was published in Centres of Expression, Noble House, London, 2007.

Reunion time!  We’ll have to look our best!
We’ll shed some pounds, and buy a flattering frock,
That hides our hips, and lifts our dipping breasts.
Yes, cleavage wasn’t part of physique
In ’66, there wasn’t much to see.

We came from innocence and small town views,
Embraced a world of hope we thought we knew.
But we were destine to rewrite the codes
Of moral standards, long the social guides.
Free love and peace and pot would fix our world
Of bigotry and hate and futile war.

Oh, yes, old friend, we fixed it good! So good
We rue our days.  Our children suffer most.
Single moms with phantom dads, the carnage
Of free love, my friend, that wasn’t free at all.

But we’ll go back and talk old times and skirt
The pain we caused.  We’ll flash the pics of kids
And grands, and analyze our aches and pains.
What fun we’ll have.  I just can’t wait!  Can you?

Source of Inspiration for The Reunion
The Reunion was written to assign responsibility to the “free love” movement for the premature loss of youthful innocence, and the degradation of the sanctity of marriage, a holy union now taken lightly, thus easily voided by the divorce express lane.   The Reunion was published in The International Who’s Who in Poetry, 2004, in which I was sited as one of 4 featured poets and the only American poet.  The other featured poets were from Thailand, Italy, and Greece.  This was an amazing honor!