In a Warm Coat of Snow - Tyrone Vincent Banks (whitelam books .txt) 📗

I wrap my memories, in a warm coat of snow
Memories that are my own but ones that you know.

Unique treasures that I store in the archives of my mind.
Unmapped treasures - that mean more when shared but not hard to find.

Bundled up in photographs and attached to a page

Colors of white, ivory and beige

Some cause great pain with a sting at the end

Chances to say; "I miss you my friend"

"I am so sorry, can we start over again?"

Memories like a snowman, not meant to last
With the warmness of my heart they seem to melt fast

Oh my God, can I build on my past?
Like snow that is tempered and blown just like glass?

Can I wrap myself up, in a warm blanket of snow?
If I pray hard enough, will the snow refuse to go?

The snow shaped and formed in the palms of my hand,
But yet it passes through like warm desert sand.

Deep like the snow from the storm of '78
Oh the memories that have sprung from the pictures of that date

A simple time, not a concern or a care
Where are my friends now? I see them right here...

In the back of my mind and before my eyes
Long after the snow melted and many have died
Can I take the pictures from deep down inside
Can I tell you my friend that your passing made me cried?

Cryptic at best, I hide in plain sight
Can I call you my friend, and share in your plight?

I want to play in the snow again
And come in when mom calls

I want to listen to school cancellations amidst massive snowfalls

I want to build a snowman, and leave him outside...
But when the sun takes him away, I'll pretend that he hides...

Snow on the ground and winter in the air
I met my first best friend after the snow and knew him for years...
But he moved far from here
But still I do care
A friend is a friend when far and then near.

Playing in the snow with my bride to be
Twenty years and 6 days later, she's still here with me...

Two children and infinite memories later new memories have been made.
Daddy's still a little boy even as those memories fade

But I pray and I laugh and I want you to know
That God wraps all of his children, in a warm coat of snow!


A Cold Raindrop Fell…
A tribute to my family.

I can say the words but I want you to see what I feel.

A cold raindrop fell to the moist blades of grass encased in morning dew

The first drop touched my skin and soaked into my heart and it stopped beating

The shell that was left behind had no direction and no reason without you

There was no where to go and no where to hide as I awaited our next meeting

Instead this shell chose to stand there and let the other raindrops come as well

Without your guidance it collapsed onto itself, saturated beyond all repair

Without you by my side I retreat into my own personal hell

I try to protect those that think they know me from the confusion that exists there
A smile has two sides, one is seen and the other will hide

It is easier to exist amongst other humans when you pretend that you are really here

But although I try to share,

I keep most of myself inside

Don’t misunderstand me; rarely do I operate in a chaotic mode driven by spite

I love all of humanity, I do my share and I play my part

I’m just saying that I am lost when separated from my guiding light

They are forever the ones that inspire me to express my inner-self through art.

Thank you, Nydian, Caitlyn and Justin


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A Prophet’s Curse

©2005, Tyrone V. Banks

Unfathomable knowledge, of what is and what will be
Cold, wretched images that do not disappear when eyes are closed

A feeling of helplessness and a knowing that you won’t get through

Try and try to make a better world

And that world will persecute you

In spite of it all, the visions must be relayed

To closed minds behind closed doors

They fear that they will face retribution, for the damage that they’ve done

In spite of these feelings, time must rush by

In spite of these visions ye shalt not be paralyzed by fear

You will awaken each morning and walk through this dismay

In spite of the words that the prophets must say

The sky is falling! He shouts to the world

But this is no joke, for one day it surely will

Man-made terror spawned in the hearts of free men

Free to choose their destiny but a quick trip to the top is paramount

The martyrs were sent to deliver the word

They speak in tongues of truth that cannot be heard

They too may fall into the same despair

But they continue to prophesize and now they hear

It’s much too late to stop the rate of descent

It’s much too late to escape a swift sweep of death’s sickle

To take some out of their misery

And to take some to hell


Fear not the prophet

Fear the results

Of years of hate, anger and rage

That has resurfaced and intensified as of late

Those who bow to no one – will be knocked off their feet

And forced to acknowledge what he or she has done in the past


Yes, and even the prophet, in spite of his or her efforts to make you and me correct

Will stand in judgment and be judged…


The Cleansing of the Beating Heart

©2006 Tyrone Vincent Banks

Every journey begins with one step…
I’m trying to get right
I wish that I never learned the full arsenal of four letter words that I have mastered.
But, I let those words into my heart and they do not wish to leave
For some reason, they feel that they’re still needed
To make me complete.

I let impatience enter into my heart
Just like my days in the Corps, everything has to move efficiently and quickly
No one will be left behind and I’ll remove the weakness from your body
Through pain and sweat –
YOU WILL DO AS I SAY!
…that too is a curse that I’ve passed on as my children lack a measure of patience at times, unfortunately,

THEY DO WHAT I DO AND NOT WHAT I SAY…

It was inevitable.
The original sin
The knowing of all things impure and evil
The loosing of immortality
The thorns about the ground
The money that’s earned by the sweat of our brow
The pain of childbirth…a few of many
Because of man’s sin – the Ark floats in
A second chance – a cleansing of humanity so that the chaff will separate from the seed and we are reborn…

SIN

What was sinful back in the day?
So bad that God sent the waters to wash us away?
Was it even close to the sin of the world after Christ’s sacrifice was duly noted and then forgotten by some?

The dropping of bombs
The releasing of the gas
The rape of children
The decapitations
The betrayal of faith
The corruption of the church
The Slavery
The lynching
The dragging of the bodies behind a truck
The impure thoughts totally submerged and saturated in sin

My sin
Your sin
Our sin
Begat sin…

The Business to mind is our own, but…
As a collective, we’re simply asking for it…
The proverbial macho man in the wife-beater shirt
Challenging others to “hit him in the bread basket.”
Or daring you to “Knock a chip off of their shoulder…”
The pushing of the envelope…
in which we just have to see what is not truly ours, but we steam and gently tear open the envelope for a glance and before you know it – the contents is revealed.

You don’t want HIM to hit you in the bread basket!
You don’t want HIM to knock anything off of any part of your body

His envelope has been tampered with and opened
The seal will be broken
The word will be spoken

All is REVEaLed AT the back of a book of the lIving wOrd…Next to the ChriStian heart.

I admit my corruption
I admit to my sin

But if I can somehow cleanse those things from my beating heart, and then perhaps the waters will not return to cleanse it for me…I’ve only but started to ask for forgiveness for a lifetime of ignorance.


We Shall Go Out

©2006 Tyrone V. Banks


The warriors have gone out to wage battle

Against enemies of flesh and principalities

It seems at times that we are surrounded by the enemy

They attack us from all sides yet we still stand and go forward

We go out against the wicked, some of whom reside within

For we were created whole and then

We were corrupt and given to sin

So many times God has delivered the enemy into our hands

But our sinful nature intervenes and we forget

The battle has just started, the day is near

We fight but will taste victory yet

We were blessed with abundance

But the flesh prevails as we seem to find a way from under God’s grace

Many go forward to worship other gods

Some pick their religion based on what’s popular

Some religions want to push God from the forefront and focus on other beings

I reminded a friend once that only one man died for our sins

No one hung on the cross for our sakes other that Christ

The path of righteousness is a difficult one

We walk in the light as we are surrounded by darkness

Our light will pierce the darkness and others will see that we are serious about God and the Great commission assigned to us by Christ.

We come against mighty enemies without a form

That which we choose to worship will consume us

Lest we choose only to worship God


God is the answer
God is all that you need

So we put on the Whole Armor of God and advance towards the enemy

With great power and might we pursue and overtake our enemies

A battle is fought with weapons of mass destruction

A battle is won with the master plan and instruction

The word of God

The sword of the Spirit

The shield of righteousness


I am stricken with a vision

God please forgive me if I misinterpret what I feel

I am not adding to the Revelation neither will I take from it