The Place
- Details
- Written October 2016
Bright, as with the glory of the Lord,
Exaggerating beauty burnt into the memory.
But the return finds television aerials,
Satellite dishes and mobile phone masts
Shrouding the past with the present,
Buried in the mists of confusion,
Until the eternal beams through,
Revealing the unending nature of presence
That endures beyond place or time
In the sacrament of the here and now,
Yet awaiting consummation
That some call final, but is only the start
Of a new beginning in an even better place.
October 2016
The Gift
- Details
- Written December 2015
Out of the blue,
Unasked for
But needed.
They knew;
It came
To us.
He came
Out of the blue
Unasked for
But needed.
They knew;
He came
To us.
December 2015
Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift ........2 Cor 9:6-15
Another Advent
- Details
- Written November 2014
With arrival of the divine;
Love transforms humanity
With breath of the divine;
Love completes humanity
With death of the divine.
But when humanity fades,
Stripped of the non-essentials,
Love lingers on, expectant
In the dust of middle space,
Half dead, crumbling clay,
Awaiting fresh creation
And rebirth of Bethlehem's child,
To bathe heaven and earth in love.
November 2014
Slaughter of the Innocents
- Details
- Written November 2015
Herod's fury vented on Bethlehem
Boils over in Beirut and Sharm
And if not there, then Paris or Bamako,
Where fear fuels the fires of wrath
Pent up in decades of discontent,
Exploding into acts of vengeance,
Causing parents to flee to Egypt,
And if not there, then Europe.
Yet the child spared death in infancy
Faces execution with thorns and nails,
That could stay the bombings of today,
Bringing peace instead of conflict.
But still the Christ Child cries,
While the Prince of Peace weeps.
Advent 2015
Rain on Christmas Day
- Details
- Written November 2013
Or cheer the skies hanging heavy with cloud –
Dull and featureless in shades of grey,
Wet and drenched, muddying the paths
Trampled inside to prove it’s a stable;
Angels grounded with wings sodden
As they open up the broken brollies;
Shepherds shelter by the side of the house
Where the fire smoulders with wet wood;
Wise men moaning about the British weather
Blanketing their star, quenching their faith,
So they lose their way to the child of Bethlehem
And end up in Bosham with King Canute
Telling Herod there are some things you just can’t stop.
November 2013