Category Archives: Devotional

Strange, on approaching, the details we notice: How the stone itself, pushed to the side, Makes less of an impression than the hole And the light shining into the tomb; How, breathless from running, pausing on entry, I see first the grave-clothes, so neatly arranged, The head-cloth and linen strangely untangled (Whoever would pause forContinue reading “The Tomb (Lent Poems 34)”

When the morning sun rose, we went To the garden with our aloes and myrrh, To the garden where lay our dead Lord, To the tomb where they laid him, With our aloes and myrrh. As the sun glinted around the rock of the tomb, We looked and saw no stone there before it, WeContinue reading “Trembling (Lent Poems 33)”

If there is yet hope for this flower (drying, dying, disconnected from its source), then take it, attach it once more to the stem from which it fell. Let decaying petals be fresh once again. Give water, give sunlight. Photo-synthesise: give life. If there is yet life in this body (I cling to that hope)Continue reading “Defiance (Lent Poems 32)”

the fig-tree does not bud and our vines are without grapes and our olives do not grow; the leaves are bare and the harvest is the slowest yet. But wait. And stand at your watches and station yourselves. Look to the ramparts. Look to see, And hear: your heart will pound; let your cracked lipsContinue reading “Wait – (Lent Poems 31)”

Jesus arrives in Jerusalem and enters the Temple. The fig-tree is not in bloom, and the Temple is not in order. The King in His Throne-Room He had been here before and found then What he found now: the defiance of the proud. He looked for mercy and found sacrifice, For contrition, found complacency and,Continue reading “The King In His Throne Room (Lent Poems 30)”

Two more poems from earlier in the sequence, both dealing with the pilgrims approaching Jerusalem for the Passover. The second poem, “Even His Own Brothers”, goes back to early in Jesus’ ministry, when his unbelieving brothers try to convince Jesus to go to Jerusalem in order to make a big impression. Pilgrimage I rejoiced whenContinue reading “Pilgrim Poems (Lent Poems 28 and 29)”

Not yet back to our homes, Not yet back to our nets, Not yet back from the death of the day before, We waited and rested. Not yet grieving, Not yet sorry, Not yet alive to the death and the night of it all, We rested and sat Somewhere amid waiting and wanting. Not yetContinue reading “The Day Before Sunday (Lent Poems 27)”

This poem belongs earlier in the collection. It is a flashback to Peter, James and John’s climb to the top of the mountain, where they saw Jesus transfigured, in glory, standing with Moses and Elijah. I wonder if Peter would have thought to this back moment somewhere after Jesus’ arrest; I wonder how the memoryContinue reading “The Dazzling Whiteness (Lent Poems 26)”

It is finished and the night looms. The darkness hangs as a cloak above, Tremulous but not quite dropping, And together, under cover of light, we take His still limp bundle of bones (all of them we can see Through the veil of his skin) and take it down To the garden where the emptyContinue reading “The Day of Preparation (Lent Poems 25)”

It is finished. Return to your strongholds, prisoners; Wait there for your deliverer. Return to your fortress; raise the ramparts; Take your positions, curled up in the corner, Drawbridge raised, not to be lowered any Time soon. Let the moat surround you; let Your friends and allies hide deep in their pit Dug far, farContinue reading “Dismissal (Lent Poems 24)”