I have proclaimed truth's river but have not always been able to swim in it

I tried to hear the voice of love in the midst of the world's empty spinning.
I tried to listen to the only one who can save - the only one mighty enough to deliver from deep darkness.
God of heaven came down and walked through the haze of sinfulness,
The cloud of sorrowfulness, upon the shards of forgetfulness, and reached the edges of me.
Some will call, open-handed, shame-faced, contrite, whilst others will remain tight shut.
Those who do not open their eyes unto vain shallow tidings and cover themselves with truthful writings - they are the ones who will be blessed!
The Lord has taken the beating, the whipping, the driving pain of nails through flesh and bone.
He does not need silence, empty chatter or pretense.
He does not need the deep shaft of injustice reaching down into his earth.
I say, "When will the dark corners be exposed by the ruthless search-light from on high?
So many cowering figures to unfold, and my heart's story yet to be told."
I have proclaimed truth's river but have not always been able to swim in it.
Lord, will you not destroy the giants of corruption tramping through the mazes of indifference?
Concrete and steel columns that seem immovable will crack from within and crumble upon the heads of the poor.
Swirling patches of darkness, like typhoons will rush down and catch men up, along with the things that they have made.
And I remain fixed in a closed space surveying my hands and the landscape for new signs of life.
Lord, there is enemy who comes only to rob, kill and destroy.
Broken vessels strewn the earth.
Lord, when will you lead the heavenly host out?
When will the gate swing wide and prosperity shout?
Lord, you stand on the edge of victory's dawn, as so many hearts are failing.
My eyes are dimming.
The ravages of sin have made so much of the earth uninhabitable.
Yet it is still lived in.
Lord of hosts, this is your home.

(based on Psalm 40, written using the Psalm Readings technique)

Cool of the Day

I didn’t know where you were,
So suddenly departed from your routine.
Was it always in your mind
To wander so far from our meeting place?
I didn’t know what to do.
How long was I to wait?
What was I to think?
I thought our love was real.
Strolling through leafy garden glades,
Smiling and talking, gazing upon bounty’s home.

Why did you hide when you heard my footsteps
Approaching amid the rustling branches?
The leaves you covered yourself with are withering.
My darling, when the sun goes down
You will not be able to find your way home.
All this beauty now casts a shadow.
I am fading from your memory,
And soon you will no longer know who you are.
Fading light touches my face tonight,
The first of many evenings in alone.

But before you go take these clothes,
Sewn from skins that speak of a sacrifice
Many years from now.
A sign, my dearest love,
Of how I would allow myself to be hunted down.
When you stepped out from behind that tree
I knew I would hang on another
In the cool of a different day,
Through the longest of nights.
But, right now, I don’t want you to be cold.

WINTERVAL

It’s so cold here in Winterval.
Shop lights glow revealing treasures within,
Calling across empty hearts where sorrow hides.
‘There’s more, always more.
Come inside.’

It’s so silent here in Winterval.
Like the little match girl freezing in the last flicker of dawn
We wait to be found.
No star in the night, no chorus of angels,
No word spoken, no not a sound.

It’s so dark here in Winterval.
They took down every sign.
No welcoming inn to rest a while, no sweet wine to savour.
Made like barren women, never to give birth, always to strive,
Like men, forever to journey, but never to arrive.

It’s so sad here in Winterval.
With no reason to give gifts
We lie wrapped in a joyless world, so meek, so mild.
Nothing to remember, no story to tell.
No Christ to worship and adore, just an inner child.

Dictator

Dictator,
Were you a boy who played in trees,
Ran down dusty lanes so as not to be late for tea?

Dictator,
I hide and am hungry.
I dare not run far for a mine may greet me before mother.

Dictator,
You live behind such high gates,
Whilst a slow death march into terror's marsh is our fate.

Dictator,
Did you dream as a boy,
And wake needing a father's hand on your shoulder?

Dictator,
I can no longer remember the features of my father's face.
Your image fills my every waking moment.

Dictator,
I am so small.
Your power is a fast-flowing river full of bodies.

Dictator,
What do you recall tonight,
As the wind blows through the dry grasses?

Dictator,
I wanted to be a doctor,
A ship's captain, an explorer, a pilot...

Dictator,
I wanted to be a teacher, a builder of houses, a writer...
Anything, anything at all, but not, never, ever, a freedom-fighter.

Pure Steel

The flashing blade
Will blind the enemy's eye
For a moment in time

The advantage gained
Sure-footed on the Rock
With a firm grip

Thrust forward the Spirit's sword
The pure steel will not fail
Jesus is Lord

treatise

unmet vows are sworn
into the night sky
they gather towards
one bleeding dawn
so many promises broken
as morning scatters holy wars
wholly yours, wholly mine
hurry away my love
the time dies
rest will not kiss you
see the horizon
and not the demise
beauty still marches
truth stands silently
goodness has vanished
but we remain
mouthing
no more, no more war
some still say it's a just
expression of man's aggression
as his hands drip sores
in the wet garden
the story unfolds
the plot is a forest
in which many are lost
woe-filled worlds collide
the end is an arrow
right through my heart
my love please hide
how will we break
the back of despair
pray and weep with me
for warfare is made
choice is before us
His feet are passing
My man, where are you?
Rest in my shade

dogs of war

dogs of war are fighting on
our hearts full of pity
for kids with no hands to hold
no feet to run and tell
of nasty dreams and screams
who will turn you in?
you curs of the world
you curse us
barking at the broken dawn
we stare into the night
you lick your silver and gold
have your bloody feast
and god knows what is
unleashed