127 Love

A leap of faith compels the seeker’s choice,
The use of reason tells the known result,
If God above has spoken true his voice,
And God is love, philosophy’s a cult.
For if the world was made by Father God,
His truth unfurl’d, in love he died for man,
The purpose of the earth is a façade,
The only thing of worth, what he began.
So love does reign supreme, as under Christ,
The never-ending dream is ended short,
Philosophy, that ever-seeking geist,
A pointless dream, and now a conquered fort.
The answer lies in truest Holy love,
The hermit’s guise is broken from above.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 30, 2006

126 The Victory and Loss

The endless search for purpose in our lives,
The painful lurch of victory and loss,
The answer to the quest one may despise,
If solitude is blest and is the cost.
For endless passing years, great men did think,
Their everpresent fears of pointless life,
Their solitude in searching for the link,
Dare I intrude to quench abstractest strife?
For here I stand, a youngling to be sure,
Not yet a man, a thinker premature,
I now believe I know the very cure,
And yet I fear to show what I endure!
Despite my tendency to search alone,
Love has been shown to be the thing unknown.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 30, 2006

125 The Modern Conflict

The written word is glory in itself,
‘Tis greater heard and spoken for its rhyme,
Yet when ingrained on screen it looses wealth,
While gaining color’s sheen and shorter time.
The book is growing old, as is the rhyme,
For long it has been told that books are wise,
New media fights method proved by time,
Discordia* now sings and order dies!
Perhaps the two will last, in peace survive,
In time anew not one knows what’s to come,
A few still wish to keep the old alive,
Yet what the moderns reap makes men succumb.
The old and new will fight in many ways,
Which of the two is right, which method stays?
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 28, 2006
*Roman goddess of discord and conflict

124 Thus Spake Zarathustra

The time is yet to come when man is great,
And what he shall become none here can say,
For man is young, in this his great debate,
The glories sung are ever few today.
For happiness, mankind is ever numb,
Magnificence is seldom on his lips,
The fruits of wisdom’s gold appeal to some,
The seekers grow too old, potential drips.
In end the treasured bliss is too content,
The purposed one dismisses self pursuit,
But wisdom stays, it is man’s best intent,
All else decays, but wisdom isn’t moot.
The superman, as Zarathustra spoke,
His time began as wisdom’s silence broke.
© Jerusalemrising
Written December 26, 2006

123 The Guise of the Christ Mass

The rhythm’s sound, a beauteous, flitting guise
The spirit found imprints upon the minds,
The songs of birth and life do well disguise,
The horrid death and strife time soon unwinds.
For fist the night He came held naught of peace,
True silence, beau’teous dame did not appear,
For He, divine, did come as peace decreased,
His birth did shine in crowded city’s fear. (fear of not getting a place to stay)
His life was meant to save the sinful mass,
To Earth was sent a man condemned to die,
His horrid bloody pain did come to pass,
He washed the horrid stain so man could fly.
Now men of young and old enjoy the day,
Yet Christmas story told was hardly gay. (gay = happy here)
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 24, 2006

100 Freedom

The toil of the slave, brings great distress,
The honor of the brave, does rise as one,
The man of God, on freedom doth digress,
We, free to nod, accept the Holy Son.
Yet slaves decide, their masters to obey,
The brave, described, are known by glorious deeds,
The Holy fathers here, from truth do sway,
For in our present fear, are sown the seeds!
In lands pre’su’med free, men are enslaved,
Forever bend the knee, to selfish greed,
And now the free, those known to us enslaved,
Have choice indeed, to follow or to lead.
Autonomy, known not or by the few,
Who are the free, the all, or never true?
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written October 16, 2006

122 Faith

True faith is beauty, lost among the West,
The pious are the cost of such defeat
The greatest men now fail the greatest test,
Eternal pen sings not of anthems sweet.
Yet now arise a foe clad in deceit,
Who full despise the world beyond their might,
They hide behind the “peace” of our defeat,
Their hatred shalln’t cease, it blinds their sight.
Their faith is fully strong, and fuels their fight,
‘Tis sad their faith is wrong, bereft of love,
For faith misled is not a beauteous sight,
The many dead insult the God above.
Mankind is lost, as ever seems the case,
Now faith’s the cost, it also goes to waste.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 23, 2006

118 The Threefold Caste

Some see in hollow earth a beaut’eous light,
They bury all their worth beneath the sands,
And yet when time, a monster, shows its might,
Their broken rhyme is lost to fleeting glance.
Where such see worth, the most do find despair,
They search the earth, for balm to quell their pain,
Their lives as well are lost, with joyous air,
Which tells the deathly cost of happy feign.
The last of broken man do hold his hope,
The wise unwanted man is ere the sage,
He searches not for happiness to cope,
Nor revels, caught by riches of the age.
Instead the wise will woo that maiden truth,
When purpose cries, comes glory to the sleuth.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O'Neil)
Written December 19, 2006

117 The Ancient Wisdom

Why question ye, the path assigned to man?
The majesty, both simple and benign.
The ancient pattern set was not began,
To kill the love, beget a darker time.
So many years ago, the wise decreed,
The system dead and cold in modern time,
Yet now is clear, ‘twas not done out of greed,
And neither beer, as it did speak a rhyme.
The modesty enflamed forbidden love,
The majesty arose the passion true,
The family was pure, as is a dove,
And man and wife, unbroken, could renew.
The system now decayed was not a curse,
With love and glory flayed, ‘tis now much worse.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 18, 2006

116 Eternal Life

The majesty mankind does ere possess
The victory we hold upon the earth,
Will fade as time declares our great distress,
And ever-present snares degrade its worth!
This loss is felt upon the heart of man,
In pain he knelt to question living’s worth,
To find a golden balm, the search began,
No answer came, no psalm to heal the Earth.
Above the trees is heard a silent call,
The great disease is broken in the mind,
For thoughts will never die, as bodies fall,
To others shall they fly, ‘tis you they find.
If one does seek in short to never die,
Then he must find his essence in the mind.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
-December 17, 2006

111 Corruption of Love

A phantom oh so simple and complex,
Her beauty doth ensnare and free in one,
This mystery will ere our minds perplex,
Afore and aft the love has thus begun.
The binding of another to yourself,
Does vast accent the differences therein,
As warring poison threatens loving wealth,
The lovers, to dissolve their love, begin.
Yet love is not so evil in itself,
It brings a glory, happiness and joy,
As one puts other interests o’er himself,
And revels in his life, again a boy.
It ever seems the wicked fate of man,
Corrupt the soul, the good that He began.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 6, 2006

115 The Sweet Repose of Death

The vision of my corpse upon the sand,
The silent song of peace uplifted high,
The shout of captive freed beyond the land,
This shall be heard above the bluest sky!
It ever seems my destiny to flee,
To follow aft a passion false indeed,
Yet soon shall come a time of majesty,
When no temptation may remove the seed!
I flee and ere return to God the King,
A constant cycle shown in Judah’s past,
Yet soon the knell of wretched life will ring,
No need shall prompt return, at longest last!
Oh come, sweet death’s repose to free the soul!
I cannot wait ‘til spirit’s fin’ly whole!
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 11, 2006

114 The Mockery

Awake, ye slumb’ring spirits of the night!
Awake, ye little dove, your lord returns!
Awake, and see the beauty in the light,
Ignite the soul, until your passion burns!
By never-ending slumber were you caught,
The wicked silence of the modern soul,
With foolish merriment you once were bought,
Your spirit, to be lively, was made cold.
May vivid light of beauty shine again!
May bliss of heart and soul be shown in flesh,
Contrast the horrid mockery of sin,
And shine the light of love as from the creche!
Oh truer love, true sensuality,
True beauty shine, and mock the mockery!
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 10, 2006

113 The First Kill

A silent walk, the weapon raised to aim,
A steady stalk, the beast is not aware,
The path of life intense, of death a game,
As hunter feels suspense upon the air.
The finger moves so soft, without a sound,
The bird remains aloft, while moving not.
The beast does fall, blood flowing from the wound,
It ends his all, in silence is he caught.
The hunter moves to end what life is left,
The muzzle’s grooves enjoy another spin,
If not was done before, the life is cleft,
The bird is at the door, to enter in.
Perhaps a beast does hold a life sublime,
At, best, it's worth alone, a meter’d rhyme.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 9, 2006

112 Unity

The man of iron rises to the stage,
The nation ripped apart will be reborn,
The Potter molds this diplomatic mage,
To reunite the nation that was torn.
Another noble mad does share the age,
Another nation broke was then reborn,
The free and brave a horrid war did wage,
To reunite America the torn!
A newer man will work in modern age,
Diplomacy and war will not suffice,
He must undo the lasting ancient rage,
And yet retain the truth amid the lies.
The universal church in torment cries,
The Lamb will come again, division dies!
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 7, 2006

110 The Defeat of Poetry

The length of time is much too short to tell,
Barbaric rhyme is much too coarse a form,
To beauty so divine, mere words are hell,
The cage of passing time, a horrid norm.
The arrogant alone would now attempt
To carve in lasting stone the tale so loft,
To speak in word what beauty I have dreamt,
To kill a bird so lovely and so soft.
This tale above the riches of the earth,
Is full of love, yet never known in slight,
I mourn to never tell of greatest worth,
I rage and loudly yell my loss of sight!
No ear can hear, no word can close describe,
The softest tear does fall for broken rhyme.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 4, 2006

109 The Mystery Of Life

The frigid air awakes the memory
Before the snare of modern time was heard,
The child’s song, so full of mystery,
What ere went wrong, the silence of a word.
The simple life was never once his goal,
He wanted strife, a combat of the bold,
He longed for life to grow, become the whole,
And victory to flow, not ever old.
Yet now he stands aloft, not changed much,
His heart still longs for more, not satisfied,
But now his goal is age, and wisdom such,
His youth of spirit in its full has died.
This loss he mourns yet cannot ere describe,
It shall remain the mystery of life.
© Jerusalemrising (Tyler O’Neil)
Written December 2, 2006

108 The Loss of the Ages

Across the age, the changing wind of time,
The battles rage, at loss for truth or peace,
The carnal losses weigh on broken rhyme,
The war and strife will stay, and spread disease.
The pedestal of thought makes man divine,
The knowledge he has sought explains the trees,
And yet the word for all this thought divine,
Cannot be heard, and yields the great disease.
For knowledge vast is nothing if not shared,
The learning cast aside when not passed on,
A melody of loss is thus procured,
The evils are the cost of learning gone.
As man does learn the truths of all the world,
They cannot ere be tools unless unfurled.
© Jerusalemrising
Written December 2, 2006

63 The American Volksgeist

What can be said, of such the greater men
Who, faced with fear, our nation did begin!
We ever seek to speak their praise again,
For they despised both tyranny and sin!
And yet to we ourselves we never look,
To see what we uphold, a freedom vast!
‘Tis far beyond our thought, what slav’ry took,
And ever in our minds, “let freedom last!”
Together for this freedom we must fight,
For it entails a liberty to all!
While some will say, “To free them we’ve no might,”
We ever strive to rise up slav’ry’s fall!
‘Tis said this land belongs unto the Brave,
T’was build and stands, true liberty to save!
© Jerusalemrising
Written May 1, 2006

32 The Kingdom of the Mind

The silent bell doth ring at end of day,
A sound so dark, and yet so light I hear,
As my false wish to work does fade away,
And inspiration sweet doth now draw near.
A slight concoction puts my mind at ease,
I end my work, and in my solace find
A true respite from all this world, a peace,
The silent hour, Kingdom of the Mind.
A newer urge, to write, my deep thought brings,
A sweetness lies within my pencil’s lead
A beautiful escape from mindless things
The truest self dictates inside my head.
And soon, in sweeter silence will I sleep,
‘Til then I relish contemplation deep.
© Jerusalemrising
Written March 27, 2006

107 The Temporal Enigma

A spectral form, not simple or complex,
A raging storm and yet a silent sea,
The medium sustained, all things connects,
Its nature not attained, none ere shall see.
In cycles it repeats the changing tide,
A rhythm’s living beats yet all distinct,
As winter wind across the glen does glide,
And summer, pined, with present now is linked.
The constant known to all is truly change,
This contrast shown from moment to the next.
A tapestry results from constant change,
Connection thus results in minds perplexed.
The ghastly form of time will never cease
Dynamic, linking rhyme holds naught of peace.
© Jerusalemrising
Written November 27,2006

26 The Journey

All wish to travel far and wide,
Yet many close to home remain,
To venture out, some nere decide,
Yet from this journey, none refrain.
At birth, a subtle stillness dies,
A new companion takes his place,
To rise and rise he ever tries,
A zest for more lies in his face.
Until his body lies entombed,
He will seek ever for a peace-
This thing sublime, without a wound,
Will find him when his senses ease.
Beyond this point we cannot know,
A journey new must now be told.
© Jerusalemrising
Written March 24, 2006

105 The Fallen Soldier

The dreaded foe arises to his height,
The greatest woe, the soldier prostrate lies,
A dagger to the heart in all his might,
The devil’s fiery dart he does despise-
For refuge does he flee, to dull the pain,
The devil laughs with glee to see his loss,
He wallows deep, afraid to face the stain,
He kneels to weep, prepared to face the cost.
Yet softest light, betrays the evil snare,
A newer fight will cripple horrid beast,
The soldier’s woe forgot, he joins the fair,
All evil’s pow’r for nought, down falls the beast!
The light awaits the call, in silence lies,
‘Til he who knows the fall for vic’try cries!
© Jerusalemrising
Written November 24, 2006