Author's note: I was bored. And I was really bored. Attempt to read this in fake Irish or Scottish. And let it be within your hearts, to pray for me to study.

The lords are up in their fortresses,

Of great stones, tall and strong.

They are surrounded by their watchmen,

That number many a throng.

With booming voice they thunder,

As they feast just as they whore.

"The Danes, they be afearin' us,

Too scared to land on our shores."

Then one night, as silent as eerie,

We saw a light in the bay.

'twas approaching in quicker paces.

It came, just like Monday.

Before we be aknowin' it,

They were upon our lads.

They came like creepin' shadows,

Shades in leather clad.

He grasped me as I turned to run,

His hands were cold and clammy.

In his gaze I saw no meaning,

No friends, no wife, no family.

Great many things flashed by mine eyes,

Before my throat his dirk did lay.

I saw blade as it went through bone.

And bone as it went though decay.

To be acontinuin'

Notsnhoj

My Sister

We were as close as two sides of paper, with a bond of solid gold.

In anger I did abuse her. In love I did protect her.

Then one day there was this young man, he came and took my place.

Still, I did abuse her. But someone else protected her.

Then I saw the hollowness of my actions, the lack within my heart.

No longer did I abuse her. But no longer did I protect her.

The days are now stretched and long, as is the distance between us.

How I long to abuse her. How I ache to protect her.

Johnston

El Sali, The Lord Our Rock

Our Father God, El Sali, You are the Lord, our Rock. You are our great support, the bastion of our faith. You created the heavens and the earth, and we know of Your great might. Like a great rock, You stand unmoving against the tides of unrighteousness. Forever You are with us, forever we are not alone.

Father God, you are our great foundation. Because of You, we can stand firm. Because of You, we do not fear. Even in times of tribulation, we shall not fall, because You are holding onto us. And we are grateful.

Father God, we know of Your love for us. And we pray with all our hearts that You continue to hold us close to You. Keep us steadfast in the faith. Help us to never waver.

Our hearts are weak, for we are human. Given time, we easily lose sight of You, O Lord, we lose sight of what is important. Because we are faint-hearted, we fail to cling to Your instructions, and we fail to live godly lives. We deviate from the path, because of our lack of maturity. We no longer look solely at the gates of heaven, because we look at other things. We look at things of little value, and fail to focus on Your glory.

Father God, though we are weak, continue to hold us close to You. In times of our weaknesses, help to us look to You as our great foundation. Help us to focus on You.

You are the rock upon which we stand. And we shall never stumble, for You are solid ground. Though the world around us may crumble, we are safe when we stand with You. When we place our trust in You, we shall never falter. Father God, we pray with all our hearts, be our Rock, and hold us firm.

Johnston

The Road Not Taken

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference. 20

Robert Frost (1874–1963). 

the turning of a page

Let loose these feelings of dereliction. Put away that which is crushed. The earth renews itself. The moon is born again. An end is merely another beginning. Every morning is different. The story lines never cross. The plots are all ever-changing. The morals number beyond count. There is something new in everything. And everything new in somethings. The old is what is past. What has long gone will be forgotten. The pages of a book will wither. A memory never stays. There will be a new tomorrow. A light shining anew. A vision that breathes new life. A song that fills the soul. The grasses are bright and shiny. The shore fresh and cool. Drink the water that replenishes. Tastes the sweet summer berries. And be born again, renewed.

Notsnhoj

a lamentation in solitude

I hear a distant rumble,

The sky is overcast.

This world is dark and gloomy,

Where sunshine does not last.

My life is cast in shadow,

The void is my domain.

Through night and day it showers,

The bitterest of rains.

I walk the roads in blindness,

"Will no one give me light?"

I have no home to go to,

They shut me out at night.

They hurl insults and abuses,

With spite thrown at my face.

With flails of gall they scourge me,

To make me know my place.

I crawl, I run, I try to hide,

Where'er I turn, they know.

To mock me is their purpose,

I have no place to go.

I walk the moonlit doldrums,

No sound but the distant howl.

The shades too, they ignore me,

All life is naught but foul.

My sufferance exceeds the mountains.

My sky is overcast.

I curse my earthbound shadow,

Let the end come fast.

Notsnhoj

the beams that support

The clay crumbles beneath as our heavy boots scrape against the rocks. There is a long way to go as we ascend the slippery slope. Every step of the foot is a flip of the coin, every reach of the hand is a roll of the dice. We take our chances as they come. We fall when the gamble falls through. We push on, beyond all hope of turning back, yet short of the hope of standing on top. Fear is a constant, uncertainty is its foundation.

Will we ever hold the crown of victory? Are all things bleak? Do we climb for failure? Let us give up. I lack the zeal. I lack the will. Where does a Johnston stand in the grand scheme of things? Should I ever be needed? Let me rest, let me lie. Let the clouds roll by. I can live and I can die, and still the world will move around me.

As I look toward the summit, I see a hidden sun. Yet not even the mountain peak can mask its glory. The splendor of its rays reach out to the open skies. Far out and beyond, all the earth receives its warmth. My heart is filled with renewed courage. It beats again. Out of the heavens, come the ones with the same paths as mine own. Radiant with love, their faces are aglow. One goal. One vision. Their summit is none other than that of mine.

Sunbeams from heaven light our way. The light bounces off each crack and stone, surrounding me and filling me. With a palm upon my back and an arm linked in mine, I assail the ramparts. They are with me. Let none stop me! What could I have done alone? Yet now our steps are heard as one.