If I Wrote A Masterpiece

If I wrote a masterpiece
I'd want it to be the quiet kind
not the kind on every channel and website
where it would be raped by haughty eyes.

My words would make you selfish; when you saw them you wouldn't share them
you would cling and grip till the whites of your knuckles show.
There would be no fanfare, no short-lived top 40 hit
just a quiet, unwavering brilliant glow

I want my work to make you muse and mull
overrun, overflowed and overfilled,
till it's goodness seeps in,
till the inspiration is distilled.

It would make you just a little depressed,
while you debated why I was someone to stay away from.
But then you would unfasten the top two buttons of your shirt
to be as open as your heart had become

You would want to know how I did it.
And I would answer without missing a beat
It was a series of sacred events that
I kept secret.

- Daryl Goh

Dream Catcher

I saw a woman step into the train
her breathlessness catching every eye
she was on a mission; dressed to kill.
Or at least with a point to prove.
And as I continue to study her,
and as she caught my gaze
and as I caught a glimpse of her soul,
I saw her spirit blackened by burnt desires.
Broken, Razed.
And for that moment we lay open like books
craving to be read, begging to be known
not wanting to be alone.
and yet our pages, browned with time,
remain unturned and untold.

Maybe one day, I'll draw enough courage
in situations like these.
to admit that I don't have it all figured out,
that I might have gotten it all wrong
and that is all right.
Let me crawl across your time zone
so these moments may be in sync.
Instinct tells me that
if You are the vine,
and we are the branches
So why are are your leaves so low?
and where is your fruit?
Are we nothing more than trees with withered roots?

Although her eyes betray her silent look,
the images that adorn her body
like pictures in a children's book.
Her tattoos each tell a story.
A geisha on her arm represents discipline,
to bring art in environments that cannot see past bare skin.
Flowers on her wrists show that deep within
is a girl waiting for her prince.
And on her foot,
a tattoo of the finest detail; a dream catcher.
To pick those that have fallen unfulfilled.

- Daryl Goh

Glorious Endings Result In New Beginnings

A first love's flower, a wedding ring, a tattoo, a scar. They exist to remind us of a story that is deeper, more complex. Like props and backdrops to a play, the story becomes a better experience if we have them. We all love symbolism. You could say that that is what this blog is about. It is a symbol. A committment to pursue a dream. This symbol is to remind myself to throw fear aside and to start running after the dream that God has placed in my heart. This isn't to say that I know things are going to work out perfectly. That every song I write becomes a church favourite. Or that my writings will be published in a book in a couple of years.

No, it doesn't work that way. If it was such certainty, it wouldn't be a dream. If you could see it, its not faith. It wouldn't be a dream unless it could be threatened. Unless there was a risk of failure. Too many times, I have been petrified at the thought of chasing what we think God has called us to do. I begin to second guess myself and doubt the calling. Sometimes we try and check with God about the next step and we get anxious because there is no answer. Life isn't about clear cut choices and perfect will. God has always given us choice. It is about involving Jesus in the journey. Lynette reminded me recently that the fulfillment of a dream is not dependent on how many people appreciate or support the idea. Its fulfillment has two hinges. His calling and our faithful obedience.

The sin of Adam & Eve wasn't just that they disobeyed. There is a greater, more fundamental problem. They were not with God. How did they ever get separated from the Omni-present? My conclusion is, if we involve God when we make the decision, He'll be there to either make it succeed, let us learn, or get us out. There are so many times where I've asked God for direction or for the right decision and I got no answer. He tells me its mine to make. For some, they might think that this opinion reduces the sovereignty of God. It takes a real confident God to let us make the decisions. He lets us choose because He is not threatened by us.

"...The devil has them chasing a colourless rainbow. And at the end there is no pot of gold, just a pot of steam. Which he exchanges for their dreams. You see, bonafide slaves are made in the devil's dream trade. Without dreams you are equivalent to being non-existent..."
| The Twin Poets - Dreams Are Illegal In The Ghetto |

One of the traits of chasing your dreams is that your heart must be wide open. Sometimes the devil tries to screw things up with disappointments, hurts and losses. He knows that if he can hit us where we are most vulnerable, we might put up the walls around our hearts and lose perspective. What better for him than an earthful of disillusioned dreamers? When I say glorious endings, don't think of fantastic car crashes with their twisted metal. Don't think of epic breakups just after one decides to offer their heart as a dowry. Don't even think of a loved one leaving to be with Jesus. No. Dreams never die. They are just buried.

We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
| Romans 6:4 |

You have heard; now see all this; and will you not declare it? From this time forth I announce to you new things, hidden things that you have not known...
| Isaiah 48:6 |