What Words Can Do

Today is the anniversary of the first time I contacted my wife by email (I sent it on the first of April, she received it on the second. We celebrate this by me componsing and sending her a poem last thing at night on the first, with the promise that she won’t read it until the next morning. Here is this year’s poem:

What Words Can Do

I used to think that artful words were just a waste of breath,
Get straight to the point or you’ll just bore me half to death;
But then the day came when I tried to learn the gentle dance
Of subtle hints and nuances that constitute romance.

I discovered words alone allowed me to connect
To a thoughtful, kind, warm, and engaging intellect.
Your sense of humor broke my walls, our shared pain drew me in,
Suddenly I saw the point of my old suffering:

It opened up a friendship deeper than I dared to hope,
As I tried to walk my way along the grand tightrope
Of pushing to grow closer without scaring you away,
Somehow I didn’t squander what we celebrate this day.

When Glory Broke the Enemy

When glory broke the enemy
And death itself was foiled
He emerged from that grey tomb
More than just unspoiled,

But transformed with full authority
To show His divine power,
Share with them His victory,
Renew their hope and ours,

In life eternal in that love
That satisfies so deep,
We cannot help but dance for joy
When our souls wake from sleep.

More Than the Pain of Torture

More than the pain of torture,
More than the pain of loss,
Or of his friend’s betrayal
As he hung upon the cross,

Was the pain of separation
From the love above all loves,
That He’d known His whole existence
On His throne in heaven above.

And yet when sweating blood
In apprehension of this course,
He knelt before His Father,
And said, “Not my will, but Yours.”

We’ll never fully grasp the depth
Of his self-sacrifice
To free us from the pit we dug
By paying that great price.

When Branches Paved a Holy Road

When branches paved a holy road,
The stones cried out in praise,
Proclaiming the arrival
Of the great Ancient of Days.

His power held back, his glory veiled,
And yet a glimpse bled through
Of He who shines through all that’s good
And beautiful and true.

The echoes of creation
Renewed in noble song;
Acclaiming the approaching king
They’d waited for so long.

Did they known his true nature,
His purpose, or his plan,
Or what another crowd would chant,
To the great shame of Man?

When My Two Angels Braved the Lake

When my two angels braved the lake
To laughs and shouts of glee,
Despite the bitter temperature
The morn of Christmas Eve,

It was a fun tradition
That went back many years,
For demonstrating courage
And overcoming fears.

Some braved the cold so stoically
While others gave a scream;
Few lasted half a minute
Before they had to flee

Back to the shore to dry and warm,
Share greetings of the season
When One braved a greater shock
For a far nobler reason:

Descending from His heavenly throne
To be a helpless babe,
Amidst the cold and stench and filth
And aiming for the grave,

Where He would buy us with his blood
An open path to Him,
Where we can share His glory,
And His love is everything.

An Island of Serenity

Earlier this week, in between dropping off some of my children at a club meeting, buying some groceries and going back to pick them up, I sat in a local shopping mall with nothing to do and nowhere to be. A great peace washed over me as I sat in between two market stalls and watched the people hurrying about, so I started to document the experience in verse:

An Island of Serenity

An island of serenity amidst the milling throng
All around me darts a world to which I don’t belong,
Convinced a slice of heaven can be found here on a shelf,
Or else at least a key to unlocking your true self.

Calming Christmas music wafts down the glassy walls,
Drifting over harried workers at the market stalls,
The peace that washes over me warms me to my core,
Giving me a foretaste of that Life that lies in store

When my time down here is done and Your face I shall see,
And you give me the great prize that you won at Calvary.
Your love is so unmerited, so shockingly divine,
It seems so insufficient to just give you all that’s mine;

Give me an opportunity to be a blessing here,
A broken soul with eyes to see and a listening ear,
That a fellow traveller might find the hope you give,
Find rest from all his mortal woes and truly start to live.

Iron Sunday/Železná Neděle

As is now tradition, I am posting my advent series on the Sundays of Advent. Below is the English version, followed by the Czech translation

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Iron Sunday

Nations crushed by iron wheels,
With gladii and oblong shields,
As far as human eyes can see
Reigns Caesar unopposed, supreme.

He sees himself as a great god
To rule all with an iron rod.
“My empire has been built to last
My might will never be surpassed.”

But soon That Day will come.

Železná neděle

Železná kola národy drtí,
oválné štíty a čepele smrti.
Kam oko člověka dohlédne, vidí,
Císař je bezmezný vládce všech lidí.

Jist si je nade vše svou božskou rolí,
železnou vládne všem pěstí a holí.
“Pevně jsem zbudoval říši svou věčnou,
vládnu jí mocí nekonečnou.”

Však brzy již vzejde ten den.

Marriage Vow

This song is adapted from an upcoming collaborative project with Anthony Marchetta, and also commemorated my twenty-first wedding anniversary last week. (a new version of the video with improved audio has now been uploaded

Options for downloading or listening via major online stores and streaming services can be found here as soon as they become available:

https://song.link/MarriageVow

Lyrics, Melody, arrangement, vocals, mixing and video editing by Ben Zwycky.

Czech subtitles are also available, translated by Petr Mares.


Marriage Vow

When two souls are joined as one,
The wise are moved to tears,
For they foresee the blessings
That will flow down through the years.

The bonds of love we treasure
And honour all our lives
Repay us without measure;
Through love our souls revive.

This is my marriage vow
That I’m declaring now,
Before the people here,
As they applaud and cheer:

I promise faithfulness,
And utter openness,
To heal our brokenness
With playful tenderness;

I’ll always stay with you,
Faithfully pray with you,
Whatever trials may come,
We’ll work to overcome.

You are my joy,
You are my peace,
In the shelter of your heart I find release.

We’ll raise our children
To love the Lord,
To know His Word and stand up to the world.

When we get tired
As we grow old,
Your love will still mean more to me than gold.

When two souls are joined as one,
The wise are moved to tears,
For they foresee the blessings
That will flow down through the years.


Manželský slib

Když se dvě duše spojí v jednu,
moudrým vstoupí slzy do očí.
Vidí, že zde pramení požehnání,
Pro řadu nadcházejících let.

Když je nám pouto lásky vzácné
A ctíme ho celý svůj život,
Naše odměna je nezměrná.
Láska dá život naší duši.

Toto je manželský slib,
Jímž se zde dnes zavazuji,
Před všemi těmi lidmi,
Co nám tu tleskají a radují se.

Chci slíbit věrnost
A úplnou otevřenost,
Jež zahojí naše rány
Hravou něžností.

Zůstanu vždy při tobě,
Budu se s tebou věrně modlit,
Ať nás potká jakákoli zkouška,
Společně v ní obstojíme.

Jsi mou radostí,
Jsi mým pokojem,
Ve skrytu tvého srdce se cítím volný.

Společně vychováme děti
v lásce k našemu Pánu,
aby znaly jeho Slovo a dokázaly čelit světu.

A až budeme jednou unavení,
Až přijde stáří,
I pak pro mě bude tvoje láska cennější nad zlato.

Když se dvě duše spojí v jednu,
moudrým vstoupí slzy do očí.
Vidí, že zde pramení požehnání,
Pro řadu nadcházejících let.

When Mummy Hears This Little Song…

Today is my wife’s birthday. I wrote a song with a simple melody for it so that our two youngest could sing it together with me for her.

When Mummy hears this little song, she might begin to cry;
It tells her how we love her and lots of reasons why:

Cuddles before breakfast are the best start to a day;
And as far as we can see, it’ll always be that way.

So many things you cook for us with skill and lots of love,
Experimental recipes we’re so glad you thought of;

Creative crafts and projects that help us to create
Many clever, pretty things that we can imitate;

Fun businesses and startups that bless so many hearts:
Bouncy castles, candy floss, embroidered works of art;

Plays on words and running jokes that add that extra spice,
All in all, our precious Mum, life with you is so nice.

A kiss goodnight that sends us off to all the sweetest dreams;
Your love can work such magic that’s limitless, it seems;

You remember lots of things that we need every day,
So remember, we love you in lots of different ways.

Light Unto Another World – An Isekai Adventure by Yakov Merkin

For those of you who haven’t heard about it, my old client and friend Yakov Merkin has been very busy over the past couple of years, and is running a successful fundraiser for the continuation of his Light Unto Another World series, whose promotional video includes some high-quality animation. I haven’t been involved at all in this work of his, but knowing him it’s a good bet to be entertaining. Click on the image below to take a look and see whether this is something you’d be interested in backing