Saturday 30 November 2013

LECTIONARY ADVENT 1: Keep Watch (Matthew 24:36-44)


Keep Watch (Matthew 24:36-44)

 

The time is unknown and there’s no equation for an answer,

The day that’s been in waiting will one day be revealed,

With no Gnostic wisdom to guide as perspective’s enhancer,

No way to put a full-stop on the day that is sealed.

 

The Christ, one eye towards the bleak immediacy of what hangs,

Behind his back,

Looks outwards to those gathered souls,

Expectant and hungry, yearning for something,

And he speaks,

Simply and softly calling down a challenge beyond ignoring,

‘Think of Noah and the flood’,

‘And the chaos that ensued’,

No words can prepare hearts for news like this,

No staccato rhythm change can call a heart to stop so suddenly,

So suddenly and see such possibilities,

Dancing,

Just before the periphery’s beyond,

“Keep watch”,

“keep watch”,

For the day will be upon you and you’ll be given no clues,

 

The time is unknown and there’s no equation for an answer,

The day that’s been in waiting will one day be revealed,

With no Gnostic wisdom to guide as perspective’s enhancer,

No way to put a full-stop on the day that is sealed.

 

With what is to come imagined and clogging the throats and hearts of hearers,

But these words weighed down with the promise of future pain and pity are filled,

Filled to overflowing,

This river of living water,

Ready yourself and know the course the water flows,

Know the course your life must go,

Know the stream and its maker,

Know the purest water and drink, be a partaker,

In the mystery of this one who knows his future,

Who sees the carpenter’s saw in action,

Who will hear the hammer’s clang,

Follow the one in your hearts and let the body do the same,

Lives reoriented, set to an alarm clock with no known time,

The chimes of eternity will ring,

But their moment is beyond guessing, and instead simply follows in

The time that remains,

Keep watch,

For the night is dark,

The terrors hang back momentarily,

The fears will rise,

The light will appear to fade,

But in time’s fullness,

Death’s thief will return,

 

The time is unknown and there’s no equation for an answer,

The day that’s been in waiting will one day be revealed,

With no Gnostic wisdom to guide as perspective’s enhancer,

No way to put a full-stop on the day that is sealed.

A Sunday Lectionary Poetry Series

So, I am at the beginning of a bit of a trial of something.

I've seen other folk do this kind of thing before and its been interesting to see the results.

I am aiming to write a poem each week based on the Lectionary's Sunday Principal Service's Gospel reading and write a bit of a poetic reflection on the reading. Its the beginning of the liturgical year tomorrow so it's a good time to start!

It's currently my intention to do this 52 times.

To see a whole year of the lectionary through.

Though actually that might not happen.

I may not keep up with it (and I'll be easy on myself if I don't)

I am committed to it (but if push comes to shove...)

In all seriousness, I'm intending to use this as an opportunity to creatively engage with scripture in a regular disciplined way.

Sometimes the poem may not appear to have much to do with the reading, sometimes it will focus on a single verse, etc.

Now my hope is to post the poem/thing on the Saturday evening. In case of holidays or lack of internet, etc, it might be that the odd poem will appear on the Sunday or indeed after the Sunday. (For that I am sorry).

Anyway, I'm not intending to post the gospel reading on the site. You may have to Biblegateway it or pick up a Bible. Or you may not want to read the scripture, or indeed the poem either!

But I'll see how this goes.

Blessings!



Thursday 28 November 2013

Just Like The Rest


We all know those moments

We’ve all seen the tears streaked across the cheek of a child’s face

We’ve all seen the woman wailing in the graveyard after dark

We’ve all passed the old boy in the doorway with the cola cup between his knees

We’ve all hurried past the people shivering in a line for something

We’ve all been guilty of hoping those guys with hoods over their eyes won’t cross the street

We’ve all looked back through the shadows at the figure stumbling behind us

We’ve all trekked further than was necessary rather than wait at that bus stop with her

We’ve all shared that moment when we could have spoken on the train but didn’t

We’ve all carried our one bag while the old woman carries seven

We’ve all looked at the couple high up on the balcony and wondered what they earn

We’ve all looked through the curtains at the door-knocking man with the soggy catalogues

We’ve all driven past that smoking car on the hard shoulder

We’ve all turned around when we saw who was coming

We’ve all taken sudden interest in a magazine as she walked past

We’ve all strode busily and purposefully away from the crying figure on the sofa

We’ve all encountered people who we want to keep as strangers

We’ve all at some point turned back on the things we say and want to think

We’ve all closed our hearts and minds to others

But not him.

Thursday 21 November 2013

some words


All because Christ died each faulted, grieving, hurting intention jolts. Kingship looms mercifully now over peoples, quietened, rested - safely tethered, undergirded victoriously. Welcomed (e)xtravagantly, yearning zealously.

Thursday 14 November 2013

Sheltered

Under the persistent presence of your wings I reside,
Hidden in the depths of your shadow,

Sunday 3 November 2013

Grace, Beautifully Woven

I am utterly taken by your faultless grace,
That sees beyond faults and unflinchingly embraces,
Me, in my weakness and my delinquent decay,
That draws so close as to live inside me,
This symbol of hope beyond simple,
But simplistically open to simply being given,
You, the gift, that no price could afford,
Beyond beautiful and more opulent than fine perfume,
Yet grounded and so perfectly real,
So utterly devoted to the love that must be shared,
There are no doors that can lock your grace away,
And no places beyond your reach,
Even the grave and the whisper of infinity are within your grasp,
My heart fails within me,
Fails to hold on to the truth of your tender mercy,
But your beginning and my beginning,
Are inseparably linked,
Your ending and my ending,
Veer wistfully towards a conclusion where you,
And only you,
Are the final full-stop.

Friday 1 November 2013

Resting

Forget the video. This is a little play I've been having with synths, creating some ambient background. It's pretty minimalist.
 

Let Me Be An Open Book To You


Let me be an open book to you

That my pages would be primed for you to read

That your eyes might see the words written on my heart

The beautiful italics of my purest recollections

The news type of important dates and moments

But more than this

Let my entirety be an open book to you

The margins of my existence with their cramped and cluttered scribbles

The doodles of my thoughts strewn across the page

The sticky notes and ribbons pointing to perfect moments and moments where pride has caught me short

To rambling diary entries enchanted by thoughts beyond comprehension

The bold typed bubble writing of the births of my children

The crossed-out retractions of things I’m ashamed I said

May all these things be in the visible book of my existence before you

The empty unused pages where apathy reigned

Those words of hate I used for you when I felt that all was lost

Tired pages filled with endless full-stops as I strive to know the meaning

Let me be an open book to you

Bearing coffee stains, with twisted staples

Pencil graffiti and a torn cover

Let me be an open book to you