In The Madness

The façade holds 

though teetering slightly 

Normalcy still clings 

to its fragile perch 

Excepting very late at night 

delving deeply into thought 

the mind finds a path 

past the clutter of the day's repast 

The cares and needs of those around 

have quieted a bit in my head 

leaving room to hear the heart 

Or perhaps 

the sound of the madness 

finally heard above the haste 

For what is love 

but madness 

What is passion 

but a fever  

To love passionately 

is to burn fervently 

with madness 

Not to burn only 

but to revel in the flame 

To feel the ardent heat 

To smell the fiery stench 

To hear the crackling 

As it burns … 

burns … 

burns …

And yet to embrace 

to draw it closer 

to pull it inside 

to welcome that sweet death 

that we call love 

For true love means: 

To give to have 

To throw out to hold 

To die to live 

To wait 

in the heat 

for that love to return 

To want 

and want nothing else 

To yearn 

for that smoky embrace 

To wait 

in the madness 

 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

How I See You

You worry

about how I see you.

But when I see you,

I do not see a moment.

I see you

as you have always been—

as you were,

as you are,

as you will be.

And none of these

change my sight.

I see you in health

and in sickness.

In joy

and in sorrow.

In laughter

and in silence.

In sunshine

and in shadow.

I see you

when you feel whole,

and when you feel less than.

And still—

I see you.

You worry

about how I will see you.

But I will always see you

as I have always seen you.

Yesterday does not change it.

Today does not move it.

Tomorrow cannot undo it.

Because I do not see you

by the moment—

I see you

by the love

that doesn't look away.

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

 

My Heart

He is holding tenderly my heart;

Although it feels ripped apart;

Rent with pain from sorrows dart;

Torn with all that hurt can impart;

He is holding,

tenderly,

my heart.

© Ron Simpson Jr.

Hamartano

missing the mark 

A lie 

misses the mark of truth 

Envy 

misses the mark of gratitude 

Avarice 

misses the mark of generosity 

Pride 

misses the mark of humility  

Hatred 

misses the mark of love 

Bitterness 

misses the mark of grace 

Fear 

misses the mark of trust  

But the mark 

was never horizontal 

never set 

by the shifting lines 

of men 

 

It was always higher 

fixed 

beyond reach 

yet calling us upward 

not to condemn the miss 

but to reveal the aim—

We do not look around 

to find it 

we do not look within 

to define it 

we look up 

to the One 

who is 

truth 

when we lie 

gratitude 

when we envy 

generosity 

when we grasp

 

love 

when we hate 

grace 

when we harden—

The mark 

is not a standard 

It is a Person 

And every miss 

is not the end 

but the invitation 

to lift our eyes 

and try again 

“I press toward the mark …” 

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

His Voice

Not louder—

though it can thunder

It is the voice

of relationship

peace

in the middle of the storm

truth

in a field of lies

direction

along uncertain paths

a shepherd

cutting through the noise

calling

not driving

leading

not forcing

clarity

in confusion

He speaks purpose

not destruction

pasture

not panic

freedom

not fear

“My sheep hear My voice.

And I know them.

And they follow Me.”

Amid the noise of life—

temptation, doubt, distraction—

there is a voice

cutting through the chaos

like still water 

after the wind 

We follow—

not because we are forced

but because we trust

Not just a voice in the darkness

but a voice

that has walked the path before us

What voice

will you follow?

© Ron Simpson Jr. 

March 26, 2026 

Grace

We err—

step out of line, 

choose poorly, 

know better 

and do it anyway. 

And when judgment does not fall, 

when heaven stays quiet, 

when consequence delays— 

we assume approval. 

But it is not approval. 

It is grace. 

God saying: 

Give them time. 

Give them space. 

Let them grow 

into what they do not yet understand. 

Grace is not agreement. 

It is allowance— 

for process, 

for learning, 

for becoming. 

Yet when the roles reverse, 

we forget. 

We who live by grace 

become judges of progress. 

We measure others 

by our expectations, 

our timelines, 

our comfort. 

We demand alignment 

where God offers patience. 

We require change 

where God allows process. 

We withhold space  

that was freely given to us. 

But the Word is clear— 

what we have freely received, 

we are to freely give. 

Not approval of wrong— 

but grace for growth.

Look up 

before you look down. 

And remember 

how long 

He has been patient 

with you. 

© Ron Simpson Jr.

March 25, 2026