Your first thought was, perhaps, an anxious one: A vision of your future, spiraling, Into exclusion and shame; Perhaps, too, somewhere an inkling of guilt. (Have I brought this on myself? Should I have seen the warning signs?) Responsible, faithful up to the last, No doubt your spirit still squirmed. Yet you heeded theContinue reading “The Mystery (For Joseph)”
Monthly Archives: March 2013
Festal Garments (For Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Teacher)
Already there is an odour of blessedness upon you, O ye who are soon to be enlightened: already ye are gathering the spiritual flowers, to weave heavenly crowns: already the fragrance of the Holy Spirit has breathed upon you: already ye have gathered round the vestibule of the King’s palace; may ye be led inContinue reading “Festal Garments (For Cyril of Jerusalem, Bishop and Teacher)”
The Three-In-One (For Patrick, Bishop and Missionary)
Today is St Patrick’s Day, a day which, in my part of the world, is an excuse to drink lots of beer, dress in green and orange and wear puffy hats with shamrocks on them. But there is a more meaningful core to this day. Patrick was in fact quite a remarkable man whose honest,Continue reading “The Three-In-One (For Patrick, Bishop and Missionary)”
Qui Habitat Part 5 (Fifth Sunday of Lent)
Today’s poem continues my series for the Sundays of Lent, due to finish next week with Palm Sunday. Each poem draws on the psalm and the Gospel reading for the day, as well as some of the other set readings where appropriate. You can find the readings that it based upon here. Qui Habitat PartContinue reading “Qui Habitat Part 5 (Fifth Sunday of Lent)”
Safety
Many of the poems that I write here come out of my struggles with mental illness. This poem, I hope, is a testament to the power of writing to help us order our inner turmoil and offer it up as a kind of prayer, refined by the process of writing. Safety The threats you cannotContinue reading “Safety”
Otherwise
As it is, my wheels get stuck And spin around in deep ravines, While I rehearse dark thoughts and lies. The dusk wears down dawn’s hopeful pluck And clanging thoughts know where I’ve been; I wish it could be otherwise. You may knowContinue reading “Otherwise”
Hold, Release
The week has news which wounds and time can seize on moments; the inner life of frantic mind occupies its own time. And sometimes grooves are deep and take us back to moments where this was said and that was heard and there we held on tightly. Echoes shout when walls are here with dullContinue reading “Hold, Release”
Grace, eight or nine years old
Samuel the priest, leading Israel through a process of repentance and then seeing them defeating their old enemies the Philistines, set up a stone monument where they had been victorious and named it “Ebenezer”, meaning “Stone of Help”, declaring that “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” In the midst of our busy and oftenContinue reading “Grace, eight or nine years old”
Qui Habitat Part 4 (Fourth Sunday of Lent)
A father had two sons. One wished his father dead and demanded his inheritance now. And his father gave it to him. Squandering his father’s money, the son found himself starving and, without friends or resources, he returned, tail between his legs, to seek his father’s forgiveness. The father welcomed him back as though heContinue reading “Qui Habitat Part 4 (Fourth Sunday of Lent)”
Prepare Your Hearts (For Sister Emma)
Sometimes my “year of writing liturgically” (see here for more information) leads me to read and write about people with whom I do not immediately feel an affinity. Today’s poem is for Sister Emma Crawford, an Australian Anglican sister whose theology would be, I suspect, much closer to Catholicism than mine is. But her societyContinue reading “Prepare Your Hearts (For Sister Emma)”
The Consolations of Writing 