Mark Heard

I want to talk about Mark Heard.

Mark Heard was a tremendous Christian poet and artist who died back in 1992 or so. He was underappreciated, in my opinion I guess, and therefore his influence was not really seen at the forefront of anything. He was a folky, guitar-playing, angst-ridden guy who was too honest for his own good. Now, that might be considered a compliment, in this age of Blue Like Jazz, anything goes, as long as you’re trying to be honest. He once said, “I’m too sacred for the sinners and the saints wish I would leave”. It was his melancholy take on the desparate state of his own existence, his struggles to love as he should, his sorrow for the plight of his fellow humans that made him stand out. Plus amazing lyric writing. I’ll post a few lines here, but I’ll add more later as well. It seems amazing to me that those who are important in the music industry, important to me, die too young… Keith Green, Gene Eugene, Rich Mullins, Mark Heard… it makes me worried for a few others…though God is in control.

All the unsaid words that I might be thinking
And all the little signs that I might give you
They would not be enough
No they would not be enough
So we nod over coffee and say goodbye
Smile over coffee and turn to go
We know the drill and we do it well
We love it, we hate it
Ain't that life
********
I get lonely sometimes
It's not your fault
I'm a man who follows his own tracks until he's lost
I'll keep on going round and round until I'm found
I get wounded sometimes
It's not your fault
I keep on shooting arrows up until they fall
They stall and turn, a narrow miss until I learn
It's not you,
I'll be okay,
I'm just a jerk is all
It's alright, it's just my foolishness
It's not your fault
*********
I can melt the clock hands down
But only in my memory
Nobody gets the second chance to be the friend they meant to be
I see you now and then in dreams
Your voice sounds just like it used to
I believe I will hear it again
God how I love you
Treasure of the broken land
Parched earth give up your captive ones
Waiting wind of Gabriel
Blow soon upon the hollow bones

********
strong man strangle universe
he drown the stars
blinded by the mission of a thousand wars
he fit and dominant
not wonder why
he love the battlecry
strong man is survivor
he live to pound
little wooden crosses in the bloody ground
he fit and dominant
he stand a chance
he not bow to circumstance
and the world keep on turning
and the sun keep on burning
and the children keep learning
how to grow up big and strong