Tuesday 20 December 2011

advent wings

Keep looking at the face of love
See yourself
Reflected in my eyes
To measure by any other law
Relights the age-old fire
And cause that deadly phoenix
Again to rise

Its wings will beat you down
Its breath will kindle storms
Its flight obscures the light
Its eyes will pierce the night
And break your dawn

Keep your gaze on grace-filled wonder
Eyes of surprise
This advent season
Fill your soul
With the bread of heaven come down
And let yourself again be found
By a humble manger

My wings will raise you up
My breath blow away your storms
My flight will give you light
My eyes will pierce your night
And release your dawn

Saturday 17 December 2011

The God within leans …


advent wondering

God

I ask for grace-filled wonder to slip through the cracks 

I know I am surrounded by wide-eyed wonderment, so much that’s wonderful

But often don’t see or feel or know it any more as an ever-present reality, in the midst of worn-out cares

I pray for more light and more love in the swirling of the seasons

Backwards is a darkness that so swelled, but then receded at the appearing of the perfect child

I desire wider eyes each year with which to see the child as a man

I do not need to look, for the child is always there …

But, can I follow the Man?

What will happen if I do?

What will happen if I don’t?

I turn and turn on the knife-edge of choosing

In setting my face towards the warmth of sun, I know that you do not want me to pass through this season’s dark passage without lamp or map or the company of others

Your delight …?

The grace-filled seed of wonder that slipped through eternity’s fingers to the wide-eyed wonderment of a waiting world …

Wednesday 9 November 2011

Here


Here
Is a vast mountain range
And colours of dying
And falling
And such steady steady rain

Here
Are silent waters
Kissing the shore
And ships waiting to carry
Such heavy loads

Here
Are a people whispering
So quietly
That they cannot be heard
Figures always on the move

Here
Is a still point
Where beauty breaks
Across tired faces
And weeps silently unseen

And here
Am I
Seeing the city
Seek its’ own
And so violently lose the stranger

Thursday 3 November 2011

try

really
i tried
the strain
the effort
the sinking
in hands
and arms
pushing
pulling
panic-ing
as evening
dims
into night
night is silent
and day
sheds
no light
really
i tried
and no-thing
changed
nothing was
carried by the
wind
to my weariness
until .... I just
stopped
... waited
and a hue
of golden glory
rushed up
from the
earth's
inner core ...
and there you were
dripping with
strengthen
for your ascent
home

Friday 21 October 2011

this is where the sisters lay

this is where the sisters lay
under soft soft earth untrod
such sunken rest, to kiss you
and enfold you, wrapped at last
in eternity's blue hue

this is where the sisters lay
under crosses white and grey
wind whispers through long grasses
birds call from the tree tops tall
as the garden waits for more

this is where the sisters lay
their prayer now a silent dawn
names, dates, an age recorded
for the living with fresh flowers
cut, laid, a simple act enough

this is where the sisters lay
arms folded under great weight
pressed down, disintegrating
soul departed, spirit freed
shadows lengthen into me



Monday 5 September 2011

‘Who is this that grows like the dawn, As beautiful as the full moon, As pure as the sun, As awesome as an army with banners?’


set against the velvet night
she sheds a sliver light
upon your path
causes you 
to ebb and flow
...
exerting her pull
she reveals
and then she covers
with her fullness
...
let her tide of love
cover your shore
tonight
before morning
dawns
...
let her light
shimmer on your surface 
and sparkle 
in your depths
...
o
how she
waits and waits
to silently show 
herself 
in degrees of 
lightness
...
and then she
turns
...

my love
weep now at the beauty 
of the sight
and for how so very 
short 
is the night



Saturday 27 August 2011

Why would any soul in the world want to escape the Beloved?

When He is the shining centre
Of the universe's dark heart
When He speaks and darkness disappears
When He heals the earth's split core

Why would any soul take flight
From the pure promise
That is the Beloved?

And yet we run
And yet we hide
Behind unlovely veils

But the Beloved always sees
Always blesses
Always seeks to wear
Even our un-lovliness

Why would any soul in the world
Want to hold on to the torn shreds
Of a fading life
And not return home?

Thursday 25 August 2011

"Delight thyself also in the LORD; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart." *

"Remembering that you are going to die is the best way I know to avoid the trap of thinking that you have something to lose. You are already naked. There is no reason not to follow your heart." Steve Jobs


no reason
no shadow
no stone in the shoe
or heart
not to start


already naked
already lost
already free of the snare
of possessions
to care


follow your heart 
follow the star
follow your desire
it'll only be looking behind that you'll see 
how it was the fire



Monday 22 August 2011

The Many and The One

"Many people  ... don't think they are loved , or held safe, and so when suffering comes they see it as an affirmation of their worthlessness. The great question of ministry and the spiritual life is to learn to live out brokenness under the blessing and not the curse." Henry Nouwen



Many are counting the cost but there is only One seeking the lost

Monday 15 August 2011

hope for a tree when it is cut down

For there is hope for a tree,
         When it is cut down, that it will sprout again,
         And its shoots will not fail.
“Though its roots grow old in the ground
         And its stump dies in the dry soil,
At the scent of water it will flourish
         And put forth sprigs like a plant.
“But man dies and lies prostrate.
         Man expires, and where is he?
(Job 14: 7-10)



where am I?
before expiration
inspiration
breathing in the breathe
of pure air 
your word wings
its way human-ward
heaven-sent
to carry me 
home



sown the wind : reap the whirlwind

For they have sown the wind, and they shall reap the whirlwind: it hath no stalk: the bud shall yield no meal: if so be it yield, the strangers shall swallow it up. (Hosea 8:7)


It says in an ancient book
that though you may sow with tears
you will reap with shouts of joy


but here
now


after 
the reaping
comes 
the weeping



Sunday 14 August 2011

evening crossing



it's late love
last light lingers
over the eyes
and heart

over
knees and breast
draw the evening up
like a blanket

to cover the cold
to expose
the day's remains
to God's rest

living on the edge




the edge
the edge of life

is it death
no breath?

is it despair
no care?

is it dejection
rejection?

to be led
to the edge

by the dark
o to be so marked


to be continued ...



Sunday 24 July 2011

unrevealed

the mountain stands
the waves break against the rocks
the clouds move across the sky
obscuring the sun
o covered countenance
we are dying
to see

Thursday 14 July 2011

there is no one to say simplify only complexify

there is no one to say simplify only complexify

add layer to layer to layer and grow old my dear

ah, the gulls call to each so far from the sea

i see them confused perching on tall chimneys

then flapping against the dying light of day

Wednesday 13 July 2011

Friday 8 July 2011

I do not have you close by

I do not have you close by
And you did not have yours near
Either

And neither are we broken
We are hard
We made it and lost it

Because we would not let
The self tremble
In the evening breeze

No

Moulded it into stone
Round and hard
Un-smash-able

Yes

Tired [we are]
Tried [we did]
Tread [soft now]

Love

Sweet-lipped waits
Waits and sighs
In the fading light

But our hearts have flown
We have reaped
What we have sown

We have buried our treasure
Deep within
And inside

Him

The unexplored galaxies
And our undiscovered space

lovelorn

Lorn means
lose

Lose is to be defeated
In a battle

Or to let go of one’s grip
Of the mind

Ah, angel
thoughts floating in space

Are not lost
Forever

Eternal Corrector
Is correcting

Returning along
Time's continuum

The love
You loved the most

And lost
Had no choice but to let go of

lovelorn (mp3)

Wednesday 6 July 2011

let

let the healing flow
let the fire fall
let the river run
let the light be all

let the poor be clothed
let the lost be found
let the driven rest
let the forgotten be renowned

let your voice be heard
let your yesterday go
let your tomorrow be today
let God's Spirit flow

the name of the Lord be praised

In the midst of mourning
In the depths of night
On the edge of despair 
At the dawning of light

The name of the Lord be praised
Be praised
The name of the Lord be praised

When life has no moorings
When your beauty has gone
In heartbreak's remembrance
As the wind whispers on

The name of the Lord be praised
Be praised
The name of the Lord be praised

With eyes that are open
With hands that are raised
In the fires of youth
In the embers of age

The name of the Lord be praised
Be praised
The name of the Lord be praised

Thursday 30 June 2011

Enclosed within a frame so slight that eternity may penetrate with light

Enclosed within a frame so slight that eternity may penetrate with light
These pores, gasping for love’s breath
But when denied, panics and sweats ensue
And seeps something akin to tears
When adoration not found, bends the fragile frame 
And weighs it down, down, down
It is true, says hand and arm and eye
We become dislocated so, and blind, when in this darkening world
Love finds us not objects worthy of devoted-ness
[We are demented now but no one knows]

Saturday 25 June 2011

kiss of life

Stripped of simplicity
She vanished into a set
Of complex relationships

Clothed in godliness
He suddenly appeared
Upon the defenceless earth

x

hush your mouth incessant incantator

as lies swell with words
as words get fat with hot air
as words are spelled out spilling into spiritual space
seeping down to seek out the dead and drag them from rest
...
hush now just hush
as the present splits past and future
and an unearthly light hovers over the two doorways
before the dark and deafening silence settles in

knight vision

extend your thought into time and space - a sharp sword with poems dripping off the end - like blood

i cannot lose poetry

to write a poem / like to say a prayer / is to throw a rock into a fast running river / resisting history's flow / purpose not yet known /and I unveiled in a whisper or a sigh / too busy / too late / too much of other things to sit and wait with trembling fingers touching lips / to trace the worded stirrings of the soul

constancy prayer

love
o descending stream
fill this empty vessel
find your home
in this one hollowed heart
hallowed by the clear crystal liquid
outpouring from on high


love
o descending stream
float my past and present 
sunken dreams
wash away the residue of sorrow
that I may live today
the glory of tomorrow


Monday 6 June 2011

IMAGE

God is locked up
A prisoner of the mind
Made less than human
More than divine

God looks through the bars of the intellect
Treads on the shards of the wreck of humankind
And what does God find?
It is man who is the prisoner of the mind

... 

Love smoulders
And will not blow out
Though storms have raged
It's quiet now
And in the stillness 
Darkness fills
Spaces once inhabited
And light infuses
Every vanquished attempt 
To find God 
In humankind

Love is kindled
By the breath of every
Word of kindness
Every self-less thought
Every act of devoted-ness
And then life becomes a flame

...

Ah, blessed man-woman trinity
Image of divinity
Flicker on

Friday 3 June 2011

the thread is tight

Where the thread is tight
Heads bow
I do not look around
But within
I do not touch the surface
But go right in

Go to the site
Of ruin
Where the seat of remains
Glows in tender light
The pillars of defeated youth
Disappear into sorrowful night

The thread is tight
The silence penetrates
Deep into the ground
Deep to the soul’s solitary centre
Love, where the thread is tight
There is no sight

No sound
Except the wind whispering
Between the memories stacked
On the funeral pyre
The thread is tight
As the fire behind my eyes burns higher

As I scatter handfuls of ash
Across heart’s field
As fear, fallen and broken
Into countless, nameless pieces
Vanishes into charred ground
Fading light, advancing night

Love, the thread is tight

And where the thread is tight
Heads bow
Do not look around
But within
Do not touch the surface
But go right in

Friday 20 May 2011

'the essence of human existence consists in human interiority' *




ah
...
the thread
is pulled
so tight
tonight
...
I must go
inside
to find
the light

The Gallery

The Gallery housed ideas
Empty frames
Blurred photos
And some degree of cleverness

Fiction circled
The deep of heart
Of darkness
And pretended
It wasn’t there

And there you were
Reaching from the surface
To the depths
And there was nothing
In this art
That would take you there

Nothing to show you
The transcendent centre
Of your self
Or the Light
Twinkling throughout  the heavens
Dancing upon your soul

Compline *

The bending
The bowing
The beholding

Words wind their way

And now to sleep
In the soft-folded arms
Of silence

And now to rest 


* The English word Compline is derived from the Latin completorium, as Compline is the completion of the working day.

Wednesday 18 May 2011

Refraction

1

How the wind blows bending strong branches
Making a howl and birds to move – tiny creatures shaken from their perches to ride currents like surfers upon high waves

2

At the rusted broken down gate
I waited a while
Watching the fields unfold into distance 
But existence does not wait
She points me to the hills that I must ascend
The ancient paths that I must find

3

One tree
Full of itself
Stands
A symbol
Of Time
Blind roots
Reaching down
Into earth
Ageing branches
Straining towards heaven

sic incipit traegedia hominis moderni: here begins the tragedy of modern man

Here begins the fatal blow
As impact in the soul
The force dispelled the anchor
And now the ship cannot moor

Cannot but float aimlessly
The crew scans horizons
Engages in futile activity
Rest not a possibility

And so the pretense
That this is how it should be
But it is not
The ship now so lost

So far from the bay of sight
The bay of remembrance
The place that shelters
In an embrace of coastland

The line of your shoulders
Arms outstretched
Your body sunk into the deep
Becomes the anchor we cast away

Hope strikes the seabed
And is embedded in the soul
Harbour, home, high seas
Balance is restored

Friday 6 May 2011

kiss of life

waves break
upon heart’s shore
heart of many pieces
swells as the water rushes
onto the softened sand

and suddenly
there you are
washed up
naked startled
far from home

but then the
crows
a murder of them
to pluck out
quick-eyed love
to circle your translucent 
light
in flashing blackness

and here I am
a stone
under a glassy gaze
thrown up now
besides your
lifeless curled up form
a hole in your side
leaking liquid love
staining sand
with some transcendent
goodness

I’ll lie by you a while
I’ll decide to die 
to the hammer
blows of self
unite with you 
as silence 
like the evening
descends

I didn’t imagine
I’d rise with you
no
some white darting dove
broke through
the black flapping ranks
to brush a gentle
wing across our cheeks

it was like a kiss

you woke
and we both inhaled
the air of dreams

Wednesday 4 May 2011

mirror, mirror on the wall, who is the fairest of them all?

O silver-surfaced soul catching rays from eyes loving long after light and song have gone

Saturday 30 April 2011

"I will ..."


Live only unto your beloved on the Holy Estate so as to avoid the Dreadful Judgment
Hold on to what you have for better or worse, in riches and in poverty, in sickness and in health
Live together in love until the end
Excel
Help each other to be all that you are meant to be
Live life together now and that life will flow through you into the future
Know daily that love finds its Centre beyond itself
Give of your self and your soul will become richer
Fix your eyes only on what’s real and what’s important
Sow the seeds of eternal life in your heart ...
Offer your body as a living sacrifice because this is an act of pure worship
Do not conform to the pattern of this world
Be transformed by the renewing of your mind
Test and approve what God’s will is – it is always good, pleasing and perfect
Be sincere in your love
Hate what is evil
Cling to what is good
Be devoted to one another in love
Honour one another above yourself
Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor
Serve the Lord
Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer
Share with the Lord’s people who are in need
Practice hospitality
Bless those who persecute you, never, ever curse
Rejoice with those who rejoice
Mourn with those who mourn
Live in harmony with one another
Do not be proud
Be willing to associate with people of low position
Do not be conceited
Do not repay anyone evil for evil
Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone
Live at peace with everyone, if at all possible, as far as it depends on you …

And in the times when you cannot see, remember the words of the mystic:
“Be who you were meant to be and you will set the world on fire" ...
Just one last thing - remember every morning the poet’s warning: 
"Love will not be constrained by mastery; when mastery comes,
the God of love soon beats his wings, and, farewell, he is gone!"