if you asked her

where she would go 
if right now
she could be anywhere in the world
then she would tell you
it wouldn't be to a place
but to a person

Princess Behind the Mask

You wore an iron mask
You could not see
What lay underneath

It had been so long

Since you had seen your own face
That you did not know
Who you were anymore

You were the woman behind the mask
But you didn't know you were more than that
For the mask told lies

When you looked into the mirror
You saw a stranger's eyes
Staring back at you
Through the holes that allowed you to see

Little did you know, lost one
Not far away rode a warrior king
Whose heart beat for you
You did not yet know he existed

But it's you he wanted
Only you
He always had and always will

He charged for the castle
It didn't matter what it took to free you
And he traded his life for yours
With his dying breath he removed your mask
So you saw the truth

The woman behind the mask 
Was, all along, the princess of the kingdom
And when you realized who you were
You took up your sword

You became a warrior 

Favorite

The stars of the night sky are amazing
Rivers are incredible
And mountains are magnificent

But God did not give it all to draw the stars close
He does not pursue the rivers with furious affection
The mountains are not His fondest delight
But you are

I could hang wishes from every star
But I would rather hang out with you under the stars

I could walk by the river and hear it laughing to itself
But I would rather walk and laugh with you

And I could know the mountains by heart
But I would far, far, rather know you by heart

You are more amazing than the vastest span of night stars
More incredible than the wildest rivers
More magnificent than the highest mountains
You are worth more than all of these things combined

Out of them all
You are His favorite
And you are my favorite, too

Invisible Box

She was bound up inside
With walls around her heart
And pressures building slowly
Inside the box she was trapped in

She thought it was normal
She thought that was how she would be forever
But that wasn't how she was meant to be

People compared her to many things
To roses, for she was delicate and beautiful
To a wild horse, for her soul strained against the bonds
To a storm, because she was as unpredictable as a hurricane

But no one told her that
Roses aren't meant to be crushed under foot
Delicate petals are meant to bloom, not die

Mustangs aren't supposed to be confined
They were born to run free in the wind

And storms can't be controlled
The rain can't be bottled up
The lightning can't be stopped from flashing
And thunder can't be tamed

But one night she had a dream
And a voice whispered that she was freer than a wild horse
Braver than a wild rose
And stronger than the storm winds

She woke up 
And when she opened her eyes
She found the bonds lying broken around her
She saw the walls shattered and crumbled
The pressure had vanished like a wisp of smoke
And the box she had existed in was invisible

As it had been all along

Adores You

When the wind rises you run outside

As the clouds fall out of the sky

You spin around and around

Arms outstretched and fingers wide

Head flung back, face to the heavens

You dance in the rain

The thunder is shouting for joy

The sky cries tears of joy

It kisses your face with raindrops

The mist swirls around you

Wrapping you in a hug 

The trees sway along

The rushing river sings to you

The lightning flashes to silhouette you

The storm dances with you

You laugh for joy and the Creator of it all

Is laughing with you

The sky's kisses are His to you

The hug of the mist is His hug to you

He dances with you

And the shout of the thunder is His call

It echoes for miles and miles

Until all the creation hears

In the whirlwind:

He absolutely adores you

Stardust 2

Another stardust poem... xD It's kind of a sequel to my other one: http://unfetteredimaginings.blogspot.com/2016/02/stardust.html


Can stardust be contained forever?
Can you hide it in yourself
Wondering if it will spill out
And dance everywhere?

I have stardust in me yet again
And it begs to sparkle into the night sky
It's trying to escape
It pushes against my ribcage with every breath
And almost lifts me off my feet

I don't want to visit empty planets
Now that I've seen the stars
I'm captivated by stardust
And starlight

I am full of mist and dust
And I want to whisper
And let the stardust float
Out through my eyes
Where the stars are reflected

But I look down and close my eyes
Because you just can't drink starlight 
Unless someone hands you a glass and
Pours some into it

I want to reach up into space
To touch the stars
With the tip of my finger
And see if they come falling down to me

But instead I just look at them 
Through a borrowed telescope
And I don't tell the stars 
That I have stardust in my eyes

If they knew
I wonder 
Would they want it back?
Or would they fall in glimmering arcs
And float gently down to earth?

I'm starting to think I fell out of space
Just so I could stare up at night
And see the stars spanning the sky
But all the same

Whenever I gaze at the stars
They're too amazing to comprehend 
I could never find my way among them all
Even if I had a thousand years
And looking up I know I am hopelessly lost

Writing Yours

In the dark of night 
When the wind was high
You felt like you were drowning...

Not in floods of water
But floods of confusion
And hurt 
I heard you whispering, why
Wondering, why
Did I even try?

Oh don't fall
Don't fall apart
You're not cracked glass
You're not a shattered mirror
You're not a broken vase
No
You are whole

If you look at yourself
Through fractured sunglasses
Of course you'll think you're cracked
Rip them off
Throw them out the window

I can't tell you yet
Everything I am writing
On your pages
But I will tell you this

I don't write stories

That end in spilled ink
I don't write stories that don't have
Happy endings

Don't cry
Your story is not over yet
I haven't written the ending yet
Things aren't falling to pieces
No, things are falling together
Up is down and down is up
I know your destiny
I promise you'll get your gravity back

Just wait a little while
When the new day dawns
You will open your eyes
And read the next chapter 
Of the story I am writing

You're not drowning in the night
No, you are rising
Above the fog and
You see what I have written
For you
And it's better
Than you ever imagined

Fly eagle, glide and soar
Your strength is new again

So rise into the fiery dawn

Into the sun
Because I'm writing your destiny
And I promise you...

It's epic
It's magnificent
And as you lift above the mist
You see clearly
And realize that at long last
Dreams have collided with reality

And with each day that stretches 
Into the unknown
You'll see quite vividly
With breathless wonder
The strokes of my pen

Fairytales do come true
And I am writing yours

Amadeus et Barloc

An allegory of Mark 5:1-20

Once there was a lonely place, out in the wilderness. The rocky mountainside was scarred with caverns and tombs. Inside were written thousands of inscriptions, written in blood and scraped into the rock with the end of a broken chain.

The people of the village at the foot of the mountain locked their doors at night and kept their children close. For in the place of the dead was a Beast that wandered among the tombs. Everyone knew of it. Some of the bravest men of the village had many times gone up on the mountain in the dark of night, bearing flaming torches and carrying swords, spears, and chains.

They had backed the Beast into a corner and flung the chains around it. But every time it had broken them all with one wrench of its beastly shoulders and chased them, foaming at the mouth, down the mountainside. Then it ran back up into the hills and into the tombs and howled with screams that sounded like someone in agony.

No one dared go near the creature. Everyone loathed it.

But no one saw the tears that ran dark from the corners of the Beast’s sunken eyes. No one felt the agony that dug into its heart with cruel claws. No one felt the pressure building within its skull, the clutch of something that squeezed its mind until it went frantic, bashing its head against the stones and tearing its fur. It lurched deeper into the caverns. Through the night it did not cease to pace and howl in agony.

It stumbled out into the moonlight, clutching its head. It couldn’t think. It had no control over its own mind. It was, as far as it knew, only a beast. It rushed to the cliff’s edge and threw itself into the sea, not knowing what it was doing. It only had a dim sense, somewhere in a distant, barely functioning part of its animal brain, that it wanted to die.

But when the Beast splashed into the sea, the waters did not embrace it, but the waves flung it back up on the beach. It could not die the death that would free it from the horror.

The Beast did not know who it was. It did not know where it came from. It only knew that it was despicable, a beast, an animal, and it hated itself with a hatred so fierce it made its head throb. The Beast’s claws began to twitch. It stared at its paws and clenched them, but an urge began to build in it, the urge to maim the horrid thing that it was. The Beast’s body went rigid. It opened its fanged mouth and screamed, clenching its fists harder and harder, but it could not withstand the compulsive urge.

Of a sudden, the Beast flung open its claws and began to slash and tear at its body, the sharp curved claws making the outside of him look like the inside of him felt. The Beast’s screams were despairing and when it was over it climbed the hill and vanished into the tombs, the broken chains rattling behind it. It grasped a broken end and scraped at the walls, trying to write how it felt, but it could not form words. Tears of pain and despair welled in its deadened eyes. It roared and fell to the floor.

This was the hell the Beast had lived in for years. Every day was the same. There seemed to be no hope.

The Beast lay in a semi-conscious state off and on through the night. Morning dawned; through its dull vision there seemed to be a lightening of the darkness. It stumbled to the entrance of the tomb and stared out. The Beast’s vision was dim and blurry. It could not see beauty, but only darkness and ugliness. The flowers and plants looked like hideous caricatures and there was no beauty in the rocks around it. It only saw instruments of torture. And to it, the air smelled of rottenness and death.

There was a boat coming in to the harbor. The Beast only noticed it because it seemed to glow like nothing else, piercing the dark fog it lived in. It peered closer. A figure stepped from the boat. The Beast knew at once who this was.

The King.

The Beast’s giant body began to shake and shudder as animal fear filled it at the sight. It had never seen anyone like this. A sense of a power came rushing over it, a power the Beast’s wild and deranged strength could not even come close to. Everything in it wanted to run blindly and never stop, but its fear was too great. Somehow the Beast knew it could not escape. Shaking, it rushed down the slope toward the figures.

The Beast did not even look at the others, dim in its vision as they shrank back behind the glowing one. It hurled itself to the ground, roaring in fear in a guttural voice, “What have I done, O King? I beg you, do not torture me!” The creature writhed in fear and torment.

It sensed the King kneeling slowly beside it; the Beast heard the rustle of fabric. Its head jerked up. The sunken eyes stared into warm eyes filled with tears. “Oh my son,” the King said softly. “What is your name?”

“I am the Beast. I am nothing but a beast,” it spat in self-loathing. It lifted its claws to tear at itself, but the King grasped both paws in strong hands and lifted the Beast to its feet. It could not tear its gaze away from the King’s eyes. The King looked at it like no one ever had. It did not understand this look. It was as foreign to the Beast as sanity.

The King’s gentle hand touched the Beast’s scarred and bloodied head. The Beast closed its eyes and trembled. “You are not the Beast,” the King said in a voice of power. “Your name is Amadeus, the love of God, for you are the love of God. And you will become a warrior of hope to many.”

And as the King spoke, the Beast’s body began to divide.

It was as if the body of a man, scarred and hairy, emerged from the empty shell of the Beast’s body. Hair began to regrow on the man, Amadeus’s, head, even as the hair on the rest of his body began to fall out and his limbs began to change in size and shape to that of a man.

The body of the Beast fell to the ground, weak and shriveled looking, as Amadeus took shape. The Beast’s voice was empty and hollow with terror, “Please don’t send me away! Let me devour those pigs over there, I beg you.”

The King looked at the massive group of pigs rooting in the dirt at the top of the cliff. “Go,” he said.

The Beast rose and then it went roaring and howling down the hill into the herd of pigs, its claws outstretched. The pigs began to squeal in terror, and went rushing down the hill in a violent stampede and plunged off the cliff and hurtled into the sea. A mighty wave curled over them and washed them all under, including the Beast.

The herders who had been caring for the pigs gaped, stared in wordless amazement and fear, then turned and ran as fast as they could down the hill into the village, shouting at the tops of their voices.

Amadeus stared, weak and shaken. Even though his body was now no longer hidden within the Beast’s body, the horrendous scars still twisted over his body and his eyes were still dull and unfocussed. He lost his balance and began to fall.

But the King caught him in his arms and held him close, cradling Amadeus’s head against his chest, rocking him back and forth. Amadeus was rigid and stiff but he did not pull away.

The King bent his head near Amadeus’s ear and began to whisper to him, words, strange words he did not understand at first, but as the King continued to speak, the words gradually began to possess meaning to him. They were words of comfort, words of love, words of acceptance. Compassion such as he had never known. The King's words, his loving embrace, pierced straight into Amadeus's heart, into his very soul.

He began, not to howl, but to cry, his voice a man’s voice, breaking. His cries turned into shaking sobs. The King held him closer, whispering his name, “Amadeus, Amadeus.”

Something changed inside Amadeus. It was as if his heart burst open and something like a soothing river flowed through, washing away all the hurt and agony that had chained him for so many years. His eyes cleared—and widened.

All around him, the world seemed to burst into rainbows of color, of beauty. The caricatures of ugliness turned into wild roses, covering the mountainside in explosions of pink and red and yellow. He suddenly realized that the air was not foul-smelling, but filled with the scent of roses and spring grasses. He heard the calling of the seagulls and the twittering of tiny birds. The sun broke over the top of the mountain and rays of light flooded everywhere. His eyes were dazzled by the beauty. His senses were quivering with the smells and sensations. So this was what living was like. And suddenly he remembered what his life had been like, before all the pain had entered it.

His tears were tears of relief, tears of unbound joy. He threw his head back and began to laugh even as he cried. Suddenly he threw his arms around the King and put his head on his shoulder. “Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

The King looked into his eyes, smiling. “You are free, beloved.”

Amadeus looked down at his body. Every scar had vanished.

The King’s friends brought new, clean clothes, and Amadeus put them on. He sat at the King’s feet and the King laid his hand on his shoulder and talked to him for a long while, speaking of many things that made Amadeus feel like his heart would burst anew. His heart was pounding with the wonder of it all. For the first time in his life, he felt truly, really, loved. He had never known what it felt like.

The people from the village came flocking up the hill, open-mouthed, gaping, frightened of the powerful thing that had happened here today. They stood warily at a safe distance and begged the King to leave, before he drove off their cows as well.

The King stood, helping Amadeus up. “I will go.”

Amadeus gripped his hand. He did not want to be parted from the King, ever. He did not want to leave the one who had given him back his life, who in a few moments had made him feel more alive than he had ever felt. “Please let me go with you,” he begged.

The King placed both hands on Amadeus’s shoulders. “No, dear one. Go home, to your friends and family. They are waiting for you. Go and tell them what has happened to you, of the love that has been shown you.”

Amadeus nodded. In truth, he longed to do so. “I will,” he said. He wanted to jump and run and shout to the entire world what had happened to him.

The King hugged him tightly, and then let him go.

Amadeus, a new man, turned and went. He was not a beast, he had never been a beast. He was the love of God. There was an unmistakable bounce in his step. At the crest of the hill, he paused and looked back, the rays of the rising sun silhouetting him in brilliance. His face was wreathed in smiles, as was the King’s. Amadeus lifted his hand in a wave, then stepped over the top of the hill, vanishing into the bright radiance of the sun.

In the weeks that followed, he told nearly everyone in the surrounding areas his whole story. “He looked at the Beast,” Amadeus said, in a voice trembling with joy and wonder, “and saw not the Beast! He saw me, Amadeus, within.”

People were amazed, in awe. They had all heard the stories of the Beast, but now the Beast was no more. In its place was a man so alive, so filled with joy and passion that if they had not seen him in his past state, they would not have believed him to be the same person.

He became known as Amadeus et Barloc, Barloc meaning “strong warrior filled with love and hope”. And wherever he went, he infused people with the love and hope that flowed uncontrollably from him like an overflowing river. 

Storm of Your Love

When I'm feeling trapped

Let Your love burn through

The fear

Dry my tears

I know I am not this

This is not me

Remind me I am not afraid

Remind me I am Yours

Forever and ever

Love, just love

Is what sets me free

Besiege the castle

Send the walls crashing down

Down down down

Out of the dust and the ashes

I will rise a soldier

For Your kingdom

Wrap me in Your arms of love

You swoop down

When I cry out to You

The earth shakes

Whe foundations of the sea

Are laid raw and bare

In a fury, in the rage of

The storm of Your love

Caught in the Lyrics

This song is not trapped in my head

no I am trapped inside the song

it holds me captive at midnight

and still won’t let me go at dawn

I love the tune

I adore the lines

I’ve watched the music video

a hundred and three times

words trickle through my mind

The song is mine as I hum all day

until night the song belongs to me

but after sunset

I belong to the song

I’m a prisoner to the enchanting melody

as it twines through my restless mind

I’m held captive by trailing strands of

frayed lyrics

My sighs match the beat

as the night drags on

I can’t sleep

I memorize all but the the last two lines

in the long hours before dawn

I am caught in the lyrics

and when I finally fall asleep

my dreams whisper-sing

with the captivating inflection

of the unrelenting tune

Touching Air

You're under the deep
In the depths of the sea
Jellyfish touch your tail
Unstung you float through the seaweed 

Mermaid hair flows
Around your shoulders
And you fade through empty wrecks
Of ancient ships

Saltwater skin
Seawater lungs
Fingers try to catch the bubbles
The sun wavers through the water

You try to reach the surface
But shadows push you down again

The sailboats glide over your head
You fade deeper 
Pushing water like we 
Push againsnt the wind

Lonliness lives deep inside you
Heartbeat pulsing, longing
For what lies above the sea
You watch the shadow of a shark glide
Flicker past your underwater cave

Glimmer shimmer glide and sway
The ocean clings to you like a cape
But you shake starfish out of your hair

One trembling finger breaks the surface
Sea-blue eyes widen as
For the first time, you touch...
Air

Metal-Plated Dreams

Purple peanut butter jellyfish chase

Chocolate-covered lima beans

And tree frogs dance on a furry stage

While cactus unicorns

Run from lifelike artichoke

If you plunge into a lemon-flavored

Sea of grass

Don't try to catch 

The eagle-feathered fish

Ostrich juice flows through valleys 
Of summer wintertime
Careful, don't dip your toes in
'Cause rivers have high fevers

I wear a fizzy cape as I rescue

Baby army ants

From a deadly battle

Against exotic coffee cups

I know this makes no sense

But trust me because I know this:

Wrought-iron badgers

Sometimes come alive at night

Before you fall asleep tonight

Buckle on your gold-detecting socks

Because if you're not careful you may

Catch a metal-plated virus

The dreams you'll have are quite bizarre

You'll fly with backpack wings

To a land of strangest things

Don't ask me why

You'll understand it all

Once you've heard the liquid band

Strum songs on old

Crayon-stringed guitars

When I crash land in reality once more

I'll make sure to let you know

But until then I'll wander through

The cotton candy-cane hallways

Of metal-plated dreams

By Heart

You are the One who knows

everything about me

You are the One who truly

sees me as I was meant to be

You give me breath

You are the air I

breathe

I was the princess

trapped in the tower

You were the knight who fought

and died

to free me

And lived again so I could

know You

You know me like no one else

You know every thread

of the fabric of my soul

You have me memorized

every detail

You feel every beat

of my heart

You gently hold me

in Your hand

and You know me

by heart

No one else’s eyes have ever

looked into mine

the way Yours do

everlasting tenderness

Your smile never fades

There’s not a thing I could

ever hide from You

and not a thing I would

ever want to

You know me by heart

and You want

for me to know You

by heart too

I want to know You by heart

I want to know Your heart

to the depths

that You know mine

I hear You calling me in the night

our hearts are meeting

I run to You

You hold me close

I want to see You

I want to know You, I want to know You

By heart

Worth Everything

When she was little

she wore pink sparkly dresses

and sang at the top of her lungs

and danced

and hoped someone would notice.

But no one did.

No one watched her twirl

No one smiled and swooped her up

And told her she was a princess

told her she was daddy’s little girl

told her how beautiful she was.

No one showed her every day

how much she was worth

how precious she was

and she didn’t feel like daddy’s little girl.

When she got older

she stopped singing

she stopped wearing sparkly dresses

instead she wore makeup.

She stopped hoping she’d be daddy’s girl.

She couldn’t hide her confusion

behind a mask of foundation.

Her eyeliner didn’t keep anyone from seeing

the pain lingering in her eyes.

She still didn’t feel beautiful

when she looked in the mirror

she saw brokenness, not beauty.

She didn’t know how valuable she was

and she went after all the boys

because she was desperate

to know she mattered to someone

to anyone

but they didn’t know her worth either

or their own.

They needed her to be what they needed

something she could never be

and they could never be what she needed either

so one by one they broke her heart.

If you looked hard enough

you’d see the shattered pieces

reflected in her gaze

And she still didn’t know

she was beautiful.

If you tell her she is lovely

she will give you that sad smile

and say nothing

but her eyes give her away.

She doesn’t believe you

because you are only one positive voice

that doesn’t stand against the tide

of negative voices

that have lied her whole life

and crushed her soul.

She’s an empty shell

needing something to fill her

but she can’t find it anywhere.

She comes home nights

and cries

until she finally falls asleep.

She wishes she could

change herself

to be valuable

and beautiful.

Little does she know

she already is

that she is worth

everything.

What You Want

I wasn’t even looking

But now I see a jewel

Right here in front of me

Shining like a star

Among all the other stones

This one stands out so brightly

Everything I’d hoped for someday

Right here before my eyes

But I whisper a prayer

Father my heart is in chaos

And I want to keep this one

But I want what You want

Your will not mine

Even though my heart longs

Sometimes the tears fall

I know You’re holding me tight

Nothing else compares at all

I put You first and wait

For what You’ll reveal in time

Even though my heart hopes

Father Yours are amazing plans

Whatever my future holds

I will trust Your love

Maybe my hope is Your plan

But no matter what I trust You

Even though sometimes I’m afraid

I know You hold my heart in your palms

And I want what You want

I want Your good plans

Whatever they are

Winter's Banishment

Winter crouches over our now barren land
The great trees are weighed with snow
The world is frozen in time
Life's ebb and flow has grown feeble

The clouds swirl over the horizion
As if trying to make up their mind
Whether they should stay
Or leave this empty place
Where nothing lives anymore

The stars are far away specks
The moon is hidden in the night's depths
Snowflakes float and touch the ice
But the seeming peace is deceptive

At first the frozen tensions are not apparent
At first it is impossible to know that our hearts
Are trying to come back to life
Winter has frozen everything

But then you see how the shining ice creaks and cracks
Crying to be released
And under the glittering snow the trees groan 
And bend until they almost snap
Begging to be unburdoned
The wind sings high notes around the mountains
But it is sobbing

Let the winter be over
Bring the dawn of freedom
From the ice that holds us captive
Melt the winter away

The night lingers long
But morning comes
Like a ghost at first, creeping near in paleness
Then the windsong changes to joyful chimes
And then the sunlight bursts forth, parting the clouds
The glorious sun rides the wind
Pink and gold glow into the entire land

The snow begins to melt
Sliding from the trees
They stand upright, reaching for the sunlight
The ice slowly turns liquid 
Until the water ripples clear and blue

And the wind loses its bite
Warm and soft, it ruffles the grass and waves the leaves
The mountains seem to smile
Birds sing in chorus from the forest

Life that was once frozen under winter's iron hand
Has been released
Winter has been banished forever
And every single heart now beats strong again

I See

I see your upturned gaze
Eyes dry, no tears
But I feel your pain
And I cry the tears
The ones you do not shed
When you think I am looking

I see your smile
Hear your laugh
It's like a shield
But I know you
I know what is behind
Your armor
I have hidden the same scars
That you hide

I hear your voice
Steady and unwavering
But I hear my own voice 
Tremor and break
In your place
The way your voice does
When you pray alone

Little do you know
I see it all
I feel it all
Every stab you take
Every shot that drops you 
Each one has wounded me too

Everything that hurts you
Hurts me
I would give anything
To see you whole again

I cannot save you
But let me show you 
Someone who sees everything
Someone who has caught
All those tears you shed in secret
Someone who will wipe them all away 

Moonburned

I stood at my window

Looked out, out across the water tonight

As I have done

For so many nights

Ripples across the deep, fireflies

A million little glowing lights

The moon drifts through the clouds

Like a ship of the starry sky

Something draws me

So even though I'm scared of the dark

I open my window and

Climb outside

Into the moonlit night

Walk down to the water's edge

I watch the moon break through the wisps

Glowing, glowing bright

White light

Is moonburn possible?

Because I think I

Got moonburned tonight

Moonburn isn't like

A sunburn

It's like being wonderstruck

Awestruck

It's like waking up

For the first time ever

I'm so enthralled by

The moonlight

What happened to the dark?

It is gone

In the wink of a firefly

In the soft night wind

In the moon's glow

Tell me why this happened

Tell me how

Who knew moonlight could do this

To me

Who knew 

Moonlight

Such gentle light

Could shine so bright

And light up the night sky

And the whole world glows

Like never before

I hope the moon never goes down

I hope the glow never fades

I hope the stars don't blink out

I hope the fireflies never go out 

Or fly away

I hope I can stay here 

I just want to stay

Moonburned

Forever

The Dreams of Tex

Just something silly I wrote several years ago and discovered again!

Behold, every night Tex dreamed that he was Joseph. And his brother Daniel threw him in the lion’s den. He then got Nebuchadnezzar to get him out. Thereafter he slayed Goliath by heaping hot coals of fire on his head. Thereafter, thereafter, he sashayed down the road and met King Saul. King Saul hurled a spear at him, so Tex built an alter and poured water on it. Then fire burned down from heaven and devoured a golden calf. He took the Ten Commandments down from Mount Sinai and sealed the ark with them. He led two of every kind of animal to the river and watched Naman get healed. After that King Herod flung him into a fiery furnace and Tex emerged with Haman and Queen Esther. He sliced a piece off of King Ahasuerus's robe when the king went into a cave.

Finally he crossed the Red Sea by walking on the water and climbed back into the ark. He floated onto the lake of Galilee and took a coin out of a fishes mouth. He ate two fishes and with a ravenous appetite he demolished many sandwiches for lunch and when he picked up the leftovers he had twelve baskets. He saw a tree wither up, and he ate a mustard seed off it. Then he saw a ghost on the lake and walked on water again. He fell asleep in the boat and a storm woke him up. He walked back to shore and prayed, then he took a bath in a bubbling pool. He met a Roman soldier and carried his pack for two miles.

He caught fish in a net on one side of the boat, then he was told to put it on the other side and he would catch more fish, so he did, but then the net sank because it had little faith. He went to find a large crowd of people and threw queen Jezebel out a window onto a mat. She picked up her mat and carried it. She went down the road with her donkey and thieves came out of the rocks to beat her up. But the Good Samaritan paid them money to take care of her at the inn. Tex married an old woman who was 99 and three angels came and told him his nephew would get burned up in sulfur raining down from above. Tex had a son and he put him on an alter. 

But then a ram came out and butted him. But then it turned into gold and sp he ground it up and made people drink it. He knew he would never get to the promised land, so he went to Sodom and saw someone get turned into a pillar of salt. So he grew his hair long and used all his strength to push the pillar down. A faux fox named Delilah cut his hair off and he tied a torch to its tail and burned down the Philistine's fields. Then Tex took off his cloak and whipped the water furiously. A chariot of fire came up and called him an old bald-head, but bears came out of the woods and ate it all up. 

 He did not like to be called that because he was not old, wherefore, he went to a cave and took hay out of the manger to put on his head, and the baby inside started crying so he went outside and found a large star in the sky and gave it to the baby as a gift. Along the way, he met some wise men guarding sheep.

Then he went and got baptized in the Nile by John the Baptist, but the Pharisees were angry at him and sent soldiers to kill every baby boy under two years old. So he went down to Egypt to escape and turned the water into blood and ate frogs. The Pharaoh was really upset then so Tex gave him some grasshoppers for lunch. The Pharaoh told him to made bricks, and gather straw, but Tex climbed a pyramid and brought down five smooth stones. He helped the children of Israel gather manna, and then he threw a huge party and refused to give any to David and his men. Because he was so horrid his wife Abigail gave his food to David. 


THE END