Qualified by grace to share in the light And the kingdom which shines like His chrysolite face, I enter the throne-room, a beggar, no right, While the one spotless lamb hangs in my bleeding place. Unsettled by striving, cast out of the race (Failing to run and nose-diving my flight), I hold the gold laurel,Continue reading “Colossians 1”
Category Archives: Poetry
The Bright-Shining Lord (After Ann Griffiths’ “I Saw Him Standing”)
I first discovered the amazingly visceral and love-saturated poetry of Ann Griffiths through my friend Erin who posted a couple of Rowan Williams’ translations on her blog a while back. The one that arrested me in particular was “I Saw Him Standing”, which you can read on Erin’s blog here. I’ve chosen it as anContinue reading “The Bright-Shining Lord (After Ann Griffiths’ “I Saw Him Standing”)”
12 Poets #3: Ann Griffiths
Well, a new month has begun and this means it’s time to move onto a new poet, this time eighteenth-century Welsh poet Ann Griffiths. Her work was originally written in Welsh but there have been a number of beautiful translations, including those done by former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams, so I’m looking forward toContinue reading “12 Poets #3: Ann Griffiths”
The hinge that held the beeswax in the mind;
As demonstrated by my sonnet from earlier in the week about minds exploding, I am currently taking a subject in my Masters course that is much more philosophical than anything I have done since undergraduate study. Today’s poem has been inspired by my reading of Wittgenstein and Descartes. It is perhaps more philosophical than myContinue reading “The hinge that held the beeswax in the mind;”
William Cowper – The Waiting Soul
To finish off my month of looking at William Cowper, here is an essay that I have written on his life and work – an attempt to draw together the threads of life that was simultaneously dark and beautiful. I hope you find it a helpful read. William Cowper – The Waiting Soul
Sonnet for Nat
Today I had a day of study, working on an assignment for my Masters degree that is due in two and a half weeks. My brain began the day as slop, and by the end was sloppier still, not helped by the fact that most of the reading involved trying to understand Ludwig Wittgenstein (aContinue reading “Sonnet for Nat”
A Fable (After William Cowper’s “The Poet, the Oyster and the Sensitive Plant”)
Although best known for his more serious work, William Cowper was also a master of comic verse. His most famous comic poem was the hilarious tale, based on a true story, of John Gilpin – well worth a read if you don’t know it already. However, he wrote a number of very clever minor poemsContinue reading “A Fable (After William Cowper’s “The Poet, the Oyster and the Sensitive Plant”)”
Solitude and Grace (After William Cowper’s “The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk”)
One of William Cowper’s more famous poems, “The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk” takes on the perspective of the real-life inspiration for Robinson Crusoe, a buccaneer cast away on an island in the South Pacific for four years. Though much less famous than Defoe’s novel, Cowper’s poem brought English the saying, “The monarch of all I survey”.Continue reading “Solitude and Grace (After William Cowper’s “The Solitude of Alexander Selkirk”)”
Buried Above Ground (After William Cowper’s “Sapphics”)
I suspect that one of the darkest poems in the English language is William Cowper’s “Lines Written During a Period of Insanity”, or, as it is sometimes more tactfully called, “Sapphics”. Written after his first suicide attempt, the poem deals with the idea of eternal condemnation which was one of his greatest fears. In theContinue reading “Buried Above Ground (After William Cowper’s “Sapphics”)”
Clouds and Crowns No.7
No longer sure that clouds say what is true, I look upon the crown of golden days And see instead a stretching, open haze, A space which does not shift for signs of You. Eternity confuses me; I view The openness of time with halting gaze, A rupturing of boundaries, blinding daze, The fear ofContinue reading “Clouds and Crowns No.7”
The Consolations of Writing 