Today’s poem is written in honour of brothers Cyril and Methodius, the ninth-century missionaries and translators who are credited with developing an early form of the Cyrillic alphabet as a means of expressing spiritual truths in Slavic tongues. Alphabet (For Cyril and Methodius) As He speaks our languages, Blazing truth in every tongue, Cataloguing allContinue reading “Alphabet (For Cyril and Methodius, Missionaires and Translators)”
Author Archives: Matthew Pullar
Ashes and Oil (Ash Wednesday)
Today is Ash Wednesday, the first day of Lent in the Christian calendar. Typically it is a day of repentance, marking the beginning of forty days of fasting as we lead into Easter. But today, looking at the readings set for the day, I found a pleasantly surprising pattern in what the readings were saying:Continue reading “Ashes and Oil (Ash Wednesday)”
The Veil (Last Sunday After Epiphany)
The veil is lifted, but do we see His face as it truly is? Like Peter we struggle to tie Him to ground But He is not contained. He sits enthroned before cherubim But see Him take His throne Upon a Roman cross, among Rebels and dirty thieves. The veil is lifted, but do weContinue reading “The Veil (Last Sunday After Epiphany)”
Blessed
How can it be – The motions of my heart deny it; The story I see behind me, The imprints of my feet in the soil, Declare that it’s not so. Yet my eyes make my other senses fools; Fruit grows where I had only death, Flowers burst from the driest ground, Trees flourishContinue reading “Blessed”
Spenserian Sonnet No. 4: Exhaustion
This week was my students’ first week back at school and, unsurprisingly, it has been a tiring week. Typically my mind slips back into old patterns of defeated thinking when I am this tired. But tonight I found comfort in my favourite type of poem to write – the Spenserian sonnet. I hope it canContinue reading “Spenserian Sonnet No. 4: Exhaustion”
Quatrina: New Land
This is a poem I wrote today, in a new form that I’m experimenting with. As far as I’m aware, it’s a new form – perhaps someone else has stumbled on it too, but so far I haven’t come across any other examples of it. The pattern is simple enough – a cycle of rhymesContinue reading “Quatrina: New Land”
Exchange (For the Martyrs of Japan)
What threat they posed we cannot know, These men who asked permission To build their churches and to go Forth with their love’s mission. What risks the shogun saw in those Who came to love and free, We cannot say; but how it goes For servants is to be In life and death just likeContinue reading “Exchange (For the Martyrs of Japan)”
Not Jewels (For Angsar, Bishop)
Angsar: A picture shows you robed in green With gold-gilt sleeves and sparkling jewels. You hold a church within your hands: A church with mighty steeple. And yet you felt the weight of this, The church you strove to build; You felt the weight of failure and The journeys which did not succeed, The schoolsContinue reading “Not Jewels (For Angsar, Bishop)”
Frontiers (For the First Anglican Service at Sydney Cove)
We cannot reach lands Where You have not been And we cannot chart seas That You have not sailed And we cannot touch soil That You did not till And cannot build homes That You have not built. We cannot go where Your love does not go And cannot hatch plans That defy You. ThereContinue reading “Frontiers (For the First Anglican Service at Sydney Cove)”
In Our Time (Fourth Sunday After Epiphany)
Almighty and everlasting God, you govern all things both in heaven and on earth: Mercifully hear the supplications of your people, and in our time grant us your peace; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen. (Collect of the Day)Continue reading “In Our Time (Fourth Sunday After Epiphany)”
The Consolations of Writing 