As Heavens bends Earthward
And touches his wings
I hear all my fathers
Within my heart sing.

You are the Eagle
Your wings are the fire
Where ever you're flying
You'll fly every higher

You light up the night sky
Where ever you fly
As fire through the heavens
Your spirit can't die.

As my spirit sails skyward
On heavenly wings
I learn from my mother
The Earth as she sings

She sings through the north wind
That blows through my heart
She sings of beginnings
From whence I did start

You are my children
The promise of Earth
I cradled you close as
I gave you all birth

You are my power
My soul and my spirit
My prayer is the song
In the wind if you'll hear it.

On the wings of the Eagle
I see through His eyes
The beauty of morning
Across the red skies

I hear in the wind song
The voice of love
The voice that is calling
My heart from above.

No more can the Eagle
Who flies in your heart
Remain ever silent
Our victory must start

The eagle that flies through
The Heavens at dawn
Must fly for evermore
While singing this song

Steven L Nielsen
17 May 1999

 I've seen the endless line of souls
From there and coming here
A lot of good folk pass this way
From far and coming near

I've seen the prints their sandals make
Along the dusty way
I've heard them dream and seen them slave
And toil night and day

Our Mother Nature never yields
To dreamers wrong or right
The steady pace of time is all
That metes out day and night

A road of dreams and promises
An altar for the poor
Who laid upon its verdant crest
Their dreams forever more

And prayed unto what God they had
For something of a sign
To justify each wistful dream
As something of divine

And signs were given for the wise
In curious rhyme and rote
But heeded only  if they were
The ones that Burma Wrote

And dreams were cheap and sold to fools
Who would not face the truth
Those many fools old and wise
Now wish in vain for youth

The sun has set on many dreams
Their shadow linger still
To warn the wary chill the weak
But yearning will not fill

A lot of travelers come and go
As pilgrims in the night
Some cloak their dreams in darkness
Some hold them to the light

Some came as nameless refugees
To find their pot of gold
Some came and stayed, some traveled on
But still their dreams not told

The rich, the poor, the homeless tide
Unto her bosom came
She gathered in each wondering child
To her they're all the same

Their monuments of pilgrim pride
Now skeletons undone
Alone they stand at road side and
Make shadows in the sun.

I've suckled from that honored breast
The mother of all roads
And at her feet I've played in jest
And struggled with my loads

I've shared the dust with every foot
That dared to tread this trail
I've wept with them in sympathy
When all their dreams would fail

I've reached my hand and touched the heart
Of every pilgrim soul
Who dared believe their pilgrimage
in truth would make them whole

Her bosom now is empty and
The curious come to see
The guiding hand that carried them
Across the rocky sea.

Steven L Nielsen
21 May 1999

And in my dreaming, searching
Through the echoes of my mind,
I found again my nightmare
As it hit me from behind

And cut me to the very bone
As though some long dark knife,
And left me there to bleed away
The essence of my life.

My blood ran free into the earth
And nourished some small seed
And every thing I'd ever known
Became a living tree

And I could feel inside of me
The branches and the leaves
My roots could feel each falling tear
Each heart that sings or grieves.

I stood and touched the morning hues
And gathered in the rays
And stored them deep inside of me
Against the cloudy days.

Each drop of rain on velvet leaf
Shall not have been in vain
As though some prodigal returned,
Shall live in me again.

The moment ceased and let me be
I was my self once more.
I ran through meadows, fields and played
Among the grass and trees.

I stood to watch the sun rise,
And fell upon my knees.
My tears flowed free from open eyes
And gently kissed the Earth.

I'd found the very soul of life
And listened to her heart,
And learned the magic power of
A forest full of trees.

Steven L Nielsen
28 May 1999

Steven L Nielsen
7 June 1999
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My trees are the people
whose solace I trust
they whisper my name
without censure or lust

Their eyes are the eagles
who watch from above
their arms are the branches
that enfold me with love

their roots are my anchor
in a world of pain
my tears are received
as a warm gentle rain

My trees are the people
who set me free
who find me in bondage
and liberate me

My trees are the people
who let me live
who see my need
 and freely give

Their hearts are the dove
that will softly call
their calm is the leaves
that gently will fall

My trees are the people
who live in me
Who sings with my heart
in Liberty
Steven L Nielsen
15 June 1999
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I know the look of endless fear
I looks a lot like night
I know the look when God is near
It looks like endless light
I know the look of ecstasy
I know the look of hate
I know the look upon your face
when life begins anew
I know the look of angels eyes
They look a lot like you

I know the feel of life's hot brand
I feels a lot like hell
I know the feel of heavens hand
with words I cannot tell
I know the feel of solitude
The feel of being found
I feel the power of your soul
when life begins anew
I feel the glory angels feel
it feels a lot like you

Steven L Nielsen
20 July 1999
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Each step I take will sanctify
or curse the ground I tread
each thought a crown or platt of thorns
upon my weary head

Each foot step planted in the ground
in silence or acclaim
is left behind to testify
and witness for my name

Each new horizon frightens me
I know it too must fall
beneath each careful step I take
to answer Fathers call

O take my hand and lead me through
these valleys Lord I pray
I'll conquer each horizon through
each yet uncharted day

And through the valleys dark with fear
or to the mountain heights
I carry on and reach my hand
to touch eternal lights

And in my sojourn on life's path
through valleys up and down
I purge my soul of every dross
to wear the golden crown

And when my last horizon falls
beneath my trembling feet
I lift my face to find the sun
My Savior I will meet

My hand in his he lifts me up
and draws me to his breast
encircled in my brothers arms
my heart has passed the test
Steven L Nielsen
19 August 1999
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A DARK GOODBYE
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No parting words on which to dwell.
I have no secrets feign or fell
Nothing at all but, carry on
My lonely quest.

These words could never write the pain
There's more to lose than ever gain
And never could this sad farewell
Be adequate.

Your longing touch is all you have,
To offer for a healing salve
But your sweet touch is ever more
Than I deserve

I tremble as our fingers part
A last "I love you" in my heart
A tear drops on your lips as though
To say goodbye.

And then I'm gone into the night
But you will have the morning light
Perhaps the shadow of my love
Will linger on

But ere I venture out alone
These words I offer on their own
To speak for me when I am gone
And you are here

There are no words that's worthy of
Your beauty and your loving charm
And all my words, to thee, at best
Are mockery.

Steven L Nielsen
12 Oct 1999

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Breaking The pane
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The pane that holds my life at bay
Is always there, so cold and gray.
As through a glass that has no light
My straining eyes see only night

I reach and find there is no space
The pane is flat against my face
My hands held tight against my side
A trophy and its me inside.

I see the pin that holds me tight
Against this pane of endless night
It pierces me I cannot feel
It makes me wonder "Is life real?"

There is no sound within this pane,
I hear the silence of this plane
No words to haunt no sound at all
No songs to sing, no trees to fall

The sound of daydreams long since gone
Are echos of a silent song
That plays without my night filled tomb
And fills with light some other room

The feel of laughter on my pane
As though a drought against the rain
It bathes my soul with new desire
It builds within a raging fire

The branches of the mighty oak
Out from the seed will burst their cloak
Again my soul in freedom rise
Out from the dark into the skies

I flee the prison on new wings
The shackles drop as morning sings
I touch the light and hear the sound
Of shattered pane fall to the ground

Unburdened from the weight of night
I soar into a newfound light
The pane that held my life at bay
Has broken forth into the day.
 

Steven L Nielsen
17 October 1999

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EACH DAY I LIVE
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I thank the Lord each day I live
For the gifts He has to give
The sun that shines the grass that grows
The trees beside the brook that flows

I thank Him for the simple things
A smiling face, the bird that sings
The gentle touch of one I love
The soft embrace of God above

I thank Him for what I can't see
The times that He's protected me
The many times an angel near
Has walked me through a dreaded fear

I thank him for the work He's done
The dark of night, the rising sun
The ancient whispering in the breeze
The peaceful healing of the trees

I thank Him for my days on Earth
That I have chosen mortal birth
My hands to write and legs to walk
Eyes to see and voice to talk

I thank Him for the light to see
Beyond the veil of mystery
To see beyond this mortal Earth
Into a new celestial birth

I thank Him for the majesties
A child in prayer upon his knees
The love in every mothers eye
The eagles' flight across the sky

I thank the Lord each day I live
That I should have enough to give
A portion to a brother dear
A fellow traveler struggling near
 

Steven L Nielsen
29 October 1999

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RIf you have comments or suggestions, email me at snielson@uswest.net

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