HOPE

Hope, I see you but dimly, and long for you as friend.

You are but a nice word - an extravagance.
I chase, but you are as the hissing wind.
You are the partner with whom I wish to dance.

Why do you evade and play your hide & seek?
If you would but stay awhile, I'd be your truest friend.
The trials have worn me down you see,
And with you I need to speak.

Do you not see my life is torn, and you alone the thread to mend.
And then came a knock and I rose from my pity bed
To find a faithful sister there. 

Laying my head upon her breast,
Miracle of miracles - evasive hope is found.

By Cheryl Banks (2016)

Keep Looking Up

I did this painting, which hangs at eye level by my bed so it's the first thing I see in the morning, 7 years ago when the waves were about to drown me, I painted this thru tears.  It was like a prayer.  It helps remind me of what Peter found out, don't take your eyes off of Jesus; he's got us.

Still Standing

Still Standing (by Cheryl Banks)

I stand with challenge and dire tribulation
Undaunted by the world's intimidation
And shrugging off all the shallow affirmations
I chose to trust my judgment of intimation.
I am a sturdy vessel carrying a priceless rare pearl
Hard-pressed and mishandled has made me stronger still
Deep inside lies a courageous trusting thief.
A thief of honor, stealing the suffering of another’s grief.
Can you feel me from the shores on which you dance
I'm just a one woman storm, fighting for a chance.
Stressed and burdened in the long sleepless dark
Fighting other’s battles as a different Joan of Arc.
I will beat these dark days as I’m a subtle warrior
A wingless angel and tireless mind explorer
I am strong in quiet ways of introspected grace
Yet, in the alone, my waning force seeks for your embrace.
For you would place me close to God in highest tower
Your passion, truth, and love renews my sapping power
You alone witness my tossing on long and sleepless nights
My dreamcatcher’s constancy, making fractured parts unite.
I am your starburst center, the axis on which you spin
You are my crashing sea waves and cool spray on sunburned skin
I am a magical star-wisher and converser with the moon
And you, my dear, a rare instrument, just slightly out of tune.
The congregation of alikeness and the symmetry we’ve sought,
It occurs to me would bore and demean the uniquely ‘us’ we’ve brought.
Instead to open our mouths and gulp down all the magnificence we bring
To taste the nuances and colors is what makes life a grander thing.
When we marvel at the sheet of perfect azure sky above our heads
Is its beauty spoiled by wayward clouds or more beautiful instead?
Or isn’t it in the subtlety and playfulness of shadows and light
That great love, like art, is enlivened, more valued, more of a delight?
So I'll continue to walk beside you my dearest darling into the uncertain
Until, plucking impatiently at the pleats, we slip through heaven's curtain.