My apologies for the delay, the summer heat has caused an eye irritation that means I cannot look at text on a screen for long without a lot of discomfort, so we’ll see how soon before I can write anything else.

In the meantime, this is what got me started as a poet, and made me realise I might have some talent for poetry, much to my surprise. The situation that brought this experiment about is not a happy one.

For the first year of my marriage, we lived in a rented flat, and our landlord was a young man in his late twenties, living with his girlfriend on the floor above us. He was killed in a car crash about halfway through our tenancy, and we of course attended his funeral. It was the most depressing event I have ever attended, utter despair written into the faces of everyone in his family at such a promising life cut so tragically short, and one of the songs played over his open grave was ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon/Yoko Ono.

I was probably the only native English speaker at the funeral, so I’d like to think that whoever chose that song didn’t understand it, only knowing that he had liked it. I remember thinking at the time that it was a terrible song for a funeral, since its message is one of forsaking all hope for the next life in exchange for some presumed happiness in this one.

It is a beautiful haunting melody, so I set about writing some alternative lyrics that would be close to the original wording while transforming its message into one of genuine hope. Here is the result:

Imagine God

(alternative words to ‘Imagine’ by John Lennon/Yoko Ono)

Imagine God in heaven,
It’s easy if you try.
And we can go there with him,
Way up above the sky.

Imagine all the people
Livin’ for his name:

You might say I’m a dreamer,
But I’ve met the only Son.
I hope one day you can join us
And the world can live as one.

Imagine there’s a country
That’s built on holy ground
God is there in glory;
Love and peace abound.

Imagine all the people
Livin’ in harmony:

You might say I’m a dreamer,
But I’ve met the only Son.
I hope one day you can join us
In the world that is to come.

There are no tears or pain there,
There isn’t any sea.
Lit by God’s own glory
Healing from every tree.

Imagine all the people
Livin’ eternally:

You might say I’m a dreamer,
But I’ve met the risen Son.
I hope one day you can join us
In the world that is to come.

Imagine full forgiveness;
Imagine you’re set free.
No need to fear or worry
He died for you and me.

Imagine all the people
Gettin’ all this for free:

You might say we’re all dreamers,
But we’ve met the risen Son.
I hope one day you can join us
And the world can live as one.

Imagine life with God now,
You couldn’t if you tried.
It’s filled with love and power
To fight the fight on high.

Imagine all the people
Livin’ a whole new way:

You might say we’re all dreamers,
But we’ve met the risen Son.
I hope one day you can join us
And the world can live as one.