They also brought food for David and all who were with him, including wheat, barley, flour, roasted grain, beans, lentils, honey, curds, flocks, and cheese. For they said, “The people are no doubt hungry, tired, and thirsty there in the desert.” 2 Samuel 17:28-29 Mid-crisis, after yet another narrow escape,the fugitive king rests, and thisContinue reading “Desert Food”
Tag Archives: rest
Improvisation: Rain
In these days of lockdown (my city, Melbourne, is experiencing the toughest restrictions of anywhere in Australia so far), I have been finding myself drawing increasing inspiration from the small things that I notice in my local environment, looking ever closer and closer to the consolations of the everyday. This video poem came from aContinue reading “Improvisation: Rain”
Evening
Sabbath
This afternoon, though I’d planneda much-needed rest, many tasks overtook andsomewhere amidst assembling IKEA furniture I foundthe afternoon gone and dusk charcoaling the sky,so instead I walkedmy toddler to the compost heap and therewe shredded paper scraps to balance the mixand pulled weeds from the side garden whilemy son trialled his latest words and declaredContinue reading “Sabbath”
Being There
It lies entwined with the gull’s wing in pink seastring among polished shellflakes where the dog inspects the ocean’s rip and the children tag along. It sits beside you with the waves’ murmur as ever-renewing current speaks of voices long ago which said, Here shall you go; no further. And it hums in the morningContinue reading “Being There”
Before we save the daylight
Settle. The city is quietly occupied, the day protected – as though something must be done. Watch a screen by all means, but first gather friends, and walk to the shops to lubricate the day. Or hit the streets, if you choose – to enjoy unexpected sunshine, and the hum, like a ball hissing throughContinue reading “Before we save the daylight”
Nocturne
Give – at the bending of the knee, at the turning-down of the sheets, at the folding of the hands in sleep – give, receive and rest. Give the day: its unresolved agonies, its fragments, its drafts and all the things we’d best forget. Give, and let it sleep. Receive: theContinue reading “Nocturne”
Psalm 131: Humility and Submission
Yesterday I posted a poem based on the beautiful Psalm 131. It is one of the shortest psalms in the Bible, yet one which I have found particularly comforting at times of emotional and psychological distress. Today I am posting a recording I have made of a new musical setting of Isaac Watts’ hymn basedContinue reading “Psalm 131: Humility and Submission”
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.
The Consolations of Writing 