CDs and CVs

I was born when CD
Meant nothing more
Than a Roman number
For twenty score
When a bag of chips
Was just fast food
And we'd cut and paste
With scissors and glue

I was born in an age
When colour TV
Was a brown wooden panel
Around the screen
When remote control
Was the closest chair
And Sky at night
Meant watching the stars

I was born at a time
When writing CV
Meant one hundred and five
Not a list about me
When prepacked food
Was a sandwich and bun
Wrapped up in some foil
For the afternoon run

I was born in the days
When people had time
To talk face to face
And not just on line
When life wasn't filled
With time saving devices
And a mid-winter power cut
Was never a crisis

So where did we go wrong
With all our advances
When man's great inventions
Were meant to enhance us
The answer is simple
The warning is plain
We're building a tower
Like Babel again

THE OTHER CHEEK

I gave my extra coat
I went the extra mile
I turned the other cheek
Fighting harsh words with a smile
I loved my friendly neighbour
And the enemy next door
I confessed when I was wrong
And buried hatchets by the score
I helped the aged and homeless
Gave to endless charities
I visited the lonely
And worked tirelessly for peace
I never missed a Sunday
To worship, pray and read
So none dare point the finger
At an honest soul like me
But God did. He said
'My grace it is sufficient
Through faith you will be saved
And not of works lest you should boast
You must be born again'
So now, though people see me
Still honest, kind and true
But I can see my motives
From a different point of view
For through His grace I know Him
And by my fruit He sees
That all my works are evidence
That Jesus lives in me

WELCOME

It was nice
To get a welcome
At the door
A sincere smile
That made me feel
Like I'd been there before
And wanted to come back
For more
Where the friendly handshake
Was just
A foretaste
Of spiritual worship
And enlightenment
Which emanated
From pulpit and pew
In glorious harmony
To the higher echelons
Of Heaven
It was nice
To get a welcome
At the door
At a place where
Jesus was welcome

BEYOND THE CURTAIN

Just one glimpse
Beyond the curtain
Not even into tomorrow
Or further
But an hour or two
As yet unexposed, undeveloped
Unknown, becoming known
Concealed, now revealed
MY future
Before it happens
The Master plan in glorious detail
Moments of great elation
And total despair
And everything n between
My number of days
The order of life
MY life, my death
And beyond
Just one glimpse
Beyond the curtain
That recedes at a pace
In keeping with
His sovereign plan
All of which happens
At exactly the right moment
For me to trust Him
For everything that lies
Beyond the curtain

DEO VOLENTE (God willing)

Sometimes I am less willing
Than my faith
To accept that every single decision
Which I ever made
Only directed me along the path
I was destined to take
God willing

Sometimes in my infant maturity
I fail to believe
That the bad days as well as the good
Were planned and known ahead of me
But the more I walk along the road
The further behind I see
God willing

Some day I'll truly understand
The choices He makes
Miraculously knitting me together
In a darkened place
Deo Volente
And a lot of Grace
God willing

PLAGUES

Only those
Covered by the blood
Of the scrificed Lamb
The seal of Almighty God
Overhead
Are passed over
Untouched
And their sins forgotten
Forever
Ready to depart
To a better place
Others too, remain untouched
Unmoved and unbowed
By all His promptings
And warnings
Only hardened in their response
To His seeming injustice
That plagues their lives
When letting go
Is all He wants
But not an option for anyone
Without the sacrifice of the lamb
And the Firstborn
Maybe then we'll see things
In a different light

BATTLEGROUND

I am a battleground
A never ending war zone
In a conflict beyond my control
But not my understanding
Where a defeated commander
Deposed but undeterred
In one final stand of defiance
Against his conquerer
Is prepared to settle for small
Individual victories
On a daily basis
At battlegrounds often visited
Of which I am one
And even on days
When I acknowledge my weakness
And my strongest defences are pierced
By small advances of the enemy
I am ultimately protected
By the blood of a past battle
That secured the ultimate victory
And my future in the kingdom
Of the Great General
I am still a battleground
But a work of regneration
In progress

LEAVING

Quietly down to earth
From somewhere above
Where you once reigned
Majestically

To be trampled
Discarded and forsaken
But still admired
Occasionally

Yet only for a season
When your short life is remembered
In a reminiscent sort of way
Affectionately

But the hope you gave
And the future you secured
Through your death is forgotten
Conveniently

And in the beauty of your sacrifice
Out of the darkness and loneliness
A new beginning springs forth
Joyfully

So may others see as I have seen
Or listen to my witness
And understand why it had to happen
Lovingly

Hopefully

ST STEPHEN'S GREEN

St Stephen's Green

A place of solitude
And simplicity
Where some take the first steps
To their dreams
While others
Tread the daily path from reality
At a preordained time
Or in response to
Their physical cravings
Where men hide their poverty
Behind fading suits and once smart shoes
And young mothers talk excitedly to an invisible friend
Without a hint of embarrassment


St Stephen's Green
A garden of languages
And loneliness
Where courtship rituals
Among the feathered visitors
Are mirrored
Along the fountain edges and garden seats
And love's desire is undermined by
The more pressing need
For an opportunist lunch
Where an overweight boy
Sits uncomfortably with his thoughts
And a thousand faces listen
To their own private world


St Stephen's Green
A fountain of youth
And agelessness
Where a million footsteps
Begin and end
Passing, unnoticed
In the busyness of hoping for
A moment's relaxation in paradise
Yet watching the lives of others appear
And disappear in a moment of time
Is a reminder of our greater journey
Where Paradise is the ultimate garden
Not just a temporary residence
Like St Stephen's Green

MIRROR IMAGE

When I look

I don't see what you see
Everything's different
I can only imagine
What you see
And wonder
If it's really
A true reflection
Of me
Or do you see
What I want you to
I can only imagine
It's the same for me
Looking at you
On reflection

DEATHLESSNESS

To live for ever and ever
Without the thought of dying
No more worry about son or father
Or the sound of a mother crying
Where moments are no longer confined
And pain and illness can't invade
While age no longer matters
And wills are never made
To live for ever and ever
On days when life seems brief
When the past outlives the future
And medication brings some relief
When every moment is so valuable
For extra years we now strive
But in our everlasting search we miss
The hope of eternal life

To live for ever and ever
Is a gift we don't deserve
But deathlessness is by our choice
Depending on whom we serve
In moments when we stop to think
It's good to remember why
For us to live for ever
Meant God's Son had to die

MOSES

I suppose I seemed reluctant
That the God who could have His way
In an instant
Should pick the most unsuitable of men
To lead His people out of slavery again
And defeat a tyrant

I suppose I never expected
That the God whom my mother worshipped
But Egyptians rejected
Would call me from a burning bush
And leave me with no excuse
But to become His elected

I suppose I should have known better
That the God who is our guide and friend
And our Creator
Would never accept the excuse I made
To choose spomeone else instead
As liberator

I suppose you should understand
That the God who parted the Red Sea
With His hand
Sometimes looks beyond church and steeple
To bring His message to the people
About the promised land