Christmas Day: Let all the earth rejoice

You will go out in joy and be led forth in peace;the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,and all the trees of the field will clap their hands. Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper, and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.This will be for the Lord’s renown, for anContinue reading “Christmas Day: Let all the earth rejoice”

20 Contemplations #10: Joy

Delight the Spirit feels in constant burst: Delight in Three, delight in all that’s good. And as the Son descends, is born, is God, Delight the Spirit feels at last, at first. Joy of Spirit fractures Earth’s rehearsed Ways of being happy. Earth gives a nod To God, then walks the path that Adam trod.Continue reading “20 Contemplations #10: Joy”

No Waste

Flights delay; schedules must be rearranged. Pause in the park; there is nothing else nearby; though sickness and tiredness lag our legs and this message must be read, that query returned. All the dead time of the week, all these fragmented moments – purpose evades when we have no control. Yet moments ripple when weContinue reading “No Waste”

August

I gather moments like raindrops,          like snowdrops: these microscopic buds of spring          tricked by sun      to come out, one     by one;   I see how hesitant can be               can be      the grandest glimpse of things                and sing. I catch the way your moments dance          from distance – yetContinue reading “August”

Lent: The Wait, the Weight 2

How long? How long? I drag my voice. I cling, I waiver, I thirst, I desire – My spirit shall rejoice. In silence, in hum of background noise, I stretch my neck from familiar mire – How long? How long? I unravel voice. The wait, the weight of hidden joys, When all my sky cloudsContinue reading “Lent: The Wait, the Weight 2”

Lent: Man of Sorrows 3

Obedience is a crown of thorns. The earth’s the Lord’s; He does as He pleases, and it pleases Him to wear these thorns. Joy set before Him, He endures; joy not instantaneous, I yield. Obedience is a crown of thorns, and I despise this crown. Go into the wilderness; see all earth’s kingdoms laid atContinue reading “Lent: Man of Sorrows 3”

Learning Bach

Moments of success are rare: arpeggio-dances, impossible harmonies, the sound as simple as the wind yet execution like a fear – fingers always forgetting how, only ever stumbling on success. Evasive moments of perfect beauty capture souls yet pass with sudden fumbles and flustering confusion when the movement of the hands cannot so perfectly attuneContinue reading “Learning Bach”

With reverent fear

In this you greatly rejoice, though for now Your life flits by, empty at times, sometimes glad. And in these days, though you furrow your brow, The breeze on your face can still lift up the sad, And music is sweet, and the grace that is seen Falls likewise on righteous, unrighteous, Both blesses theContinue reading “With reverent fear”

Even So, Even So (After Denise Levertov’s “Suspended”)

When I first read Denise Levertov’s “Suspended”, it amazed me with the perfect way it blended the starkness of life with the delicate beauty of grace. You can read her poem here, in a wonderful post from CPX of their favourite religious poems, and here is my own response to Levertov. Even So, Even SoContinue reading “Even So, Even So (After Denise Levertov’s “Suspended”)”