Born Unto Us (All Of Us)

(For a child will be born to us, a son will be given to us; And the government will rest on His shoulders; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.) Isaiah 9:6

---------------/Born Unto Us


A collective birth, a shared son
entrusted to the world
to his mother and brothers and sisters
who are not his ilk
from God above
to grow up and inherit the muck brandishing a fallen
race
contending against lust, lie and scorn
murder, adultery and jealousy
foreign to him but intrinsic to our nature
grasping at swords to cut ourselves
yet he without a scar
eating at table with tax collectors
keeping company with sexy harlots tempting
to the eyes that only objectify her
for one aspect of her humanity but disrespecting the rest
pharisaical; exposing hypocrisy as fearful, shamed men
boldly pretending religiosity
as he reins in the wayward pervasive philosophy of self
that corrupts our desire to be good people
(to other people)
excursions from town to town
in the Roman empire: most powerful but impotent
to heal the sick and suffering, unwilling to care
for its denizens like a mother hen
her chicks
but he wipes away every tear from our eyes
and
with but the hem of his robe alleviates
chronic menstrual bleeding
leprosy and blind eyes and aching self esteem
that spurs one to sleep with another woman's husband
riding on a donkey unceremoniously
like a dismal king when others ride in chariots
to die for all of the above
in order to secure clemency for future generations
after he's gone
buried in the soil contaminated with blood
of too many delinquents violating the command to
cease from pandemic hatred over frivilous things
like land and money
from our spears, our jeers, our spit and our scorn
we braided the whip, and fashioned the crown of thorns
and tutored the smith who made the nails (with perfect precision)
that impaled him
on Good Friday
screaming, wailing sucking on Mary's breasts yanked
from the womb
we are all parents,
who spiritedly cheered when Pontius Pilate let Barabbas
go (skipping to commit another crime)
as he walked Golgotha on our behalf after we raised him
weaned him on our sin. Behold,
this is our child,
born unto us






(for us)

Kill The Boy

------------------/Kill The Boy: Herod's Thoughts After Dismissing The Magi From His Royal Court [These are MY Christmas Carols Pt 3]

For too long Ive waited
sat idly by as insignificance either admonished me
to wait my turn to rule, for many years, or worse yet
in bitter jealousy consigned me to die an ignominious death
as it commissioned droves of conspirators to make attempts at my
life, unabashedly and dishonorably trying to steal away
my right to rule, either through allied conquests
or through surreptitious poisoning of all my hopes and dreams;
of establishing a long lasting fruitful aristocracy (for the good of Judea)
showing no mercy
and I have the scars (Antipater, Phasael) to prove it
and I swear to God there will not be another
Antigonus stirring up trouble galvanizing another cabal
of wicked men desirous of scandalous mass assassination
me first, then my sons (is there anything else of worth left?)
and ruinous sabotage of the legacy I wish to leave behind
all Ive ever known my whole life is madness, plotting, colluding
deceit and baneful macabre suffering
and chronic paranoia that whispers "Hades" in my ear
so that I wake up screaming to the consternation of my wife
and this boy
this prophecy about a coming ruler can be interpreted no other way
than: ominously unwanted (my own demise)
there are enough men with enough hubris in this world
that we don't need to entertain thoughts of another
and for all the torment
and the lies I've been told
the claims of virtue about him are dubious at best
Antony and Octavian, and Herod graciously subordinate
are all that Judeans need to know right now
if they want change, there will be none; assuredly
of that I have seen enough and drunk enough of its blood
to be sufficiently jaded by it
cries for a savior fall on deaf ears
though suffering, salvation for Jews will have to wait
this is my time to wield power unabated



-------------Matthew 2:1-13
After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east came to Jerusalem and asked, "Where is the one who has been born king of the Jews? We saw his star when it rose and have come to worship him." When King Herod heard this he was disturbed, and all Jerusalem with him. When he had called together all the people's chief priests and teachers of the law, he asked them where the Messiah was to be born. "In Bethlehem in Judea," they replied, "for this is what the prophet has written:
"'But you, Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for out of you will come a ruler
who will shepherd my people Israel.'"
Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him." After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed. On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route. When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, “take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."

Laura, My Handlers Said I Had To Write This First (Poem Next Post!)

Okay so just for the record (Im dismayed I have to do this –maaaan it ruins the flow of my poem, but alas, Ive been accused of harassing a person/people simply because I’d chosen to write about my feelings for them – good feelings, not injurious ones, on a generic first name basis nonetheless) this Laura that I write about could be any "Laura" on planet earth. Even if I happen to use a place descriptor, like say a mall or a gym or a movie theater, or a haunted house, or a McDonald's drive thru window, there are a multitude of such places in the world, making it nearly impossible for anyone to decipher which Laura I happened to see or in which of the various haunted houses, etc in the world I saw her in, okay? Again this is not harassment because it is not specific direct contact of any sort with "Laura"... I could be referring to Laura Schlessinger, Laura Croft from Tomb Raider (ANGELINA JOLIE, MMMM, MMMM, MMMM YOU LOOKED GOOD IN DAT DERE MOVIE) or Laura the bridesmaid of Kate Middleton at her upcoming wedding – who the heck can decrypt this conundrum on a first name basis only? Certainly not even Sherlock Holmes, my dear Watson! Just hypothetically, if a certain "Laura" were threatened just by the mention of her name in me little old blog of yore, unless she/he can prove I caused physical harm, invaded her personal space or proved to be an obstacle to living her life, her accusation would be tantamount to me saying Im harassed by large mobs of Dallas Cowboys fans chanting "Tony, Tony, Tony". The implausibility of me proving that this aforementioned large mob was referring to me specifically, and that this large mob was intending to harass and hurt me would be understated in any conceivable case. (How would anyone listening know anything specific at all about me in that regard?) Emotional harm would not be a viable option in either case – Im neither making direct contact or harming "Laura" in anway....all Im doing is writing about her in a non violent, amiable fond manner. Is that a crime? Isnt free speech a right guaranteed to all Americans? Arent you and I patriots, harassment alleger? Lastly, due to my mental fatigue and anguish at having to write this, harassment would be coerced or forced or foisted upon the victim right? And that leads me to the next probing soul searching question – how did you stumble upon me old blog, harassment alleger? This blog is only for THE MILLIONS.....AND MILLIONS....OF JESUSMETAPHOR FANS!!! (ROCKY ROCKY ROCKY ROCKY – IF YOU SMELL-ALLLALLLAAALLLA-LEEEEELLL WHAT THE ROCK/JESUSMETAPHOR....IS....COOOKING) So if "Laura" doesn't want to know of me writing something loving about her, then instead of resorting to claims of harassment – just don't read the blog! I didn't tell you to read it, I never even told you about the blog, or even talk to you at all for that matter! YOU AND I DON'T EVEN COMMUNICATE WITH EACH OTHER....Sheesh! Leave thejesusmetaphor be so he can write poems for all my party peoples – THE MILLIONS, AND MILLIONS OF TWITTER FANS!!! (LADY GAGA I WANT TO HAVE THE SAME AMOUNT OF FOLLOWERS AS YOU BABYGIRL!) Let this case of slander and libel be thrown out!!! FREE THEJESUSMETAPHOR I gotta be true to my expressive self and write when I feel lead to write yo! IM JUST DOING WHAT TAYLOR SWIFT, AND USHER, AND BIEBER DO – WRITE!!! And man, this girl Laura has been blowing my mind for a while now! HAVE AT IT!!!!!

Laura, I Failed You As A Desert Bride

(photo from perfectboundblog.com)

dedicated to a girl I had strong feelings for, but never had the courage to pursue. I live with this regret forever.


-----------/Laura I Stumbled In The Wilderness, And I Lost Sight Of You


I was your bride you were my husband
I was supposed to run after you in the desert
of the unknown
submissive
and trusting of your leading in the wilderness they call
love – a land not sown, a land, that if not navigated properly
hearts die, of starvation (no sacrifice, compassion), or
of thirst (no sincerity). Whenever I saw you, and we made eye contact
(at the various ministry events in the city)
I could surmise without equivocating.....
your firstfruit, the one you wanted most
[your countenance betrayed this though
your words attempted to belie our mutual attraction: masked
in professionalism]
and if anyone hurt me, I just knew
you would make it disastrous for them
but I strayed from you, spurned your firm hand
and followed after worthless idols, people who only
crushed my spirit in the end
and because they vilified me, I vilified myself
heaped blame upon blame on my self esteem
until I became worthless myself
you were so good for me, why didn’t I just ask you out?
for the brief fleeting moments I spoke to you
your beauty illumined my path
led me through the barren wilderness,
of obscurity and gave me clarity (I knew you would love
me like I had prayed for)
through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness: singleness
without a spouse to call my own crying at night
feeling unwanted in a land where it seems no one travels
and no one lives (everyone in DC seems spoken for)
and you brought me into a fertile land of true romance
to eat its fruit and rich produce, the kiss of your lips
the gaze of your bedazzling eyes.
But, Laura, baby I never enjoyed that the way you intented
instead I defiled your acquaintance
by not giving you a chance and made your inheritance for me
detestable.
pursuing interests that were physically appealing to me
but not nearly as substantive as you
not worth falling in love with like you
sorry

(for being a bad wife)




--------------Jeremiah 2: 1-8
The word of the LORD came to me: Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem:
"his is what the LORD says:
" remember the devotion of your youth,
how as a bride you loved me
and followed me through the wilderness,
through a land not sown.
Israel was holy to the LORD,
the firstfruits of his harvest;
all who devoured her were held guilty,
and disaster overtook them,'"
declares the LORD.
Hear the word of the LORD, you descendants of Jacob,
all you clans of Israel.
This is what the LORD says:
“What fault did your ancestors find in me,
that they strayed so far from me?
They followed worthless idols
and became worthless themselves.
They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD,
who brought us up out of Egypt
and led us through the barren wilderness,
through a land of deserts and ravines,
a land of drought and utter darkness,
a land where no one travels and no one lives?’
I brought you into a fertile land
to eat its fruit and rich produce.
But you came and defiled my land
and made my inheritance detestable.
The priests did not ask,
'Where is the LORD?'
Those who deal with the law did not know me;
the leaders rebelled against me.
The prophets prophesied by Baal,
following worthless idols.

A Sign

*dedicated to DMX, Lord Give Me A Sign
www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzlBHk13FKQ
* dedicated to the Prophet Isaiah

-----A Sign; The Prophet Isaiah's Thoughts Before Speaking With Ahaz [These are MY Christmas Carols Pt 2]


Women, men jaded by this threadbare earth
duty bereft of love; and no promise
inundated with treacherous politics
by our leaders
dishonest dealings in the marketplace
by merchants
unjust claims on land that obligate our young men
to fight unjust wars (sometimes just), and if not dismemberment
slaves and handmaidens accrued on their return home
that do not share Jewish customs or passion for our God
by our military generals and
priests who accept bribes before offering sacrifice
for men that deserve exile not reconstituted communion
with our sons and daughters because they were the ones defiled
by touching idols and mingling with pagan traders
having an unwieldy influence on the future generations we pray
will still have some modicum of dignity long after we're
deceased
and when will it end? we ask ourselves each afternoon
as we find ourselves laden in the cyclical constant unremitting
phases of existence pleading
for restitution for all this spoiled time between (and during)
crises that threaten our culture, livelihood, identity and joy
that times of refreshing would come
that anew we can begin to rebuild our nation, our humanity
without regard for race, religion, creed, or screed for that matter,
but united in love
and finding our creative voice
lit candles flickering in the gentle winds of peace and contentment
watching our children playing in front of mountains
with the lion
with the adder....
and what will be the sign of the possibility of the improbable
the inconceivable abolition of all our evils, worries and fears – the advent
of our promised paradise, refuge from this Gehinnom on earth?
A virgin womb pregnant
with hope for a better world everlasting
(a child inside with a mandate from heaven
and power and compassion
to persuade all men everywhere to abandon cruelty
in their hearts before it takes hold of them
before they raise a finger to their neighbor)
even while she fears what this all means
though she is beset by a culture entrenched in death
indifferent to birth, intent only on dying





-----------------------/Isaiah 7:10-20
Again the LORD spoke to Ahaz, "Ask a sign of the LORD your God; let it be deep as Sheol or high as heaven." But Ahaz said, "I will not ask, and I will not put the LORD to the test." And he said, "Hear then, O house of David! Is it too little for you to weary men, that you weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign. Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. He shall eat curds and honey when he knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good. For before the boy knows how to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land whose two kings you dread will be deserted. The LORD will bring upon you and upon your people and upon your father’s house such days as have not come since the day that Ephraim departed from Judah—the king of Assyria." In that day the LORD will whistle for the fly that is at the end of the streams of Egypt, and for the bee that is in the land of Assyria. And they will all come and settle in the steep ravines, and in the clefts of the rocks, and on all the thornbushes, and on all the pastures. In that day the Lord will shave with a razor that is hired beyond the River—with the king of Assyria—the head and the hair of the feet, and it will sweep away the beard also.

-----DMX - Lord Give Me A Sign Lyrics

[Intro:]
Yeah..Uh
In the name of Jesus
(thats right)
No weapon formed against me shall prosper
(preach)
And every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn
(preach)
(Lord give me a sign)
For this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
(preach)
and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.
(preach)
Amen

[Verse 1]
Lord Give me a Sign!
I really need to talk to you Lord
Since the last time we talked the walk has been hard
Now I know you havent left me
But I feel like I'm alone
Im a big boy now but I'm still not grown
And Im still goin threw it
Pain and the hurt
Soaking up trouble like rain in the dirt
And I know!
Only I can stop the rain
Wit just the mention of my saviors name
IN THE NAME OF JESUS!
Devil I rebuke you for what I go threw
And tryin make me do what I used to
But all that stops right here
As long as the Lords in my life I will have no fear
I will know no pain from the light to the dark
I will show no shame spit it right from the heart
Cuz its right from the start
But you held me down
And Aaint nothin they can tell me now
Lord give me a sign!

[Hook:]
Let me know whats on your mind
Let me know what I'm gone find
Its all the time
Show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind
Lord give me a sign!

Show me what I gots to do
To bring me closer to you
Cuz I'm gonna go through
What ever you want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord give me a sign!

[Verse 2:]
Please show me sometin
Im tired of talkin to him
Knowin he frontin
Cryin bout life aint nuttin
But you either be the one mad cuz you trapped, or the one huntin
Trapped in your own mind waitin on the Lord
Or huntin wit the word that cuts like a sword
The spoken word is stronger than the strongest man
Carries the whole world like the strongest hand
Through the trials and tribulations you neva let us down
JESUS!
I know your here with us now
JESUS!
I know your still wit us now
Keep it real wit us now
I wanna feel show me how
Let me take your hand, guide me
Ill walk slow but stay right beside me
Devil's tryna find me
Hide me, hold up I take that back
Protect me and give me the strength to fight back!

[Hook:]
Let me know whats on your mind
Let me know what I'm gone find
Its all the time
Show me how to teach the mind
Show me how to reach the blind
Lord give me a sign!

Show me what I gots to do
To bring me closer to you
Cuz I'm gonna go through
What ever you want me to
Just let me know what to do
Lord give me a sign!

[Verse 3:]
Life or death
Live or die
I will never live a lie
Im goin there cuz I try
I wont quit until I die
Im gone make it wrong or right
Make it through the darkest night
When the morning comes you'll see
All I have is God in me
(Lord give me a sign!)

[Outro:]
No weapon formed against me shall prosper
For this is the heritage of the servants of the Lord
In the name of jesus
Lord give me a sign
Amen

Miley lets forget the haters - together!

Yo Miley, they say you be smoking weed, and they say....they say I be harassing people – *sigh* such is our plight - I just think we’re misunderstood, babes, mischaracterized as a naughty girl and bad boy. You were smoking Salvia, and I was just expressing myself hyperbolically ....you know Im soooo EMO, riiiight? You know what? Lets be the Bonnie and Clyde of the Christian blogosphere and love each other brazenly (for just this one post?) and show the world how indomitable we are and that our spirits wont wilt due to adversity. Oh Miley, youre cool with me no matter what they say bout you nah mean? Party in the USA for reals!!!!. And yo, since birds of a feather flock together – lets love each other as rebels, rebelliously! Actually, seriously though, babes you are helping me cope with my scandal....just looking at your beautiful face and admiring your spunky verve are like an antidote to the poisonous slander lodged against me. OHHH MILEY, let me show you just what you mean to me – and if TMZ keeps harassing you – don’t feel spurned or jilted because you can find refuge in yer boy: thejesusmetaphor because he sho nuff can empathize! ALL TIME LOW, HELP ME SING IT!!! UHNNNNNN!!!!

Miley Cyrus, My Bronze Serpent

*dedicated to All Time Low, Jasey Raye
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz88laTlm5U
* dedicated to Miley Cyrus


--------------------/Miley Be My Bronze Serpent; Take Away The Poison, The Pain


Ive been traveling, almost 40 years it seems
looking for true love
at night, every night – it gets uncomfortably cold
and the sunrise
ushers in a menagerie of scorpions, jackals, lions and
blistering heat; (common pratfalls of the single man seeking)
unrelenting
defeating the Canaanites provides little solace
(fickle girls who never had my best intentions in mind)
because sand still stings my eyes
in the evenings when the harried wind gusts stir up
reminders of how dire the state of my lonely soul is in
unlike anything I ever experienced in Egypt
(my last relationship)
because there at least I had a bulwark against the sand
and food (some shoddy semblance hope) on my plate
even if the standard fare was rotted cow intestines and spoiled milk
replete with legions of flies and maggots
(that bit my fingers when I tried to put the meal in my mouth)
at least it was consistency
but now Im almost 30 years old traveling alongside
the red sea aimlessly
and this bitterness has suddenly become toxic
killing my emotions, as disparaging
as acrid snake bites that paralyze my limbs
...and my tongue is starting to swell inside my mouth
for lack of encouraging words to warm myself
before I close my tent (my rational mind) and fall asleep
Im dying
Im dying quickly
please be to me a fiery serpent, the antithesis
of all the lies and rejection, and persistent gossip that
I will die alone, (clutching myself because no one desires me)
brass lifted high in the air above all my chronic fears of never
getting married made of wool and flaccid flax
....all I would have to do is gaze into your beautiful eyes
that act as a balm to resuscitate breath
spur the beating of my heart again
and raise my belief in romance
back from certain demise
the desert wont be so bad – if you promise to stand
with me.
Just promise to hold me and never let go
and I promise to never complain again





----------Numbers 21:7-9
Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the LORD, and against thee; pray unto the LORD, that he take away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people. And the LORD said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, shall live. And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived.

----------Jasey Rae Lyrics (Acoustic Version, baby!)
Lights out,
I still hear the rain,
These images that fill my head,
Now keep my fingers from making mistakes,
Tell my voice what it takes,
To speak up,
Speak up,
and keep my conscience clean when I wake.

Don't make this easy,
I want you to mean it,
Jasey. (say you'll mean it)
You're dressed to kill,
I'm calling you out, (don't waste your time on me)

Now there's an aching in my back;
a stabbing pain that says I lack,
the common sense and confidence,
to bring an end to promises,
that I make in times of desperate conversation,
hoping my night could be better than theirs in the end.
Just say when.

Don't make this easy,
I want you to mean it,
Jasey. (say you'll mean it)
You're dressed to kill,
I'm calling you out, (don't waste your time on me)

I've never told a lie,
and that makes me a liar,
I've never made a bet,
but we gamble with desire,
I've never lit a match,
with intent to start a fire,
but recently the flames,
are getting out of control.
Call me a name,
Kill me with words,
Forget about me,
It's what I deserve,
I was your chance,
to get out of this town,
but I ditched the car,
and left you to,

Wait outside,
I hope the air will serve to remind you,
that my heart is as cold as the clouds of your breath,
and my words are as timed as the beating in my chest.