The overture of forests, dead, remade, Whispers pianissimo through leaves. Although the burnt-out wilderness still grieves And ashen dust hangs densely in the shade, The smallest stems of green, a micro-glade, Peek out through fire-black trunks in smoky breeze, The first-fruits of our chlorophyll reprieves, The peaceful eye after the storm is paid. All thisContinue reading “Clouds and Crowns No.5”
Tag Archives: God
Clouds and Crowns No.4
And nothing pure dies when safe in truth, For truth and life flow from the same deep spring, Restoring, making new each broken thing, Our death and dying fading into youth. And if our doubting hearts required proof, The flowers promise too what time can bring: A crown of roses for a weary king AndContinue reading “Clouds and Crowns No.4”
Clouds and Crowns No.3
And You can reign, though nailed to a tree, A truth my mind cannot as yet contain, Defying my small child’s concept of “reign”, A word that conjures up the king in me: King of the hills, imagination’s sea; The waves cow-tow, the soil receives my train, My dreams subduing everywhere I deign To stretchContinue reading “Clouds and Crowns No.3”
Clouds and Crowns No.2
The promise of green pastures, quiet streams Beckons me, Your shepherd’s hand not far; And so I wander, safe wherever You are, Your sun delighting with its kindly beams, The radiance of Your bright fire; it gleams And glistens, heaven’s welcome door ajar, Sunset splitting sky, a perfect scar. And how it is that YouContinue reading “Clouds and Crowns No.2”
Walking With God – William Cowper
For the past eighteen or so months I’ve been working my way through William Cowper and John Newton’s Olney Hymnbook, setting the less well-known hymns to new tunes. The recordings I have made are not particularly high quality – I don’t have any fancy equipment to record them with. But here is my recording ofContinue reading “Walking With God – William Cowper”
Power Perfected in Weakness (After William Cowper’s “Light Shining Out of Darkness”)
Perhaps the most influential poem that William Cowper wrote was this hymn, “Light Shining Out of Darkness”, which contributed the phrase “God moves in a mysterious way” to the English language. The poem has a very simple, consistent rhythm and rhyme to it not found commonly in poetry today, but it also contains some ofContinue reading “Power Perfected in Weakness (After William Cowper’s “Light Shining Out of Darkness”)”
Quatrain (V)
And so it seems to me that I Might rest now underneath Your sky, Sunset like redeeming blood, The rainbow-aftermath of flood.
Quatrain (IV)
More generous than all my dreams could make You, You overflow when I am most dry. When my heart proves me false, You prove most true, My failure the question, Your love the reply.
Quatrain (III)
Without ground beneath feet I am stumbling, Without bearings I’m caught out of place. But to You in this vacuum and rumbling I can turn, for You shape the dark space.
Obsession (After George Herbert’s “Affliction (IV)”)
The fact that George Herbert wrote a number of poems of called “Affliction” tells us something about the nature of his life and the hardships, many of them internal, that he endured. Today’s poem is based on his fourth “Affliction” poem, a poem that resonates strongly with me despite the four hundred years that haveContinue reading “Obsession (After George Herbert’s “Affliction (IV)”)”
The Consolations of Writing 