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John C. Sparks

of

Xenia, OH, US

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In Memory of Glue

by

John C. Sparks

One out of many is the noble quest
As the boy positions each plastic part;
Let there be structure on top of this desk
Built with a labor direct from the heart!
One thing is needful before he can start
Preserving the union when task is through,
An item with the name of airplane glue!

I remember my childhood some years back,
Those days gone by when an order prevailed.
We begged the system to cut us some slack,
And hoped for a break whenever we failed,
Yet the game was clear, "Expect to be nailed!"
Blind hate stood up, a fact known to be true,
But standing much taller was common glue!

Something has departed with telltale sign,
A substance permitting walks after dark;
Me has defeated we and ties that bind,
And hunter stalks prey in the public park!
Grieve not for shelter in a fifties ark,
Not all was well and worthy of lament,
Rather mourn the loss of social cement!

Nations arise, young waves upon the sea,
Swelling up...on the power of the whole;
Initial bonds break and they cease to be,
Falling mist-like into a captor's bowl!
Oh, never fall victim to wicked foe
Free land saluting the star-spangled blue;
Pray for the return of national glue!

The High Road

by

John C. Sparks

The forks we engage when life is still young
Lead to destinations both low and high.
Paths to perdition or trips to the sky,
These are decisions that matter my son!
Long is the journey that the brave will run,
Many are voices with bitter reply,
And many are traps both evil and sly;
But sweet is the finish when race is won!
Treat all with kindness, continue to sing,
Strike the fine balance between work and play,
Keep eyes on the prize though critics may sting;
And manhood with honor will come your way!
Stay true to your love and heavenly King,
And you shall reign at the end of His day!

The Fifth Horseman

by

John C. Sparks

Come and see our ancient foe prance and frolic throughout the earth!
Tears streaming, I watched as Satan's beautiful seductive masterpiece,
Riding a stunning white horse full of dead man's bones,
Deliciously galloped over unsuspecting masses and conceited highborn!

I sobbed, "Do not be deceived!" but no one heeded still small voices!
All were so eager to welcome enticing promises of new-world orders
And to embrace grandiose doctrines of man born in utter darkness.
Trembling, I fearfully awaited the words and events that would follow.

Come and see the aftermath wrought by the ultimate pied piper!
I looked and observed wars and rumors of wars in full flower.
All were riding blood red horses scourging the earth with gladness.
Falling, I numbly awaited the words and events that would follow.

Come and see the collapse of progressive social orders big and small!
I shuttered as fierce black horses invaded once proud lands with ease
Delivering chaotic gifts of famine, pestilence, and economic despair.
Mourning, I bitterly awaited the words and events that would follow.

Come and see the final judgment of wicked Babylonian insanity!
I raised my head to observe thin pale horses feeding on human carnage
And Lucifer laughing as Christless souls sank into hell to join the beast.
Moaning, I pleaded with my host, "Please sir, no more horses!"

A gentle voice beckoned, "You must come and see this one last sight."
Eyes slowly opening, I saw a magnificent White Horse coming from afar.
Terrified, I screamed, "No! Not again!" as the Fifth Horseman approached,
But then I beheld a most glorious form, the Rider called Faithful and True!

Leaping with song and joy, I immediately proclaimed,
"Thank God for His Horseman and the restoration He brings!
Thank God for the Lamb and the Lion's eternal reign!
Praise God for He comes to make things new again!"

Significance

by

John C. Sparks

The wisp in my glass on a clear winter's night
Is home for a billion wee glimmers of light,
Each crystal itself one faraway dream
With faraway worlds surrounding its gleam.

And locked in the realm of each tiny sphere
Is all that is met through an eye or an ear;
Too, all that is felt by a hand or our love,
For we are but whits in the sea seen above.

Such scales immense make wonder abound,
And make a lone knee touch the cold ground.
For what is this man that he should be made
To sing to The One whose breath heavens laid?

Ancient Ways

by

John C. Sparks

Out of mystery came all that is known:
The unfolding of ages, space, and mind;
Great creatures of every shapeable kind
Alive today and those bedded in stone.
Before any time, God spoke when alone
And genesis sprang from Love unaligned
Who tidied the flow with sentience blind
To the craft hidden of orders now shown.

Praise to the Author of eons and stars,
Heavens and angels, things tiny and vast
Who was and is the sustaining One Voice
Behind all we see thru these fragile jars,
A universe formed by the First and Last
With definite purpose! In this rejoice!

New Math

by

John C. Sparks

Take one newborn,
American male,
And insert into
Today's world.
Add seven years
Of parental strife
Summing to
Divorce at age nine.
Divide a house
By removing one
Natural father,
Replacing with
Step-father, ex-con.
Separate the
Broken pieces
By 1000 miles.
Subtract God.
Add the opposite.
Take away love
And sense of worth.
Again, add the
Opposite.
Multiply
By four more
Turbulent years
And reckon the
Outcome:
25 rounds
10 wounded
05 dead
10000 mourners
01 nation stunned

The first lesson...

Eagle Rising

by

John C. Sparks

Through tears I've seen the fire fall,
Red flames from cruel heights;
And I have seen the tired brave
Work hard through torturous nights.

With resolute and angered hearts
Whose hands combed twisted steel
For muffled hopes beneath the ash
That time would soon repeal...

And though I've seen our eagle cry
And mourn her toppled nest,
Her wings today rise up in strength
With vengence ne'er to rest

Until this earth is rid of those
Who scorn the timeless dream
Of life beyond a tyrant's grasp--
Below the outstretched beam!

Winter Vignette

by

John C. Sparks

Freshly fell the snow last night
And tucked our house in drifts of white,
A crystal blanket to the sight
Once clouds retreated with their gloom,
Leaving the cold December moon
To bathe those fields beyond my room
In heaven's soft and silent light.

O Icarus...

by

John C. Sparks

I ride high
With a whoosh to my back
And no wind to my face,
Folded hands in quiet rest--
Watching...O Icarus...
The clouds glide by,
Their fields far below
Of gold-illumined snow,
Pale yellow, tranquil moon
To my right--evening sky.

And Wright...O Icarus...
Made it so--
Silvered chariot streaking--
On tongues of fire leaping--
And I will soon be sleeping
Above your dreams...

Golden Whispers

by

John C. Sparks

The evening drifts with its wings,
Birds of air, small buzzing things
That dot the placid twilight sky
As setting gold enchants the eye.

Soon, a purple clothes the sphere,
While gentle chirps I start to hear
In a rocker's chair, back and forth;
Back and forth, tilt south to north.

Rhythmic feet stay glued in place;
My heart can not this time retrace.
For God is here, His peaceful way,
To swiftly rise would heaven slay...

Anticipation

by

John C. Sparks

Through the pane I see November--
Clouds of gloom, a barren field,
Stripped and dead once the yield--
Left to mirror a feeble glow
When froozen moons light the snow.

But sing expectant earth below,
For God brings life and love and shield
In Jesus--come December!