cycle

the summer is winding down

the winding path towards autumn

she is falling into those strong arms

once again

so soon to disappear

so soon to bury her face

in the colours of dying leaves

she always leaves

what feels like always

too soon

too soon

and autumn ascends

but inevitably weakens

into winter

whose withering rule

will last but for a while

until the hard ground cracks

and spring’s harbinger

breaks forth like a tear

from up out of deep darkness 

ensemble

1.

leaving

where is the still point

where the quest both begins and ends?

when is the quickening moment

when all is remoulded and retold?

the bird sings across the centuries

the bow on the string

the final note that soars and trembles

before silence sweeps in

like a wave caressing the shore

o when will it be told

today’s death toll?

when will it be sighted

the countless, nameless ones

desperate to clamber

home?

ah home

a vanished point, no horizon

to herald nearness or belonging

or outstretched arms

but home – love has flown

tonight the wind whispers low

follow, go fast after

until you too rise

2.

grieving

given in the taking

taken in the giving

where is the place that glows long after

everyone is gone?

when is the grieving moment to be lifted

from your arms and tossed into the light?

when is the darkness to be swallowed

by impending day?

silent wisdom stands a while

and traces her fingers around the edges of sleep

who could have know how solace would come

whilst wide awake and in such pain

and it becomes possible at last

to write a document of lightness and grace

create a symphony of one breath?

3.

cleaving

trembling in the evening breeze

the loss you thought incalculable

is counted in quietness

as the mist of self clears

what happened?

it was as if music filled the bodies

of all the dead

and the sun rose

4.

creating

the sea spread out

a carpet of deep blue

unfathomable depths

the hills rise proud

highest heights

above all else

the artist dives down

and reaches up

as strength fails

and light increases

upon sorrow

and sorrow falls

the rain comes in season

for fruit to be borne

and hunger to fade

with the growing dawn

6 July 2013

 

  

we pass

we pass from day to day
no night
from light to light

we pass from shore to shore
across a vast expanse
from night to night

we pass each other
fleeting in flight
from movement to stillness

from sight to light

we pass in time
we cross time
we hold time in our hands

to make moments
that will forever
endure

Where do I dwell ...?

Where do I dwell, O Lord
Near or far, within or outside your courts?
Longing, yearning ...
Your altar my nest
Forever to praise only you
How blessed to be welcomed into your house
The door never shut
The light never turned off
The fire burning in the hearth
Eternal welcome, an everlasting home
Living God, O Lord of hosts
My king, my God
Where else is there to go
Where my strength does not drain away
Day by day
To appear only before myself
Where weeping never ceases
What is my prayer, O Lord God of hosts?
What is my song of praise?
Lord God, you are my beginning and end
The first and last
To be held within your arms is my desire
Nothing may I withhold from the One
Who came and dwelt amongst us
Full of grace and truth

Where do I dwell, O Lord
Near or far, within or outside your courts?

I choose to trust in you until the end

(Based on Psalm 84)

everything passes

everything moves

from east to west from north to south

round and round into the ground we go

we know

so we desperately try to reap what we’ve sown

though not yet grown

not yet come alive

how we strive and strive and strive

digging digging long into the so long night

way after the coming of light

what a sight

head down unaware of the millions who surround

doing just the same

ignoring the eternal flame …

everything moves

from east to west from north to south

round and round into the ground we go

we know

so we fix our gaze on that which shines

commit staggering crimes against each other

smother the cries block out the lies

what a sound drowned out only

by the applause shouting for more

to the beat of ignore ignore ignore

the one who waits and waits and waits

with the power to deliver us

from such an unimagined fate …

everything moves

from east to west from north to south

round and round into the ground we go

we know

so we do not reach out beyond ourselves

we do not delve deep down in order to

understand comprehend apprehend

what is the height the depth the breadth

of the love made manifest once and for all

in the one who died on that curs-ed tree

for the whole of sin-riddled humanity

for you and for me …

we do not want to see a suffering God held high

we would rather die

[everything moves

from east to west from north to south

round and round into the ground we go

we know  …]