Bins at the curb, I pausein a night of deep quietand catchthe thought that no-one else is here.Sleepy suburban street rarely parties;nights are seldom wild around here.Yet silence catches with surprise:no-one walking home from shops,no night-time joggers,no cars coming home.No feet sharing this curb with mine.And this weekly domestic act becomesa moment of strange resistance,aContinue reading “After Curfew”
Tag Archives: COVID-19
Anno Domini: For the year 2020
Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation… 2 Corinthians 6:2 We did not choose you, would not repeat you.Grief has built upon grief: ash and smoke first,Then this, a time we can only call”Unprecedented”. And how it goes on,How quickly “normal” becomes a wordStripped of all meaning. How quicklyContinue reading “Anno Domini: For the year 2020”
God in all this: For St Ignatius of Loyola
“Our one desire and choice should be what is more conducive to the end for which we are created.”St Ignatius of Loyola, The Spiritual Exercises Even this, Ignatius?When all are in retreat in their homes,when consoling and desolating spiritsvy for the attention of every moment,when truth is in short supplyand what truth we have isContinue reading “God in all this: For St Ignatius of Loyola”
As yet untitled
As the changing but constant expectationsof a year that no-one chose keep knockingand the day of the Lord lingers and tarries from my watch-post,I longto take this one quietly, on the bench,with Saul and the others who couldn’t run the race.No shame in being worn out whenthe swift themselves are flaggingand the flagsare all atContinue reading “As yet untitled”
Till We Have Our Faces Back
First you will learn about smiles,how much you smile,what’s contained in a smile,what’s implied in the different degrees of smile:in a curl of the lip at a funny thought,in the mouth’s outstretched cornersto greet the close acquaintance, in the sardonic phrase,the empathic moment.All these things you will learnwhen they cannot be seen.And eyes. You willContinue reading “Till We Have Our Faces Back”
Love
Yes, it takes our freedomsbecause sometimes love does that:for neighbour, for stranger,for one who walks the same streets,walks by your desk,shops where you shop,shares the same air.Sometimes love lays downrights – freedom of movement,freedom of assembly,freedom to smile and have others see -because sometimes love judgesthe more needful thing,the truer way to be free.
Tidings
Listen: the almond has something white to announce…(Chris Wallace-Crabbe)Tiny white heralds like angels burstfrom coronawinter barren branch,whispering, echoing, promising.Listen:The time is slow but gives glimpses.The promise is faintbut continual.The season’s sure that waits in the whispers.Truer than winter, truer than spring:the eternal soon.
Frontline (For the pandemic teachers)
Check temperature before you leave;Second guess that winter sniffle.Hand-sanitiser with your markers,Enter the ever-shifting classroom space.Greet the students in masks.Watch attendance, but don’t be afraid.Be calm. Reassure. You may mention the warBut know how to read the faces before you.Keep life normalWhen nothing is normal.Plan.(Nothing will go to plan.)Admit when you are not okayBut faceContinue reading “Frontline (For the pandemic teachers)”
Quarantine Morning
What the day brings is anyone’s guess:Students in masks, temperature checks at the front gate,But what else? Prognoses and rules change by the minute;What yesterday was harmless today may destroy.Brave new day that has such features in it.And so, the day lying openLike a box, like a question,I rejoice to see vermilion horizonThat smiles onContinue reading “Quarantine Morning”
And who is my neighbour? Part 3
Being a neighbour is fraught at any time, but in a time when suburbs, states and families are being isolated from one another, it is even harder. As an Australian, being part of an island nation has much impact on how we view our own place in the world, and in this time of remindingContinue reading “And who is my neighbour? Part 3”
The Consolations of Writing 