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.
Blinkered
Far below the crashing waves
Of what things seem to be,
Are powerful currents that will change
The course of history.
Far above the petty schemes
Down on this squalid earth,
Is a realm where all can see
Which acts have lasting worth.
So much more is happening
Than we can ever grasp;
How much broader will our vision be
When we near our final gasp?
What lessons will the Teacher grant
Before our weak hearts fail?
What glimpses can we share with Man
Of what’s beyond the veil?
What part of heaven can we bring
To life in our own homes?
What connects us to our kin
Besides our chromosomes?
Who will we turn to as our guide
Through turbulence and doubt?
In which good soul can we confide
And know they won’t walk out?
How can we be a solid friend
To those who need our care?
Be faithful with the gifts He sends
And keep them in your prayers.
When the universe was filled with light and time itself began
The Lord of All already had in mind his wondrous plan,
Knowing we would fail Him and wreck the world with sin,
He went ahead and made a way to welcome us back in,
Through His painful sacrifice to take what we deserve,
And lead us by example to be humble and to serve,
To live a life that’s worthy of the light he calls us to,
That he will fill with strength enough to always get us through
The trials, tears, and obstacles the world will send our way,
To struggle on with hope that guides us when we fall and stray,
Knowing there are times when we must simply cling and pray
To His faithful promise that will come with break of day.
He knows our past, our future, and with His eternal eyes
Still sees us as worth the effort, to Him we’re still a prize
That He treasures more than all the heartache and the pain
We cause Him with the bitterness, spite and pure disdain
We show Him in our daily lives and petty selfish goals,
Chasing after vanities, forsaking our true roles,
Choosing fleeting pleasures instead of heaven’s treasures;
Despite all this, eternal bliss still calls upon our souls.
So turn your face and aim your heart towards the highest good,
Tread the narrow steps upon which nobler feet have stood;
Turn away from greed, help those around in need,
Then you’ll give the world a taste of heaven’s brotherhood.
We’re called to great adventure, yet told to count the cost,
Weighing what we hope to gain against what will be lost.
Miracles are possible, and yet they’re not the rule,
We still need to use our strengths at home, at work, at school.
We’re given all great freedom, responsibility,
And tools to help us find our way with versatility,
But much more than demonstrate our own utility,
We’re called to grow our character into eternity.
Power in an untrained hand leaves chaos in its wake,
So now is when we must be schooled in which path we should take.
In little things we make our choices and our lessons learn,
And hone our meagre competence to good from bad discern,
So that when the task at hand entails much larger stakes
We’ll know if we should charge ahead or firmly press the brakes.
When finally we face eternal choices to be made,
We’re armed with both a holy kiss beside a holy blade.
So be thankful for the trials and troubles sent your way,
Today’s investment will more than a hundredfold repay,
As long as you approach each burden with a grateful heart
And turn your soul into a sculpted, treasured work of art.
Each night I lose all that I have,
Each day it is returned,
Preserved with care just as it was;
Not mangled, scarred or burned. Continue reading
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:
Continue reading
Far above the haggard woe
Of life lived purely here below
That seeks to merely join the flow
Ignorant of heaven’s glow;
Unbounded joys and passions strong,
Glorious hopes for which we long
We ally with a holy throng
To put right what has gone so wrong
We walk a tightrope every day,
We treasures housed in pots of clay,
To keep desires most foul at bay
By following the narrow way.
We face our doubts, confront our fears,
Hear news unpleasant to our ears;
Times will come to shed great tears
In these dramatic holy years.
To those we hurt we make amends
Although truth oftentimes offends.
When evil’s dark deception ends
We’ll celebrate with our true friends.
Aflame with glory, clothed in white
Each heart will lift at the great sight
Of that vast city, shining bright
Filled with holy healing light.
Life in abundance evermore
We can’t imagine what’s in store
For those who worship and adore;
Come join us, always room for more.
Let’s begin with a little parable. A man wishes to build a support frame in his garden to hang a swing for his children on, but finds that he needs to drill holes in the beams so they can be bolted together.
He is on good terms with his neighbour, so he walks over to the fence between their two gardens.
“Hey Frank!”
“Hey, Bill. What is it?”
“Could I borrow a drill?”
“I don’t have one, but I can borrow one from Jim next door.”
Frank walks across his garden to the fence on the other side and calls across: “Hey Jim!”
“Hey, Frank. What can I do for you?”
“Could I borrow a drill?”
“Hang on a sec, I’ll go and borrow one from Greg next door.”
Jim asks to borrow from Greg, who asks to borrow from Mark, who asks to borrow from Neil… You get the idea.
The Zwyckyverse 