Category Archives: Poetry

Gold Sunday

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Continuing on from last week, Silver Sunday, we now move on to the final Advent Sunday:

Gold Sunday

From mighty Babylon of old
Through furnaces and statues gold
Endured a voice that prophesied
Great future empires’ fall and rise

And then a rock to dwarf them all
Arising from a land so small,
Its people cling to trembling hope
In more than just a horoscope.

The age is nigh, the world expects
A noble, mighty architect
Of change unique in history,
An end to Israel’s misery,

And soon That Day will come.

For more of my poetry, there are two of my collections available on Amazon:

Selected Verse - Faith and Family

Selected Verse - Heroes and Wonders

Silver Sunday

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We continue from last week with part three of this Advent series, inspired by the Bohemian folk names for the four Advent Sundays. After iron and bronze, this week is silver:

Silver Sunday

Bags of silver coins change hands
For human lives from distant lands:
Some caught in war, some caught at crime,
Some could not pay their debts in time.

With chains on their bruised feet and hands,
Worth thirty silver to a man;
Some foolishly still dare to dream
That they could one day be redeemed.

But soon That Day will come.

For more of my poetry, there are two of my collections available on Amazon:

Selected Verse - Heroes and Wonders

Selected Verse - Faith and Family

Bronze Sunday

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We continue from last week with part two of this Advent series, inspired by the Bohemian folk names for the four Advent Sundays. Last week was iron, this week is bronze:

Bronze Sunday

Bronze shields and spears arranged in ranks,
To form the fearsome Greek phalanx,
Conquered nations far and wide;
Now there’s a new source of Greek pride:

Bold theories and insightful thoughts
That they debate in marble courts.
“Whose wisdom can outshine our own
Or that of our great pantheon?”

Twixt oracles and temples grand
In Athens a small altar stands
Placed there as a reverent nod
To an as yet unknown god.

But soon That Day will come.

For more of my poetry, there are two of my collections available on Amazon:

Selected Verse - Heroes and Wonders

Selected Verse - Faith and Family

Iron Sunday

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As this is the first Sunday of Advent, I will be posting the short first part of what will (hopefully 🙂 ) be a five-part poem, each part themed according to the Czech (Bohemian) folk names for the four Sundays of Advent, Iron Sunday, Bronze Sunday, Silver Sunday and Gold Sunday, followed up by one on Christmas Day itself, which this year also falls on a Sunday (in the American/British tradition anyway, over here the evening of the 24th is the time for the Christmas feast and exchanging of presents. Since, being a British and Czech family, we celebrate both, I think I can get away with making the most of this conjunction of dates)

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.

Treasure Hunt

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I had the following little adventure with my 5-year-old son yesterday (he’s recently discovered the magic of imagination)

Treasure Hunt

After fighting pirate hordes
That swept across our lawn,
We find among their broken swords
A map that’s crudely drawn.

“We must find all the treasure
Before the sun goes down,
Or else the scary Nightmare Moon
Will take over this town!”

We set off across the road
And look under the trees,
Guided by my five-year-old
When suddenly he sees:

A blue stone that’s a diamond
In our guide’s little hand;
Golden leaves are now gold leaf
That’s strewn across the land.

Brown stones are great ingots
Of purest Spanish gold,
Black pebbles are obsidian carved
From lava flows grown cold.

Our bounty’s brought to Mummy,
Displayed with gleaming pride;
When my son grins from ear to ear
Her smile is just as wide.

Massive Discount on Selected Verse: Heroes and Wonders Paperback on Amazon Prime!

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By chance I happened to notice that someone at Amazon has decided to offer paperbacks my second poetry collection at a massive discount for Amazon Prime members, from my location appearing to be priced below the cost of the ebook version, and at the same time eligible for free delivery. I have no idea how this came about, or how long this discount will apply, but anyone with an Amazon Prime membership thinking about grabbing a copy should use this window of opportunity. Selected Verse - Heroes and Wonders

 

As soon as I find out more, I will update this post.

A Confession and a Motivation

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As promised, I would like to expand on something I glossed over in my interview on Catholic Geek Radio, but now that I look back on it, played a much larger part in my motivations as a writer than I realized. It concerns how I moved from one university to another. It is not something I am proud of – instead it is something I am grateful for, since reminding myself of it is an effective defence against pride. This post will involve some painful memories, so please bear with me. Continue reading →

My appearance on the Catholic Geek Radio podcast

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On this sombre day, I will briefly mention my appearance on the Catholic Geek Radio podcast, where we briefly discuss this sad anniversary before moving on to lighter topics, such as superversive fiction, my background as a writer and the hope and beauty I try to capture in my work. The interview was recorded three days ago and will be available to listen to at 7pm EST today. There was one subject in the interview that I glossed over, and subsequently realised was worth covering in some depth, so I will follow up with a blog post on that in the next few days.

Once it goes live, the interview will be available here:

http://www.blogtalkradio.com/webuiltthatnetwork/2016/09/11/the-catholic-geek-poetry-and-superversive-sf-with-ben-zwycky

 

Where does the wonder come from?

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wedding2It is my fifteenth wedding anniversary today, here is this year’s poem:

Where does the wonder come from?

Where does the wonder come from
That fills me as I think of you?
The privilege I have to share your life,
And know you love to share mine, too?

What can I be, what can I see
And share with you to lift your soul?
What can I learn, how can I grow,
And through your pain with love console?

What does our Lord require of us,
We two upon a path for one?
To unify our hearts and toils;
To calmly rest, with glee to run,

With overflowing joy take flight
And soar up to the healing light
That guides us through the passing night
Aflame with glory, clothed in might.

In daily troubles, trials and tears
Through precious days, weeks, months and years,
Cling to Him and thus together
Bind by an unbreaking tether.

United we can go and face
All challenges along the race
To win the great eternal prize
That He has set before our eyes.

Twenty-Eight and a Half

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For my wife’s birthday:

Twenty-Eight and a Half

Wife and mother treasured far
Above all else, for who you are;
We celebrate another stage
In your ripe and youthful age,

Whereupon we share in cake,
Perhaps food served you as you wake
(If circumstances will allow),
In any case to show you how

Much we wish you all the best
And hope you can at least find rest
In what we try to do for you
(should our plans go off askew).

Your efforts we appreciate
And when you let us stay up late
We’ll try not to antagonize
Provide you with a nice surprise

And Let you know you’re loved and valued just the way you are.