I sit beneath her, with my back pressed firm against her corrugated bark. I close my eyes. Breathe deeply. Let her calm determined presence hold me still. A light gust blows across her boughs, releasing green-gold leaves to seek their freedom in the fickle zephyr and as they fall I wonder if she grieves, knowing she could not hold them forever? Her life, so deeply rooted in this place, Whispers of worlds I cannot comprehend and, as I step away from her embrace, I bid farewell to Other. Stranger. Friend. This world is all I’ve known, is all I know. Yet, for all that, it is not All, I know.
I wrote this in response to a suggestion on Facebook. It took a dark turn but I’m quite pleased that I kept the rhyme going!
She sat there on the tattered couch, a somewhat jaded figure, nursing an emotional numb spot around her parents’ fall. Her mum got struck by lightning and some son-of-a-gun chopped down her dad so now there’s only one lot of the family left. In the sun’s hot rays she felt herself become what she’d tried so hard to hide from. Not any longer joined but, like a plum dropped from its tree, an orphaned kumquat.
Snowdrops, which usually appear towards the end of January, have long been associated with Candlemas. Their lantern flowers are a symbol of the light of Christ shining in the darkness of the world.
When the days drag on and the nights hang heavy When the weight of the world is already a burden we struggle to bear When we’re painfully aware of the barriers between us, When six feet feels like light years And we wish that our loved ones were right here In the darkness the flame flickers on
When the tears fall so freely at nothing at all And a day can be made by a call from a friend When we spend our time locked in, locked down, locked apart And our hearts ache with loss for the world that once was Or because of what might have been In the darkness the flame flickers on
When the ground, like our grief, is frozen and bare When the floods swirl around and the air fills with mist So we can’t see what lies in the distance And our very existence requires a persistence That’s taking its toll, when it’s hard to feel whole In the darkness the flame flickers on
Because buried beneath the bare surface of earth Is a seedbank of hope As the Candlemas snowdrops defiantly show What their Christ-light lanterns can do As they break through and make the soil sing And they bring the first glimmers of spring A reminder that this too shall pass. Just as winter is defeated by a flower in the grass So at long last will our long frost melt And the darkness we’ve felt for so long will be gone And the Christ-light flame flickers on.
Read some books Sing some songs Ride my bike from time to time Cook some food Play some games Write some poems (make them rhyme) Hug my parents See my friends Get a vaccine when it comes Drink some coffee Pray some prayers That’s my plan for ’21
The tree enters the new year much the same as every year, with empty branches save a few resigned leaves clinging to the flame of life. They are not obstinate or brave they are just there. It knows the old routine – the long, hard nights as winter’s cold embrace holds sap and sunlight captive. One day green will wash away the whites and golds and greys of winter, but for now the pale light shows bare arms, snow-shrouded roots. A narrow ring, engraved upon the heartwood as it grows, will hold this winter tree’s remembering. The year is done and much is gained and lost, all held within the tree ring and the frost.
I wrote this song years ago, to tell the Christmas Story from Joseph’s perspective!
Hello, My name is Joe I was a carpenter in Nazareth a long time ago This is my story, it’s one that you might know. You see Mary, my wife to be, She got pregnant but the dad wasn’t me So I planned to divorce her quietly
But then an angel appeared in my dream He said “things aren’t quite what they seem And I know it’s hard, I know it’s scary But you’ve got to stick with Mary This child is God’s own son This has been God’s plan since time begun And it won’t be easy, it’s gonna be tough But God’s strength will be enough for you.”
So I went back to my wife I said “I’ll stick with you for the rest of my life This is God’s son, His name is Jesus Christ. I don’t know what the neighbours will say And our family will probably turn us away but I know it’s gonna be okay.”
So we went on down to Bethlehem And he was born in a manger in a stable and then Word must have got out as to where we’d be cos A bunch of shepherds came to see us They told us that some angels had appeared in the sky And told them ’bout the baby who was God on high So they left their sheep in the fields and came ‘Cos to see God’s child would be enough for them.
Next on the scene came three wise men Bringing gifts of gold, myrrh and frankincense Then they told us what these presents meant Gold for a king who will reign on high Incense for a priest who will glorify the Lord And myrrh for the death he is going to die
Then all our guests went their separate ways But the king heard the word and he went a bit crazy and killed all the boys below the age of three but We managed to escape and we went to Egypt As time went on my boy grew strong He had a pretty clear view of what was right and wrong He didn’t mind when times got tough Because God’s word was always enough
Then one day the pharisees got fed up They nailed my boy to a wooden cross And they left him there and they watched him die But three days later he was up and alive And he wants us to give him our hearts and lives For the promise of the glory of eternal life He doesn’t say it’s easy, no it’s going to be tough But if we follow Him He’ll be enough for us.
I Advent is here The waiting begins Anticipation feeds our expectation As the hope of salvation lies in incubation The heavens sing in exaltation As all creation waits for the coming of the saviour So we light this candle One solitary light Reminding us of those first words “let there be light” And his promise that in our darkness He is our light And at the end we’ll need no sun or moon for he will be our light As the Alpha and Omega gives us vision, gives us sight So this candle is a reminder As we wait in the night That the dawn is coming soon When we will see our saviour.
II May the Lord, when he comes find us watching and waiting Not hesitating or procrastinating but ready to face him to give an account of our time, of our words of the things that we’ve done in his name not with fear not wanting to run but claiming our prize as his daughters and sons to hear him say ‘now faithful servant, well done’ so we wait, we prepare For we know he will come We may not know when but we know he will come we may not know how but we know he will come So we get ourselves ready because when he does come like a thief in the night or with trumpets and drums all our worries and fears will be gone when he comes.
III That is the hope that is the promise And yes there are days when it seems what’s to come is a long way away so we watch and we pray and say ‘Your kingdom come’ yes, and ‘your will be done’ then we work to make it true that’s all we can do. Because our king is coming as surely as spring but while winter is here we shall not fear a thing For we light this candle One solitary light Reminding us of those first words “let there be light” And his promise that in our darkness He is our light And at the end we’ll need no sun or moon for he will be our light So this candle is a reminder As we wait in the night That the dawn is coming soon And we will see our saviour.
As I was a riding down by the canal I spotted a kingfisher racing along And as he drew near me I heard him say I’m off and away, I’m off and away, I’m off and away
Well then he flashed past me like lightning and gold And I watched him travel between water and trees But no word of mine could compel him to stay I’m off and away, I’m off and away, I’m off and away.
Then I blinked and I found the kingfisher was gone And the water was calm and the leaves they were still But the song that he left echoed round me all day I’m off and away, I’m off and away, I’m off and away
My memory is a woodland grove of trees who, down the years, have joined with me in prayer. For such a long time I was unaware Of quite how deeply my roots joined with these Companions who, while steadfast in their place, Have walked with me on paths of pain and grace. There was the Hawthorn, clinging to the rocks Where I sought shelter from the driving rain, The fragile Birch outside the window pane Where we would pray beneath the tower blocks, The Chestnut, lightning scarred yet resolute, Into my prayers these trees have taken root. So now, as I seek stillness for my praying, I find their rustling leaves, their branches swaying.
Everyone wants the troops home by Christmas We want things back to how they used to be And yet, as time goes on, we know that this just Isn’t going to disappear. We see The constant stream of rules and regulations Rewriting risk assessments once again The protocols and COVID-mitigations Allow life to go on, but heal no pain. So how do we adjust to this existence Where none of us imagined we would be? How can we perform acts of resistance to help us in this new normality? Go! find a stream! Sit under a Sycamore! Watch a seagull circle in the sky! Or, if that doesn’t work for you then pick a more Personal way to get yourself outside! If Spring brings hope, then Autumn teaches patience When flourishing is no longer a choice We shed our weary leaves and, in the spacious emptiness, await the still small voice.
Rich Clarkson Poetry 