Freedom in Fences

where does religion lie as birds fly by the forefront of our wall spears in hand protecting sand shadowing our call is this our heart the art of self perception of our skin sliding scale smoke spattered vail we wallow in our sin a fire burns as mad men turn and ask if this is it now looking up we fill our cup and sip on mold and shit taste buds scream is this a dream as bone embraces pain sleep sets in we wake with friends all echoing our name believing lies in gorgeous eyes hope and sand take flight now counting cost we find were lost such beauty in the night religion is as religion does it keeps us in our cage relation calls and as fear falls he frees us from our rage .......... matt francis

here in the midst of all of this i look at you in light now i notice distance and the turbulence of flight this craft we made it can not hold the clouds now in the sky the rain reveals reflections of a future floating by a future filled with laughter a future soaked in grace a future where the innocent have found a resting place now the rub of rights and love hold my body tight such flesh and skin i look within as rain reveals the night a pilot lost i judge the cost self pity has soaked through now to blame though filled shame i find all fault in you such judging fear as death draws near i beg to see his son a distant song now growing strong three harmonize as one perspective flows silence grows disrupting all my pain blood is found all fear is drowned in the power of a name ................ matt francis

a mystery this man with freckled hands the boy a knight with a wooden spoon held to that hill a mountain of will the lion loud sheep in a quiet room slow turning tide a foundation of pride the sea roars but it never moves so slams his heart each kid does his part the man screams yet refuses to choose religion creeps in now seeped into skin the child cries as he tries to hear slow echoed drum no reflection of sun the shadow drowned with each cup full of fear a mystery this man with freckled hands the heart that could swallow you whole  a pleasing son a chosen one the angel who now knows his role .................... matt francis

heres to the man with freckled hands and laughter like a song heres to the house of the rising sun turned out that I was wrong that face and stride so full of pride that voice and huge embrace has all but gone yet lingers on in the features of my face i thought that I could do this i thought that out of grace  i thought and thought  yet life is not with out an empty space there's a vacuum in that dial tone a number with a name to hear him on the other end would settle all my shame i miss you dad more than I can bear though time keeps slipping through these echoed halls and vibrant walls  are hollow without you so heres to the man with freckled hands and a legacy of love may your life with all it's strife bring glory to God above heres to the one that I called dad while walking in this skin heres to that heart of gold and life so bold my dreamer and my friend ....... matt francis

Photo Copyright @2013 Matt Francis broken circle tables turning scripts are burning in this graveyard  of the mind children dancing men romancing secret place we've  longed to find time is labor loves our savior these golden days  consumed by night how pale the stranger now shines the manger and all our fears fade into light ....... matt francis

Shattered Glass this is the sound a window makes shattered by such loss this is the friend as life begins in the shadow of a cross now to the mind  a simple time when hope was flesh and bone this heart the art of kiss and chat and dreams of happy homes where candy land and lifted hands holding to the dice pick a card this boulevard not knowing was so nice now knowledge rules as boubles burst and scratching claws  take skin my thoughts absurd flown throgh his word I now begin again ........... matt francis

 Likes Without a Wall ....... inside this tiny window pane a friend a like a word  a frame ~ here's to the the life i built at last a friendship echoed from the past ~ to share in loss and art and "soap" this tiny box delivers hope ~ connecting in a moment connecting out of time comments come from checkered past to prove their all but mine ~ touched by friendship touched by all my love for you now grown so tall ~ the love i share is all in all broadcast sweetly on your wall ....... matt francis

Only Skin and Bone ....... my life will find slow steps rewind who knows as I surpress ~ unstable mind slow churning mine soon the thoughts regress ~ the stage is set my role to dress in truth there is no clue ~ such bitter end my soul to mend all hope is found in you! ....... Mirage ....... we are a fortress time is our boundary we lie here on a bed of illusions and wait for the smoke to rise ....... matt francis

Waking Wild ....... heres to the wild at heart those that find answers in the wind in the sounds of silence  and the coming sin ~ all that seems real  all that seems true holds us to the now in the memory of you ~ nothing black nothing white such human nature such human flight ~ as if grounded in dky i catch your eye and all my doubts  go floating by ~ beauty is as beauty does i will hold you now  just because i am wild at heart ....... matt francis

Nothing Earned ....... i stand alone in this frozen fortress waiting for the fire waiting for the ember of hope to burn my fears away ~ this castle made of ice and stone this castle built all on my own is now in my reflection as my eyes meet yours in space ~ holding on to flesh and bone holding now still on my own as kneeling eyes are lifted high im pleading for some grace ~ impossible audacious supernatural GRACE ....... matt francis

  Echoing Silence  ....... into the wind out to the sea simple moments surrounding me ~ man of the tongue  with a heart of fire canvas of dust your soul climbing higher ~ the sky can not contain your light from now on so God in your grace we cry out in song ~ "there is a house in new orleans they call the rising sun."  my dad, my God, my savior now will harmonize as one ....... matt francis

 Whispering Light ......... down i drown submerged in expectation ~ simple step rocks in all directions ~ frozen fall clinched by condemnation ~ strangers call   a friend in exaltation ~ sudden breath freed from anticipation ~ all has changed  with a simple conversation ........ matt francis 

  Magician's Welcome ........ at the back of our bike
 two memories 
 one a boy who knew magic
 and the other  a soldier with a chuckle ~ 
hold tight now as the wind
 sudden wind 
screaming silent wind 
collapses our cheeks 
 and caries our soldier away ~ 
off to a magician's welcome
 off to a world i can not see 
past the house of the rising sun 
lost in love and legacy ........ matt francis

down to earth i plummet 
forbidden sand trap of the mind 
just as i reach the summit
 of hope and treasures yet to find ~ silly simple moments
 give way to tearing claws 
the beast now in the bedroom
 my heart held in his paws ~ i tear at him with bloody knuckles 
i tear at him with hate
 i lay my life before him now
 i do not hesitate ~ to offer myself a sacrifice
 for my brother's pain
 the offer was refused once more
 this beast he will remain ~ he now has found a boulevard 
straight through our shining hearts 
the trip just takes a second
 lives now torn apart ~ he smiles at me  through smoke filled eyes 
his teeth are set to strike
 he tears at flesh with twisting thighs 
he cuts away at life ~ fear sets in on brother now  the days seem short and thin 
the beast with shroud  now joined the crowd just offers me a grin ~ death where is thy victory 
joy where is thy song
 the sound of “God

My friend Jenny Caudill lost her baby girl this past week.  She was a twin named Bristol !  Can't tell you how this affected me!  I was consumed with the level of loss Jenny and her fiance Blaine had to handle!   What is life all about?  It is moments like these that get me laser focused on those relationships I have in life!  That is why we were put here on earth... relationship! Here is the poem I wrote from the perspective of Bristo's Twin sister Bella! To: Bristol  LOVE: Bella (A poem for Mom and Dad!) hush baby sister don't you cry the beeping makes you sad this cold room will feel warm soon in the arms of mom and dad hush baby sister hold my hand though breathing is so hard lets play peek no hide and seek i wish i had some cards now baby sister hear my voice this world is just so high i am so  scared and un-prepared for the faces flying by you laughed baby sister a perfect sound though hollow through those tubes