STILL CALL HEAVEN HOME

 

Good morning, Lord it's me again to pray

I don't know where to start or what to say

So many times, I've drifted from the herd,

But through it all your saving voice I've heard,

And Lord I know that I have done you wrong,

But I'm so grateful that your grace is strong

To know that I can still call heaven home

No matter how far down this road I roam!

 

Chorus:

At four am I'm jarred right out of sleep

It's guilt and regret I am made to meet

Your life has taken such a winding turn

There are some hard things that you need to learn!

 

I know my own excuse is always the same,

And it's the way of the world that I usually blame!

So many times, you told me do not fear,

And in a bottle, you save my every tear –

Lord I am sorry for taking it for granted now

All the blessings that you did bestow,

But I'm most grateful that you can still forgive,

And giving me a brand-new way to live –

So, Lord please walk beside me through this day,

And don't allow any trouble in my way

Yeah, guide my steps and keep my spirit clean

Away from places that I should have never seen!

 

Chorus:

At four am I'm jarred right out of sleep

It's guilt and regret I am made to meet

Your life has taken such a winding turn

There are some hard things that you need to learn!

 

Thomas Theophilus© October 13, 2026

GRAPEVINES AND FISHING LINES

 

Barefoot and off to the fishing hole

A Cain reed used for fishing pole

A childhood that had no fear

Camaraderie of friends that were so dear!

All day long we would swim and fish and play

Looking back, I would have to say:

 

[Chorus]

 

A time that will never be again

I always thought it would never end

But Time has taken its toll

The truth is we will all get old!

 

Swinging on grapevines was a thing to do

A few broken arms, maybe even two!

Out of the house from dusk till dark

A time of joy that fills my heart!

 

[Chorus]

 

The time that will never be again

How we thought it would never end

But Time has taken its toll

The truth is we will all get old!

 

Yeah, we all get old, but those memories stay gold...

(Mmm, those golden days)

Barefoot and off to the fishing hole...

Never be again... oh how I miss them now!

 

Thomas Theophilus© October 19, 2026

TIMELESS SHADOWS

 

Outside, the wind howls.

In the yard, the dog growls.

In the shadows, the cat prowls.

But saddest of all

Is the past I recall:

When the heart was young and bright,

And love was our only light.

No endless chatter, no hectic pace—

Before we were caught in the rat race.

Now noise takes up space,

But nothing has changed:

The wind still howls,

The dog still growls,

And in the dark, the cat still prowls.

 

Thomas Theophilus© October 12, 2026

AUTUMN TO BLAME

 

Oh, the coolness of a fall wind –

Do these heartaches ever end?

My mind drifts back to yesterday,

And all my heart can try to say:

Time couldn't care at all for me,

A hidden pain no one can see.

I see us standing in the sun,

Before the damage had begun.

Your promises were warm and bright,

But faded like the evening light.

Now yellow leaves fall to the ground,

Where echoes are the only sound.

The glass is low, the hour is late,

I sit alone and weigh my fate.

It was love that tore my heart apart,

And left this chill inside my heart.

The whiskey only numbs the pain,

And I have only me to blame.

Oh, the coolness of a fall wind –

Will these heartaches ever end?

 

Thomas Theophilus© October 9, 2026

LOVE’S PARADOX

 

The heart cries aloud,

But tears are not allowed.

A man’s soul is all he’s got,

Where sadness lingers and plays a lot.

There always seems a woman to blame—

A nameless, endless, weary game.

Love and passion form a paradox,

Where duty and emotion lock.

Sometimes it’s so hard to understand

The simple perils of being a man!

Separated by making a living,

Yet work is a man’s way of giving.

Time just fades through all the years,

Lost in silence and whispers of tears.

 

Thomas Theophilus© October 7, 2026

THE RUSHING OF TIME

 

October comes rushing in,

And voices shout the world will end!

But only God knows what's in store;

Fools speak of things they know no more.

The Bible tells us not to fear,

For God the Lord is always near.

There is no point for us to worry—

Live every day; don't be in a hurry.

Let time take care of everything,

Ignore the noise that foolishness brings.

Listen to the little voice inside,

And guard your heart against your pride.

Time is a gift we share the same—

Love one another; that’s all we can claim!

 

Thomas Theophilus © October 6, 2026

TANGLED EMOTIONS

 

In the quietness, the wind howls,

In the darkness, the cat prowls.

Sadness fills the weary heart,

And the soul feels torn apart.

Tears swell, yet the eyes stay dry,

Heartaches come without a why.

Emotions tangled, undefined,

Where peace and rest are hard to find.

We search for the silent stars above,

Knowing all we need is love.

We long to run, but nowhere to hide,

With no true friend to stand beside.

When does the heart get to vent?

When does this sadness finally repent?

 

Thomas Theophilus© October 5, 2026

WISDOM OVER KNOWLEDGE

 

A trace of acumen drifts across the night,

Like a keen sense of quietness in our breath.

In stillness, where the mind gives up its fight,

The deepest silence speaks of life and death.

We gather knowledge – facts and noted themes,

The schema was built to organize the brain,

The ego navigating conscious dreams,

The neuroplastic shaping of our pain.

Yet facts alone are only steps we pave,

While wisdom is the light by which we walk.

Metacognition watches from the cave,

Beyond the noise of all our clever talk.

And love – that sweet attachment of the soul,

The heart’s self-actualizing highest state,

Restores the fractured spirit into whole,

A soft alignment where we integrate.

Yet every breath, each neural spark, each grace,

The mind’s vast depth, the love we carry through,

Are held within a grander, sacred space:

But glory, that belongs to God, not me or you!

 

Thomas Theophilus© October 4, 2026

THE WARMTH OF CLASS

 

From the sea of cool blue gray she rises,

   In a quiet space where grace resides,

   A canvas capturing time’s surprises

   Where a gentle knowing spirit hides.

 

Her elegant features etched in paint,

   Total class in every brush flow,

A portrait far from faint,

   A face that all who look must know.

 

And then those green eyes, soft and deep,

Where the warmth of heart begins to glow,

   A silent promise she will keep

   More than any mirror will show!

 

This beauty, captured and distilled,

A moment painted, still and refined,

   Is elegance with purpose fulfilled,

Leaving an impression, clear and kind.

 

Thomas Theophilus© October 2, 2026

CRIES OF DARKNESS

 

The fog rises off the mirror of the lagoon,

a slow breath drawn across quiet waters.

The darkness moves without sound,

stretching its shadows from shore to shore.

In the silence, the heart keeps its own counsel,

bound to what it has always needed,

untouched by what remains hidden,

blinded to what waits within the deep.

We look out into the gray hush,

reaching for shapes that refuse to form,

learning to stand at the water’s edge

and trust the unwritten path ahead.

Yet the darkness cares less about what lies within,

and, beneath the stillness, the spirit cries out!

 

Thomas Theophilus© October 2, 2026

THE VOICES WE LEAVE BEHIND

The room is full, yet silent as a grave,

A dozen faces bathed in cool, blue light.

No spoken words to catch, no hands to wave,

Just quiet thumbs that scroll into the night.

We traded glances for a glass display,

And traded voices for a typed line—

Forgetting how a simple word can weigh,

Or how an eye can meet with yours, and shine.

Remember when a conversation breathed?

When laughter had a rhythm, warm and loud?

Before our presence was so softly sheathed,

And solitude grew crowded in a crowd!

They call it connection, fast and clear,

Yet no one speaks, and no one stays to hear.

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 28, 2026

SWALLOWS OF POISON

 

In the quiet room where the ego sits,

Pride counts the cuts and collects the splinters,

Feeding the hearth with frozen bits

Of a summer burned into endless winters.

We build high forts out of fragile clay,

Call it dignity, call it standing tall,

Trading the warmth of a clear today

For the cold relief of a stone – lined wall.

For trust is a glass that we hold too loose,

And common sense is a quiet friend

Left outside while we choose the noose

Of the crazy games that we won’t unbend.

A man will trade a garden whole

Just to prove he was right about the fence,

Carving a trench through his own small soul

In a grand display of no common sense.

He swallows the poison, expects the foe

To fall from the bitterness in his throat,

Wears his unforgiveness like a heavy coat

In the middle of July, refusing to let go!

The ego whispers, "Remember the slight,"

While wisdom sighs at the empty cost:

To win every stupid, burning fight,

And realize later how much was lost.

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 26, 2026

SCRAPS OF MY SOUL

 

Dedicated to all who feel unseen by a world in a hurry,

yet remain cherished in the quiet presence of God.

 

“Cast me not off in the time of old age; forsake me not

when my strength faileth.” — Psalm 71:9

 

They set me on the curb at dusk,

a chipped frame, a rusted key,

Deciding rust is all I am,

forgetting I was once the tree.

Out of sight and out of mind,

The busy street rolls quickly by.

To call me useless suits them well –

a folded page, a breathless reply.

No factory needs my hands today,

No ledger counts the hours I give.

They measure worth in what is made,

and overlook the way I live.

Yet loneliness is not the end,

though silence sits beside my chair.

I sit beneath a large clock

and breathe the quiet, waiting air.

Let world-bound eyes see empty space,

a piece of trash left in the cold;

But I am not trash to Him who knows

how pure gold looks when it grows old.

No longer driven, no longer rushed,

Now I rest my spirit in His grace.

Unproductive to the street,

but cherished in a higher place.

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 25, 2026

PETRICHOR

 

The Loudest Kind of Quiet

Rain in an Empty vessel

The Scent of Standing Alone

Alone in the Open

Memories & Truth

What Rain Washes Up

Honeysuckle and Hollows

Where the Storm Left Me

Noticeably Absent

The Air After You Left

Only the Dirt Listens

A Solitary Downpour

The Scent of Missing You

Love in the Downpour

Honeysuckle and Soft Goodbyes

What We Kept in the Wet Dirt

The Half Life of Loving You

Rain-Soaked Longing

Where Love Stormed Through

The Rain Can't Wash Away Ache

Drenched in You . . .

The Distance Between Drops

After my Heart Breaks

I am Still Wet with You!

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 24, 2026

THE GUARD IS CHANGING

 

A shift in the wind, a tear in the veil,

The heavy-handed kings grow frail.

The gold they hoarded, thick with rust,

Is turning back to barren dust.

For too long, shadows ruled the throne,

And claimed the earth as theirs alone.

They built their towers high and steep,

While promising the tired sleep.

But justice has a quiet tread,

A steady spark where hope was dead.

The keys are falling from their hands,

A quiet storm across the lands.

The guard is changing in the light—

The reign is taken from the night.

The crown stripped bare of greed and lies,

Now placed beneath untainted skies.

What once was stolen is returned,

From ash and fire, lessons learned.

The meek inherited what was lost,

No longer paying others' cost.

The righteous step into space,

With open hands and grounded grace.

The night yields slowly, but yield it must:

Kingdoms will soon lie in forgotten dust.

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 23, 2026

ON YOUR BEHALF

 

I climbed the mountain

I sailed the sea,

But was it all about me?

I swam the river

I shot the arrows quiver,

But to love it didn’t deliver!

I walked a silent path

I am pleased on your behalf,

But nothing will last!

I once broke your heart

I almost fell apart,

But forgiveness must start!

I wonder where this is going,

And that’s quite annoying!

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 22, 2026

A DIGITAL BLEED

 

Numbers click like an endless clock,

Flashing lights on neon signs lock –

We trade our hours just to turn the key,

Roads built with sweat, but far from free!

The meter jumps – a digital bleed,

Filling a gas tank that’s built on greed!

We spend our lives to turn the wheel,

Pay at the pump to cross the hill!

Hundreds of bucks to drive a mile,

To work a job for a little while . . .

No real choices – pay what’s on the sign

We pull our hair – we lose our mind!

Corporate greed with endless earnings,

But what are our children learning?

No trains to catch, no bus to wait –

Endless miles to the next toll gate!

Our bank account numbers in decline

The digital meters leap and climb –

So, pull the trigger, lock the steel,

Pay the price to turn the wheel –

We swap our sweat to turn the key,

Only in America, where we are free!

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 21, 2026

LIFE STRIPPED AWAY

 

The door of life opens without a name,

And the endless debts we leave unpaid –

The words held back, the unignited flame,

And gentle hands we lifted or delayed!

As time casts light upon our stone,

We stand stripped bare, yet still unknown . . .

An unvarnished image lost in our mind,

But who, if any, has the right to fret?

Life strips away status, wealth and time

Leaving only intentions, love, and regret!

Just wait, the hourglass will run dry –

The page will turn, the thread unraveled;

Our quit days just keep rolling on by,

And no one saw the roads we traveled!

The scales are tipped by no earthly claim,

No money or title can clear the ledger;

The light demands no grand acclaim,

But measures love with a quieter measure

Each hidden motive, each quiet grace,

Stands clear at last in that final place.

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 20, 2026

FLAMES OF PASSION

Fire does not ask permission from a spark

It burns away quietly in the night;

It only knows the hunger of the dark,

And the soul, a taunting need to become light.

It is the needle that pulls against the thread,

An endless need before the sadness unfolds,

And it refuses to leave a single word unsaid,

Or let the quiet embers gather cold!

Feeling of blood running through our veins,

And follows where a gentle spirit goes—

Unaware of the danger or the pain,

Consumed entirely by the flame it chose.

Fire does not ask permission from a spark,

And neither does it care about the heart!

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 19, 2026

CLUELESS HUMANS

 

I once was a liberal,

I know, that’s hard to believe!

Ignorance needs no introduction!

All it takes is a little common sense –

First, we stop listening to the world!

It simply comes down to control!

You see the elite wants to rule us all –

What to say, what to eat, and where to go!

Constantly feeding us propaganda –

And in truth – it’s all made-up lies!

(AI) now this has taken over our brains!

So, why is there a need to think anymore?

Our total existence is stored on iPhones!

A whole generation of clueless humans –

Can you stop long enough to imagine that?

We can no longer think for ourselves!

A creative thought – what in the hell is that?

Are you listening! There is still hope!

Take a quiet moment and ponder these words:

“Train up a child in the way he should go:

And when he is old, he will not depart from it.”

Proverbs 22:6

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 15, 2026

OLD JACK AND ME

 

I sit here all alone…

The night is so cold!

As moon shadows dance

In the silver shadows

Where my heart needs to cry!

Loneliness has no friends,

And time cares not!

I pour myself another drink,

And old Jack has a bitter taste!

I hear the ice crack . . .

And I can feel your presence –

Memories hidden in a glass

As emotions rise in my soul!

Your love is all I ever needed,

But yesterday is now gone

As I sit here all along . . .

Where my heart needs to cry,

And old Jack doesn’t know why!

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 13, 2025

WALK QUIETLY

 

Cry, baby, cry!

   But we don’t know why –

The corn turns in the fields

   As time hurries on by,

The leaves are golden brown

   I guess summer is through

The dark clouds now linger,

   In a sky of blue.

 

Cry, baby, cry!

   The wind twirls on the street,

And the flowers begin to fade

   That once smelled so sweet,

Colors of laced all in blue,

   And some were scarlet red,

As the wind still dances

   In fields of golden thread.

 

Cry, baby, cry!

   Leave summer behind –

Fall is now in sight

   So, just find peace of mind!

Walk quietly in the shadow

   Of the time that was given,

And accept reality

   For all we have is now!

 

Thomas Theophilus© September 13, 2026