Tag Archives: Poetry

Happy Rhonda Day

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Today the faceless machine masters that run facebook informed me that the first person to become a fan of my writing without knowing me personally has her birthday today. I thought I could do a little more than my usual facebook birthday wish, but then I got a little carried away, so for that I apologize, Rhonda.

Happy Rhonda Day

With a name like Rhonda, you really have to wonder:
If a grandma, tall and proud, can dare to mention right out loud
How much she loves her country, kin, no matter what their shade of skin;
How much more the young and strong (showing that they do belong

To that great spirit, good and free, loving independently)
Can rebuild a nation’s hopes, free it from the snaring ropes
Of soothing lies and crony theft, philosophy that’s so bereft
Of all that’s good and healthy for a soul that stands alone before

The great decisions that life brings: mere pleasure or far higher things?
Integrity or fleeting fame? Noble fight or crooked game?
Public scorn for choosing life? Faithful spouse or trophy wife?
So now I bring a birthday wish, for cake and other tasty dish,

But most of all from Him above, source of all life, joy and love,
And faithfulness and unity, wisdom and community,
Health and strength and family, the best in all humanity;
Blessings like an April rain, that overflow your cup again,

This and every other day, in this and every other way,
That all will know that you are His, so full of life and buzz and fizz,
And all will want to know Him too, follow His trail high and true,
Until such time as we all see Him face to face eternally.

Door

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What does this small door open to?
Where does this entrance lead?
To a secret staircase,
Or a mighty noble steed?

Perhaps an endless field of stars,
Or alien terrain;
Great waves of mighty vehicles
To charge across the plain;

An honour guard of shining knights
Or swarms of countless foes;
A dark trench-coated private eye
To tell you what he knows;

The tomb of a great warrior,
His body lain in state;
A dark priest’s inner chamber
With its altar of pure hate;

A fleet of anchored warships,
All ready to depart;
The final set of traps that guard
The holy mountain’s heart;

A glistening laboratory
Of wonders to behold;
Mighty curving walls of ice
That gleam with burning cold;

A superhero costume
To unleash your inner strength;
Your wise and wizened mentor,
Who desires to talk at length;

A legendary training room
Where you can hone your skill;
A cold white room where your beloved
Lies so deathly ill;

A briefing room where you find out
How you can save the day;
An awesome craft to take you to
A place so far away;

Millions of universes
Linked to this one point;
A crowd of surly faces,
A disreputable joint;

A cupboard full of power tools
We’ll use for our escape;
Our most valued captive
Who can change his very shape;

Shifting clouds and atmosphere
Above a barren land;
The fabled artifact that we
Defend with our last stand;

A world that’s full of magic,
Where souls are forged and grown;
The frightening power so many
Have been trying to disown;

A thousand atmospheres of pressure
Waiting to rush in;
A poor neglected victim
Who’s now so weak and thin;

The king’s forbidden siren
And her enticing web;
The fragile source of life that’s reached
It’s very lowest ebb;

A host of those that stalk the night,
Who we must now destroy;
A team of special forces
Preparing to deploy;

The secret project our elites
Have hidden all these years;
The documents that will confirm
Our deepest gnawing fears;

The unsuspecting target
Of a dark assassin’s blade;
A refuge from the desert heat,
Providing welcome shade;

A passage to another time
When life was simpler, yet
Dirtier, more difficult,
And often under threat;

Rolling hills and meadows
On which to play and roam;
A vault of glistening treasure,
Or better yet, a home?

When Seventy Has Called Upon

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I am currently in England at my parents’ house, where on Friday we flew in to surprise my mum for her 70th birthday, with further surprises including a massive party in a beautiful walled garden with more than 60 guests. I gave my mum a copy of my poetry collection, together with some Czech crystal imitation flowers that my boys bought for her. My dad privately joked to me that he should have hired me to write a poem for the main event. These sorts of jokes are dangerous, because it got me thinking and I didn’t sleep well, with lines occurring to me in between the bouts of sleep. For the first time in my life, I gave in to the muse completely and got up in the middle of the night, sneaking into the lounge to scribble down those lines and add to them, then filled out the rest and polished it in the morning.

This is the result, which I recited as the finale of the event, after at least twenty people had stood up to talk about the wonderful ways in which my mum had helped them and been there for them in their hour of need. It went down very well, lots of people asked for a copy of the poem and a number told me they were going to buy a copy of Selected Verse: Friends and Family later. I hope you all like it just as much.

When Seventy Has Called Upon

When seventy has called upon us to commemorate,
Lie in wait with piled-high plate, surprise and celebrate
A life that’s given so much more than it can ever know;
So many wounds she’s helped to heal, so many lives to grow.

When seventy has called upon our minds to be revised,
We see so many of life’s treasures to be grasped and prized;
So many moments of pure fun, so many lessons learned,
And many talks and punishments that we so sorely earned.

When seventy has called upon our bones to be denied,
Will we still have such energy when we get in our stride?
So many projects worked on, gardens dug and sown,
And so much bounty harvested when all those plants have grown.

When seventy has called upon our eyes to be admired,
We see so much to emulate, so much to be desired;
So many lonely stomachs filled and broken hearts made whole
Through simple acts of kindness from this ever-loving soul.

When seventy has called upon our souls to be inspired,
How will our eyes be opened, our imaginations fired?
We’ll see the needs around us that we ourselves can meet,
Sadness we can turn to joy when broken souls we treat.

When heaven’s glee has called upon our souls to be revived,
Will we have won so many over to the angel’s side?
Will our wakes abound with those so full of gratitude
For a life so generous with such great attitude?
Will the Good Shepherd welcome us and shout aloud, “Well done!”
As heartily as he will do for my amazing mum?

Selected Verse: Faith and Family Paperback Price Reductions!

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Selected Verse: Faith and Family gets the red carpet treatment

Selected Verse: Faith and Family gets the red carpet treatment

I recently received a shipment of paperback versions of Selected Verse: Faith and Family, so can make those available to people in the Czech Republic for 125 crowns plus postage (where applicable), which is much less than the 6 dollars plus postage for ordering from the createspace estore or US amazon.

For those of you in the UK, I have managed to reduce the price of the paperback on UK amazon to only £2.99, and eligible for super saver delivery (free shipping when forming part of an order over £10)

The price in the other european amazon territories is €3.99, and also eligible for free delivery when part of an order that exceeds the required threshold.

I was unable to reduce the US amazon price, however I was able to introduce a discount code for the createspace estore, so that by placing the book in your cart and then quoting the discount code:

36AUPWCS

You get a dollar discount, lowering the unit price to only $4.99.

Restraint

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The most innocent of all of us was ruthlessly betrayed
Publicly humiliated, tortured, torn and flayed
Forced up a hill to be upon it gruesomely displayed,
Yet most distressing was the message that this act conveyed.

It wasn’t because he was weak that this could all occur,
In fact he with this horrifying treatment did concur;
He had a throng of angels at his very back and call,
Yet told them to stand down and let him undergo it all.

Even when abandoned by his closest friends and kin,
Even when guards beat and mocked him with malicious grins,
Even when the shards of bone dug deep well past his skin,
Even when they laid him down and drove the nails in,

Even when exposed for hours in the burning sun,
Even when it looked as if his work had been undone,
Even when the powerful sneered and hurled insults his way,
Even when his loving Father had to look away,

He accepted every injury, permitted every slight,
Submitted to each sinful man’s full rage against the light.
Not once did he protest or use his ample lordly might,
Since this was how he paid the price so things could be put right.

Selected Verse – Faith and Family ebook Now on Sale for only 99 cents!

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Selectedverse-ffcoverv17I am pleased to announce that my first poetry collection, consisting of 52 poems from the Zwyckyverse blog, is now available as a kindle ebook for the special introductory price of only 99 cents (depending on your territory) until next Saturday, the 4th of April:

UK territory

German Territory

A paperback version is also in the works, if you prefer something more tangible.

The amazon ‘look inside’ feature is not available for this book, so you’ll just have to take my word for it, but at that low price, what have you got to lose?

The Way of Wisdom

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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.

Waterfall

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Tumbling sunlit turbulence shedding rainbows in its wake,

Inviting travellers to stop a while and take a break.

Its soothing roar creates a cloud of sweet nutritious mist,

Soaking vibrant greenery as if all freshly kissed.

 

Luscious churning, dancing foam invites you to dive in,

Massage yourself with bubbles and invigorate your skin.

Fresh aerated water in which the salmon thrive,

A dip into the cooling depths will make you feel alive.

 

The crystal clear pure water looks heavenly to drink,

The kind that really clears your head and frees your mind to think.

Put me beside a waterfall, I’m at peace all day;

I hope the River of pure Life has some along the way.

The Greatest Joy

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We’re slandered and insulted,

Betrayed and ridiculed

Potrayed as evil, backward

And so effortlessly fooled.

 

Relentless in their mockery,

Comfortable with lies,

They never tire of poking fun

At those they so despise.

 

They laugh at our great suffering

And flaunt their stolen wealth

Secured by crony networks

And in the best of health.

 

And yet we have a hope that their blind eyes can never see,

And know a joy so deep it runs into eternity.

We know the Source of all, who is above all time and space,

Whose glories far outweigh all trials that we could ever face.

 

His peace is overwhelming, his mercy covers all;

His grace is still transforming all victims of the Fall.

Our future is so radiant with love and joy and light,

So how could we fear mortal men in all their puny might?

 

We won’t lash out in anger, we’ll rest and sleep in peace,

Then in the morning work to make His loving rule increase.

So pause now and consider, who you’ll serve and trust —

The Lord of all creation, or men drunk with powerlust?

Beauty’s Message

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To what does purest beauty bear witness in its prime?

What message does it send to us that transcends space and time?

That we are not the pinnacle of all there is to be;

There are higher things than us, a land beyond the sea;

 

That greater things await us than the universe contains,

Sights and joys that will outmeasure all our trials and pains;

Deeper truths and loves than we could dare to dream,

Resplendent life abundant by a holy healing stream.

 

All flowing from the source of all, who we’ll see face to face

Where holiness is merged with love as justice is with grace.

There is our true purpose, there is our true home,

That is why down here on earth our hearts will always roam.