Sadness

My heart is filled with sadness but anger lingers there
How could all our fervent prayers end in such despair?
I know that we all have to die to get to better things
But why such pain and suffering until we get our wings!
Why give hope of healing if the result will not be good?
I know that it is not that God is in capricious mood!
I know that He is with us in all our misery
But that still doesn't tell me why all these things should be.
I know there's evil in the world but good should overcome!
And what's the point of praying if God only answers some?
To say the answer can be "no" and that God has his plan
Can not provide much comfort to any girl or man!
Is it predestination that some should die so young
With all the grief and sorrow to which we must give tongue?
Alright, I know it shows we care when we set out to pray
And yes, we ought to listen and not just have our say,
But what about the family who have to cope with grief?
God please be there with them and give them all relief.
Okay, I've finished ranting but still I'm left with pain,
Oh Lord I ask forgiveness let me feel your love again.
You know that I am human please forgive my need to shout
And give me understanding so I'll know what it's about!

He is Risen

We’ve had our dawn communion
Out in Chepstow Park
And the assembled people 
Were singing like the lark.
Our shouts of celebration
May have stirred a bird
But outside the park itself
Would it have been heard?
The world may not have heard us
As we celebrate
So we ought to tell them
Before it is too late!
With all the trouble in the world
We need to chase the blues.
And we know that He’s risen.
The greatest of good news!

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Judas

Do you believe the story exactly as it’s told’
Would he betray his master for silver or for gold?
If that had been his motive he would not have died
But gloating on his profit would have run away to hide!
He had seen the power of Christ since he had been called
And when Christ was crucified he had been appalled.
It is much more likely that this was his solution
Of how to beat the Romans and start a revolution.
This was his understanding of what the Christ would do
And you could bet this figured with his companions too!
All the Jewish nation had suffered from oppression
And their Christ was coming for the nation’s repossession!
We know they didn’t understand what Jesus’ words had meant
And surely Judas figured Jesus knew of his intent.
He knew that Jesus understood what he was going to do
And, with his final words to him, had endorsed it too!
“Go and do it quickly”, is what his master said
And he knew that Jesus had read inside his head.
When events unfolded, and not as he expected,
All of Jesus followers had left him unprotected.
They had all just run away and left him to his fate
And Judas was mistaken, which he found out too late!
Imagine then his horror! Jesus did not use his power,
Submitted to his captors in that ill-fated hour.
No glorious battle anthem, no victory in sight
He just saw his master die before the fall of night!
No wonder he was shattered, as anyone would be
And went and hung himself to die upon a lonely tree.
Of course the other followers poured all the blame on him
Their support for Jesus had been really very slim!
They saw his resurrection, then the Holy Spirit came
But with their guilty feelings they left Judas with the blame!
So spare a prayer for Judas, he was part of God’s great plan
And he might be no more guilty than any other man!

Was it me?

Was it me that stripped you naked and flogged you till you bled?
Was it me that forced that piercing crown of thorns upon your head?
Was it me that scoffed and jeered and spat as you just staggered by?
Was it me that had the blood lust as you were lifted high?
Was it me that placed the mocking sign above your pate?
Was it me who spoke sarcastic words that only reeked of hate?
Was it me who wept and mourned for you as your life went rolling past?
Yet it was me that you forgave as you breathed your last!

Talk

Those of you, who know me, know I talk a lot!
I like conversation and I seldom lose the plot.
Ok, I can’t remember names and sometimes mix them up
And in a recognition test I would not win the cup!
But even in my ignorance I recognise your face 
So lots of lively topics can be discussed apace!
Even with the people I see most every day
Their names are interchangeable as we talk and play.
Some of them get irritated by my endless chatter
And within their back-swing to golfers it does matter!
But I like their company and like to exchange views
And I am most interested to talk and hear their news.
It’s a bit like that with prayer I love to chat with God
And I sometimes listen too, though that may be odd!
When I do I get the prompts I really need to hear
So maybe it is better to shut up and lend an ear!
When I come to think of it that might work with my friends
So I should be quiet and try to make amends!

Temper

I have got a temper, which I struggle to control.
Ok, I don’t get violent just dark within my soul!
My words I use as weapons, which maybe cannot maim
But they can be devastating to someone just the same!
I calm down very quickly but the damage has been done
And I am all contrition that I have hurt someone!
I even hurt the ones I love with the things I say
And though I’m very sorry there is a price to pay.
They do not retaliate, which makes me feel much worse. 
I suffer in my inmost self and there’s no quick reverse!
Lord please make me calmer and dissipate my ire.
Instead just let my love become an ever-living fire.
I know that You forgive me. Please let all people see
The much more loving person that I long to be.

Tidyness

I am like a house you need to tidy all the time!
If you leave it too long there’s lots of dirt and grime.
Once a year spring-cleaning is never quite enough!
To keep the whole place spotless is really rather tough.
We must sort the items out that we have collected
There’s always much more clutter than you have expected!
I accept that doing housework is something I avoid
And wish that I could leave it to some domestic ‘droid!
Of course I have my partner to keep me to the task
But before I do it she really has to ask!
Coming back to me of course there’s such a lot of mess
All the things that I’ve done wrong I don’t have to guess
Luckily my Master gave his life for all my sin
Forgave me all my misdeeds and put them in the bin.
Luckily, He doesn’t rest but tries to keep me clean.
With all the things that I do wrong He must be very keen!
I hope I can be better and follow in His trail
And with a little help from him, in the end, I will not fail! 

Worth the Wait

I have just watched Sergio win the US Masters
After lots of tries which ended in disasters!
It was a tight contest with golf beyond belief
And when he had won you could detect relief.
This was shortly followed by a period of joy
You could tell that he was now a very happy boy!
He had waited many years to win a major prize
And with all his marvellous skills it was no surprise.
The only cause for wonder was why it took so long
He would be on the verge of it and then it would go wrong.
Now he will not bother over all the might-have-beens
He will just remember last night’s ecstatic scenes.
The Jews had waited centuries for their heavenly king
Though they had no real idea of what our Lord might bring.
Unfortunately they missed it for he did not seem great
No triumphal entry no panoply of state.
Waiting is just something we all have to do
But we can be certain that Christ will see it through.
We know he died and rose again to save us from our fate
And for his second coming it will be worth the wait!

Palm Sunday

When I think about my Saviour on his way into the town,
With all the people shouting and throwing palm leaves down,
I scarce believe that they will change, before the week can end,
And cry that the authorities should crucify their friend!
And yet I look around me at people in a crowd
They support their football team by shouting out aloud.
Their manager, they will contend, is the greatest they have had 
At least that’s what they’re shouting until results go bad!
Take a look at Arsenal over all these years
Wenger has not given them any cause for jeers!
Kept them at the top for longer than they could have hoped
Built a brand new stadium, with money tight, he coped.
They are independent not bought by foreign money
And yet the club’s supporters are no longer sweet as honey! 
People can be fickle especially in a mob
I pray that they aren’t able to push him from his job! 
My Lord has come in triumph but he’ll be crucified
But his glorious victory will not be denied.
He has died for all our sins, a noble sacrifice,
But hanging screaming on a cross would not be very nice.
Yet he died and rose again to set us sinners free.
And prepare a heavenly home for us, the likes of you and me!

Coffee

I’m sitting sipping coffee in a fine and mellow mood,
Perhaps because the weather is really rather good.
The sun is warming up the earth, the sky is bright and blue
And all the birds are singing, loudly, just for me and you.
What more could a man desire than sitting in such beauty?
Enough to make an idle man forget his every duty!
But sitting sipping coffee, I really do not care
It is pretty evident that my darling is elsewhere!
She’d be out and doing on such a lovely day
Not sitting sipping coffee in a very lazy way!

Swans

We went to Stratford yesterday just to walk around
The scene was just so beautiful with very little sound.
The ferry plying back and forth on that little chain
The cruise boats chugging downstream and then back up again.
People hiring rowing boats, which they can’t really row
With their merry laughter as on their way they go!
There is a calmness in the scene in that historic place
But what lives, within the mind, is the white swans’ grace.
They float with little effort or so it seems to me
With style and so much elegance for all the world to see!
Yes, they may be paddling hard underneath the water
But there’s just a ripple as the sun gets ever hotter.
Would that I could cope with life like swans that I have seen
Making not a sound or splash but, just like the swan, serene!

Computers

I just love computers when they’re going right
It’s the only way my efforts would ever see the light!
My writing is abysmal, A scrawl beyond belief.
So computers gave me a wonderful relief! 
I’ve always liked to play with words, even as a child
I was brought up on poetry to stop me running wild!
But I could not express it upon a written page
For nobody could read it in that bygone age.
Now I can wax lyrical and write my silly verse
Recounting my reflections and views, which can be worse!
Imagine then my horror when my laptop wouldn’t start
I was so upset I nearly pulled the thing apart!

I just hate computers whenever they go wrong
They can go right for ages stringing you along.
Then just when your backups are really out of date
They know that they’ve got you and refuse to operate!
Thanks to a good friend of mine who knew just what to do
I got the thing to work again and did a backup too!

I just love computers when they do what they are told
But I don’t understand them because I’m getting old!

The Clock

The clock is ticking on the wall.
The second hand is turning.
What is the meaning of it all?
My heart is filled with yearning.
Have I done the things I ought
And not the things I wanted?
What of the treasures I have sought
And the deeds much vaunted?
Is my life a thing of joy,
Full of worth and merit?
Though it is marred with sin’s alloy
I know that I’ll inherit!
My Saviour gave his life for me,
There is no condemnation.
There’s beauty for my eyes to see
And hope in contemplation!
The clock is ticking on the wall.
The second hand is turning.
There is a meaning to it all
For me to be discerning!

Farewell

It’s always very painful when a loved one passes on
It may have been expected but you miss them when they’re gone.
You know their trouble’s over and they’ll have no more pain
But still you realise sadly you won’t hear their voice again.
Other folk around you do not know what they should say
They will say how sad they are your loved one’s passed away.
They may even cross the road so they don’t have to utter
Words of pompous platitudes that they can only mutter.
It takes a little time before the pain will leave your mind
And you realise all your friends are only trying to be kind.
Then you think about their life, which they’ve lived to the full
And maybe how they’ve taught you every golden rule.
Their life was full of happiness of which you were a part
And they will always have a special place within your heart.
You know they would not want to think of you in tears
They’d rather that you celebrated all their golden years.
So throw away your sadness and in a little while
You will find it easy to allow yourself to smile.

Pain and Pleasure

As I'm getting on a bit I live with constant pain.
Of course I do take tablets but it always comes again!
No doubt bits are wearing out perhaps from constant use.
Playing all the sport I do is physical abuse!
I am very lucky that I still enjoy the games
And I still play with others though I forget their names!
I was born competitive and always do my best
Though I may no longer be as good as all the rest!
A bit of pain is worth it for the things that I enjoy
And have done since I learned to play as a little boy!
I am quite contented with my lot in life
And to cap it all I have my ever loving wife!
All my days are filled with joy for she will always be
My adored companion. A vital part of me.
Not a day goes past without me being glad
Of her loving presence and all the fun we've had.

 Family

I have got a family of which I’m very proud
And when I sing their praises I can be very loud!
My wife is like an angel seeing to my need
When I need inspiration she’s the one who plants a seed.
My daughters are delightful, each in their own way
The elder has opinions and will always have her say!
The younger is as tender as a daughter ought to be
And both of them I’d travel many a mile to see.
Then there is my granddaughter, together or apart,
She will always have to be the treasure in my heart.
I am so very lucky, with a family to love
And for such good fortune I thank my God above!

While the Cat’s away….

The Rector’s on his holidays so Matt can have some fun
He has been there waiting for the starting gun.
No one there to check him or see what he has done.
No one to give him burdens that seem to weigh a ton.
No one there to boss him or keep him on the run,
Or stopping him from getting the icing on the bun.
This could be the best time since his ministry begun.
He has Catherine with him so of problems there’ll be none.
Mind you, there’s the Easter Rising, if you’ll forgive the pun,
He’ll have to be there, smiling and greeting everyone,
For the Easter morn communion, long before the sun!