ALONG THE BARREN ROAD

Category: Contemplative and Meditative Poems

  • Everyday Miracles – A Poem About Finding God and Contentment in Ordinary Things

    Everyday Miracles – A Poem About Finding God and Contentment in Ordinary Things

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    Finding Miracles in Everyday Life Nature has so many miracles lurking in the ordinary. We can find so many miracles in everyday life–we just have to learn to pay attention and be mindful which is hard to do in the modern world with so many distractions and with how fast paced life has become. But…

  • There’s Wisdom In Silence – A Poem of Contemplation

    There’s Wisdom In Silence – A Poem of Contemplation

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    There’s Wisdom In Silence – A Poem of Contemplation  There’s wisdom in silence; Silence breeds seeds of wisdom. Knowledge pours in like an flowing pitcher Of water into an empty basin When the heart is humble and the mind is tranquil. When the tongue is mute, The ears of the heart can listen. The quiet…

  • The Lamp Light – A Christian Poem About Wisdom

    The Lamp Light – A Christian Poem About Wisdom

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    The Lamp Light – A Christian Poem About Wisdom The lamp light is lit. The atoning wick sucks up the anointing oil And is overflowing, Spreading a blazing fire within my chamber. I am mesmerized with the knowledge of wisdom – The calming vision that you lay upon my eyes. Tear down these fragile, crumbling walls…

  • Patience – A Poem About Waiting and Trusting in God’s Timing

    Patience – A Poem About Waiting and Trusting in God’s Timing

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    Patience – A Poem About Waiting and Trusting in God’s Timing The agony of waiting, watching the hours Drains my power and leaves me bitter Filled with battered pride and endless angst. But just as it takes a season to cultivate a flower, I must keep a steadfast heart and wait. My deepest failure is relying…

  • Narcissus and God – A Poem

    Narcissus and God – A Poem

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    My feelings for you swing like a pendulum, driven by the forces of gravity; pulled back down by life’s realities and the weather during these ever-changing seasons of my life. I have hated you. I have loved you. I have sought you and found nothing but empty space. I have sought you and found the…

  • Wandering – A Christian Poem About Guilt

    Wandering – A Christian Poem About Guilt

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    Your commandments loom over me, Blinding my eyes like a bright light in the midst of darkness. It hurts my eyes and causes me to turn away From the angelic presence of your glory. Isn’t this the essence of the human story, Locked in a constant battle with our foolish hearts Year after year choosing…

  • The Tinman – A Poem

    The Tinman – A Poem

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    The Tinman – A Poem Your beacon blazes with the firestormOf a thousand pyres.In your eyes I find the fires –Smoke signals that rise to the heavensAnd lead me on a journeyOut of the confinement of earthly shacklesThat have clanged like lonely church bellsRinging in the early morning,Beckoning for deliverance around my feet for countless…

  • The Problem of Man – A Christian Poem

    The Problem of Man – A Christian Poem

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    The Problem of Man – A Christian Poem You whisper to me in shades of sadness, Silently stammering like a broken record Skipping over the same ol’ speech. What do I do with this madness – This sinful desire that corrupts my heart with each new beat? I welcome you with open arms The moment…

  • Entangled in Your Love – A Poem About Intimacy With God

    Entangled in Your Love – A Poem About Intimacy With God

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    Entangled in Your Love – A Poem About Intimacy With God You are the cool, autumn breeze,The great mystical force that brings me to my knees,Stupefied in awestruck wonder.I miss you when you’re not near,When your shadow no longer covers meAnd hides me beneath your wings.But I seek. But I search.And you reveal new thingsTo…

  • Sparrow – A Poem About Nature and God

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    Sparrow – A Poem About Nature and God A house sparrow is busy outside my window Gathering bits of grass in his beak – Supplies needed for this year’s nest. Some biological impulse is pushing him, Performing actions he doesn’t even understand, An invisible hand directing his reason. It doesn’t take microscopes, telescopes, or theories…

  • Tilling Truth’s Garden – A Christian Poem

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    Tilling Truth’s Garden – A Christian Poem My understanding grows like a thriving weed, Rising taller, but smothering the seed Of a beautiful garden of eternal truth. I, a child in the infancy of youth, By my feeble immaturity have become aloof, Walked astray, carried by foolish pride. In your ways let my soul confide,…

  • The Abundance of Your Mercy – A Christian Poem For Lent

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    The Abundance of Your Mercy – A Christian Poem For Lent  In the hour of my tribulation, I fail the same trials and tests Time and time again. Delighting for a fleeting moment in my selfish pleasures Before becoming quickly convicted of my sin. Do I find peace, joy, or comfort in my lustful wallowing?…

  • In You I Trust – A Christian Poem For Lent

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    In You I Trust – A Christian Poem For Lent In the midst of my trials, May I not lean on my familiar ways, But walk boldly relying on only your deliverance Through the heat of fiery flames. And may I not trust in this fragile castle I’ve erected with stones of self-reliance and pride,…

  • Finding Myself – A Poem About the Journey of Self Discovery

    Finding Myself – A Poem About the Journey of Self Discovery

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    Being and finding yourself is hard. Each one of us is a unique individual, blessed with unique talents and gifts. But each of us also longs for acceptance – to feel wanted, needed, and understood by people. Having the courage to be true to ourselves and discover the individual God created us to be usually…

  • I AM – A Christian Poem About God

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    I AM – A Christian Poem About God I have painted a masterpiece for you And inscribed my name upon every branch, Every blade of grass, Every rising sun, Each shimmering star, Each full moon, And the trunk of every tree So that your eyes may look upon my creation And see me And know…

  • Pondering At Sunrise – A Christian Poem On the Beauty of Nature

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    Pondering At Sunrise – A Christian Poem on the Beauty of Nature I look out into the morning sky, Waiting for the curtain of night to lift, And the same questions I’ve sought answers To for ages keep rolling through my head: Why can’t I accept grace as a gift And not as a reward…

  • Daring to Dream – A Poem About Faith and Belief

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    Let’s face it. Sometimes it’s difficult in our world of skeptics, cynics, and pessimists to keep our faith strong. Everywhere you turn there are articles, people, and influences steering you away from a belief in God and towards a belief in self. Our culture shows a similarity to the time of the Judges of Israel. “Everyone…

  • Guidance Through Prayer – A Christian Poem

    —

    by

    Justin Farley

    Guidance Pave paths of love and humility That lead to your feet – Through scorching deserts and bitter winters That I may become patient and meek. May my woes and tears Not be shed in vain, But used as food for your seed, Falling and nourishing like rain. If the road I’m on stops abruptly…


Join my newsletter to receive new poems along with reflections on nature, spirituality, and mental health (usually a few times a month). My emails are intentional and never spammy—just words to carry with you.

Unsubscribe at anytime.

Processing…
Success! You're on the list.

My Poetry Collections

the book cover of Nature's Bounty by Justin Farley— a poetry collection about the beauty of nature with subjects on birds, plants, trees, animals, the forest, and God.
A deep poetry book about the beauty of nature and the natural world by poet Justin Farley.
the book cover of Frozen Rivers by Justin Farley— a poetry collection about depression and the hardships of mental illness, balanced with nature poems on the season of winter.
Deep poems about depression and the hardships of mental illness, balanced with nature poems on the winter season by poet Justin Farley. Book 1 of the Seasons series.
a mental health poetry book about joy and nature poems on the season of spring
Inspirational poems about mental health, healing, and spring by poet Justin Farley. Book 2 of the Seasons series.
the book cover of Summer Days Sunburnt Nights by Justin Farley— a mental health poetry book about bipolar disorder and nature poems on the season of spring
Deep poems about bipolar disorder and being neurodivergent, balanced with nature poems on summer by poet Justin Farley. Book 3 of the Seasons series.
the book cover of A Voice in the Wilderness—A Chapbook of Poems About God by Justin Farley. It is a deep Christian poetry collection about contemplation, the spiritual journey, and finding grace through Jesus.
A contemplative, prayerful Christian poetry book about the spiritual journey and discovering God’s grace, mercy, and love.
the book cover of Thorns of Love by Justin Farley. It is a deep love poetry collection about sadness of breakups, divorce, and heartbreak.
A deep love poetry book about the pain of break ups and the heartbreak felt when relationships end by poet Justin Farley.