Nathan Key

I want to return and have everything be the same
As it was when I left on that June afternoon
Fourteen years ago; my father’s birthday
I want to return to my room and my house
And the walks through the woods. The urges
That could have been love or just hormone surges
And I don’t want to give up my child or spouse
Either, because that surely wouldn’t be okay
My friend says that childhood is like Brigadoon
You may dream of it, but you can’t go back again

We are a fragile people on the verge of sopor
One breath from death or greatness
Depending upon which way we roll
My son rolled this morning and took a tumble
But I caught him as he fell from our bed
Jeff wasn't as lucky, and now he's dead
It was cancer that made his body crumble
He fought hard but the disease took control
And it killed him while my son lives to progress
And experience this life, this mist, this vapor

The fog lay across the road like a gray haze
Covering the earth on my trip to work
Tail lights from my traveling companions
Cast a bright red glow across my windshield
Carefully crossing each intersection
As if a close inspection
Would force traffic to yield
"God," I pray, "please allow no hellion
To bide within this early morning murk."
Double-check each stoplight with an eager gaze.

Don't believe everything you hear
For words are meaningless without action
And behind every promise is a trail of lies
They say that this war is for our own protection
That they will save us from terror
But their claim holds one major error
For it's those who are speaking this deception
Who won't look us directly in the eyes
Who use emotional terror to incite voter reaction
It's them that we should fear

Your canopy was once home to a hawk
You grew taller and taller
And sheltered the forest floor with your girth
Then an ax was taken to your side
And you came crashing down to the ground
An old rotten stump is your burial mound
The only vestige of the day you died
You were the beauty of the earth
Your branches once held leaves of color
Now, they support my feet as I walk

There are seven things that I long to live
Eight that would make me proud:
To be endlessly enthralled with the Christ
To faithfully cherish and care for my wife
To provide for my children and bring them up well
To speak truth to my friends and to help them excel
To always protect liberty and uphold life
To know when to be silent, when my words will suffice
To never renege on a promise I’ve vowed
To pardon quickly and always forgive

Electricity! Electricity! How I love electricity!
Direct and alternating current alike
Discovered by Thales when he was shocked by a kitten
And harnessed for good by Benjamin Franklin
It's dangerous beauty fills many with dread
It'll kill in a flash OR revive from the dead
Endlessly, flowing from wires within
The walls of my house, I believe that I'm smitten!
Because take it away and I'll be overcome by spite
Over a life wrought with needless simplicity

I am enthralled with the wife of my youth
Every move that she makes excites me
When she smiles, it lights up my world
She makes me want to be a better man
Her voice calms my troubled heart
And the thought of living apart
For even a moment's timespan
Makes me sick, my guts unfurled
And here's the key:
She leads me always to the truth

How did I get here
To the place where I don’t even miss You?
Where did I turn aside and become lost in a forest of my own invention?
Time is a fatal friend that has slowly eroded desire
And left me empty and dry
I’ve spent weeks without eyes to see
And months without ears to hear

But then Your grace appears
And You remind me of a guarantee
That I cannot deny
You were the one who plucked me from the mire
And You called me out before I had any comprehension
Of who You are and what You can do
I have nothing to fear