This page is for Community, KAIROS, and other Emmaus members to share,  in poetic or other written form, their Emmaus experience or their new walk with Jesus. Please email your submissions to Buck Norton and they will be included on this page. Some of the poems below were submitted by Central Prison residents who had attended a KAIROS weekend in Central Prison in Raleigh, NC. and by residents from the  Pender Correctional Institution in Burgaw, N.C.who had also attended a KAIROS weekend.

Moving Mountains

Lord I’ve never moved a mountain, And I guess I never will
All the faith that I could muster wouldn’t move a small anthill.
Yet, I tell You Lord I’m grateful, for the privilege of knowing thee
And for all the mountain moving, down through life You’ve done for me.

Yes my mountain moving Jesus has removed them all for me
Like a ship that’s turned and tossed on life’s troubled sea;
And I thank You Lord of Heaven; You have always heard my call
And removed all my mountains, for there’s none that’s been too tall

And when burdens, pain and sorrow heave been more than I could bare
When I’ve needed grace to lift me from the depths of deep despair
You’ve always been my Helper through life’s troubled sea
Yes, my mountain moving Jesus has removed them all for me!

 This song is to be sung for the Grace of God 
Anywhere, any time

Lord, you have been our dwelling place throughout all generations.
-Psalm 90:1

L.C. New
Pender Correctional Instituion

Concrete and Steel

Living the life of concrete and steel
Our people back home can't know how we feel
Daily we struggle just to survive
Our homeboys and brothers and all that jive

The faces you see are hollow and cold
Young men of thirty and already they're old
They have no compassion; No heart you can see
Survival of the fittest; Hey! It's you or it's me

Life in prison is like nothing you've known
Although we must live here; we won't call it home
We work and we sleep here and yes we do eat
But the meals that they're serving aren't like on the street

I'm doing my time here, I don't want any more
I pray when it's finished I'm able to walk out that door
Many's the man who never will

So listen, young brother, take heed of my word
What does it matter if they call you a nerd
Put down that handgun, get rid of that crack
Come talk to Jesus and get your life back

Yes they may make fun of you and taunt you each day
But how many of them will be able to say
"Happy Birthday, mama; It's so nice to be here"

And hear these sweet words as she hugs you up near
"I'm so glad you made it son, and now that you know Christ;
May God truly bless you for the rest of your life!"

Eugene Dail
Pender Correctional Institution

A Forgotten Man

How do you know you are forgotten by all except The Great I Am
You know you are truly forgotten when you look at the mail list
        day after day only not to see your name again
You are told that your wife stated that she wants nothing to do with
        you ever again
You call home only to have the charges declined again

You are told that your wife has sold all you own
You are told that your wife has moved out of state to an address unknown
You have only God to live for

All you own is here in prison with you
You don't even own the clothes on your back
All you own can be carried in a single sack

You have a broken crumbled up heart
You know you are forgotten when you only answer yes to the above
Are you a forgotten man

I truly know that I am by all except The Blessed Trinity
I have been broken down and am being rebuilt by the Great I Am
By all that counts I am not forgotten and neither are you.

Eugene Dail
Pender Correctional Institution

Means of Grace

 Open my eyes to your grace, oh Lord
That I might see clearly my way
Through the trials and tribulations, my Lord
Make Your presence in my heart always stay.

I ask that you keep my thoughts focused, oh Lord
That You remain centered in my life.
I accept your saving grace in my life, oh Lord
In the name of Your Son, Jesus Christ.

We ask and we shall receive, oh Lord
Your gifts given freely meet our needs.
Let this walk fill our hearts and our lives, my Lord
Let the earth of our soul sow Your seeds.

Restore us to wholeness, forgive us, oh Lord
That through Your Son, Jesus Christ, we may live.
Resurrect our spirit for Your purpose, oh Lord
So as freely we've received, we may give.

Dale Kopczynski
Coastal Carolina Emmaus Walk #3

 A lonely prisonman

There’s a man alone and crying; his life is now in vain. The world he knew has gone from him for the crime he did. With his life he must pay.

He’s a lonely prisonman with chains upon his feet. In a cold, cold cell he lives in hell. With never enough to eat. He works and slaves from dusk to dawn. The fire in his heart still burns; for his family he’ll always yearn.

So if you think of doing wrong. Remember what I say: Nothing is worth the cost of it or the price you’ll have to pay. So be content with what you have or you’ll be just like me.

A lonely prisonman .
Eddie Moss
Raleigh Central Prison
  

  Your Holy Word
 
      Cement floors and concrete walls,
    Steel bars as a door,
    Can’t conceal what I feel,
    Or hide my love no more.

    Chilly days and cold dark nights
    Within this tomb of stone
    Can’t prevent this flow of warmth
    Which loving you turns on.

    I’ll never allow one single key
    To lock up my feelings here;
    This life I have belongs to you,
    And, Jesus, I’ll always care.

    Knowing you love me I refuse to hurt
    By being locked up each day;
    Your Holy Word in my heart and mind
    Releases me all the way.

    Ronald Leon "Tex" Cummings
    Raleigh Central Prison
   

   Turning Point of Love
 

    While accepting Jesus as my Savior,
    Feeling mesmerized by His charms,
    I felt a thump as my heart was pierced
    In the comforting of His arms.

    Like Cupid’s awakening golden bow
    Those feelings surged out of control
    As a wondrous turning point of love
    Lodged in the core of my soul.

    Now when the devil slips within,
    Whispering filthy lies,
    I pray in the name of Jesus
    While lifting up my eyes.

    "It is written," I will say,
    And Satan does depart,
    ‘Cause only Jesus has the right
    Inside a Christian heart.

    Ronald Leon "Tex" Cummings
    Raleigh Central Prison
  

    Don't Step on Your Eternal Life

    Don't lose sight of the Living God,
    allow your heart to feel,
    the love, the joy, and the fear
    of knowing Christ is real.

    Don't show the wisdom of a drunk,
    fumbling for car keys.
    Confess Jesus as your Savior
    on both your bended knees.

    Don't step on your eternal life
    with your own stumbling feet;
    Christ awaits His appointed time,
    then face-to-face you'll meet.

    Don't miss the trees clapping their hands
    while the hills and valleys sing,
    or the ground opening wide its mouth
    confessing Christ as King.

    Ronald Leon "Tex" Cummings
    Raleigh Central Prison
  

  By Showing Faith in Jesus Christ

    Life, to me, was like traveling
    down a dead-end street
    where hurt or anger seem to loom
    on every face I'd meet.

    I felt sad, depressed, out of hope;
    my life had been a bore.
    I'd given up, thrown in the towel;
    I didn't care no more.

    Then one day I met a man
    who boldly said to me,
    "Christ gave His life for all our sins;
    He can set you free."

    By showing faith in Jesus Christ,
    he helped me see the light.
    By showing faith in Jesus Christ,
    I'm going to be all right.

    Ronald Leon "Tex" Cummings
    Raleigh Central Prison
  

   The Lord's Coming

    Imagine the awesome splendor of Jesus Christ
    stepping down from heaven - through a cloud - in all His
    majestic glory.

    Hear His loud Command, the archangel's shout, and
    the blast of God's trumpet.

    Feel the ground begin to rumble beneath your feet
    as the graves of those who belong to Christ split apart like
    the Red Sea.

    Watch as those who belong to Jesus rise up,
    from a death powerless to hold them, and go to meet the Lord
    in the sky.

    Imagine the transformation from life to eternal life
    while you are being lifted up to meet Jesus in the sky.

    This is the comfort Paul asked that we, as Christians,
    share with one another.

    1 Thessalonians 4:13-18

    Ronald Leon "Tex" Cummings
    Raleigh Central Prison
  

 Do You Know What You Are to God?

    Do you know what you are to God?
    You are His creation.
    From the ground He created man,
    and blessed him with salvation.

    He offered life eternally
    in a world created good.
    If you don't realize this by now,
    it's time, my friend, you should.

    Then came Satan, the evil one,
    ready to deceive,
    and caused our world to fade away
    by simply tricking Eve.

    But he will pay on that day
    Christ comes to fulfill
    the Will of our Father,
    The Living God of Israel.

    Ronald Leon "Tex" Cummings
    Raleigh Central Prison

You are visitor No.