To conclude my month of working with the poetry of Ann Griffiths, here is an essay reflecting on her writing. I am wary of adding my ill-informed contribution to the little available about her online, but I hope that it might still open her work up to those who are interested; she truly is worthContinue reading “Ann Griffiths: The Beloved on the Sacred Mountain”
Tag Archives: God
In His field, amidst the flowers (After Ann Griffiths’ “His left hand, in heat of noonday”)
This is, sadly, my last poem working with the lovely eighteenth-century Welsh poet Ann Griffiths. This one is based on the beautifully simple “His left hand, in heat of noonday”, translated here by H.A. Hodges, who has translated a number of Griffiths’ poems and hymns into English. In my own poem I have worked withContinue reading “In His field, amidst the flowers (After Ann Griffiths’ “His left hand, in heat of noonday”)”
Psalm 130: Butterfly Cinquain
Waiting Like the watchmen Expectant for the dawn As yet invisible but soon Rising On wings Of resurrection glory now Lifting out of the depths The waiting ones With joy
A Friday Benediction
Blessed is the one who, weak in self, then turns to God; blessed the one whose righteousness is dry and dead, and turns to God; blessed the one whose mouth is parched, whose strength is sapped, whose hope is dead; blessed the one who turns to God and finds in Him their all.
It’s true:
God’s always watching in the Quad. Reality is bursting at the seams And all our earthly dreams may look quite odd To one who sees through our most concrete schemes. The fixed unchangingness of human things Is like a dream and fades like vapour as We rise too eagerly on knowing wings. Yet all ourContinue reading “It’s true:”
Søren, the pure of heart must will one thing
And we too must be pure in heart to see Our God, before whom we are all in need; And if we double-minded ones all cling To two things at the same time – everything The world declares in lying unity, And that which, in our hearts, we long to be (The loving one, theContinue reading “Søren, the pure of heart must will one thing”
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
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”
Clouds and Crowns No.6
And I am caught by wonders of new birth, Not knowing yet how quickly all things die, Assuming as I run that I can fly, That life springs always out in vibrant mirth. Still all my dreams are equal in their worth; The clouds collect expectant in the sky, With promises and oceans to supply,Continue reading “Clouds and Crowns No.6”
The Consolations of Writing 