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Home

If “home is where the heart is” as they say
Then my heart lies in pieces, scattered round
Like driftwood on a thousand different bays,
Not lost or dead but waiting to be found.
“it’s where you hang your hat” the saying goes
But my hat does not live on just one stand;
It rests on chairs and doors and piles of clothes,
Or sometimes simply stays right where it lands.
To call a house a home robs both those words
Of dignity, for they are not the same
For ‘home’ cannot be caged up like a bird
Contained within it’s finite woven frame
No, ‘home’ is like a song to those who hear it
Unseen, unheld, but felt when you are near it.

(c) Rich Clarkson 2011

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The Bible as a Sonnet

At God’s command the universe was born;
A symphony of colour, light and sound.
Then life in all its myriad different forms
Sprang up, and in God’s image man was crowned.
But freedom and temptation left love spurned,
As God’s call went unheeded by his own.
From time to time the faithful would return
Then fall again, some other to enthrone.
But God did not give up or turn His face,
Despite the countless tears He must have cried.
Instead He stepped into this messed up place
Where Jesus lived, and laughed, and loved, and died.
So now he calls us children, His beloved
with love’s great riches ours to be discovered

(c) Rich Clarkson 2011

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Inspiration

With pen in hand I sit here more in hope than expectation
As the ideas buzz around without that spark of inspiration
That can take a simple word or thought from something two dimensional
And give it depth to make it beautiful and unconventional
But tonight that perfect rhyme or phrase or wordplay seems elusive
And as ideas come and go they seem so frail and inconclusive
So instead of trying to capture them in frustration and sorrow
I’ll shut my book and go to bed and try again tomorrow.

(c) Rich Clarkson 2011

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Home

Home is a place to make your own
Not just a place to store your stuff
Bought or rented, shared or alone
Simply living somewhere is not enough
A house is a canvas crying out to be used
To be loved and admired and unique
Photos, wallpaper, paint, whatever you choose
Tell the stories these walls would tell if they could speak
So that when the time comes and it’s all packed away
And you’ve had your leaving parties
You’ll have done the house proud for you know what they say:
“Home is where your art is”

(c) Rich Clarkson 2011

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Revolution

There’s a revolution threatening
Hanging heavy in the air
Everybody’s planning, scheming, dreaming,
Hoping if they dare
For a better world, a better life
The seeds of revolution
Have been sown as we begin to write
Our new years resolutions.
This year will be different,
Surely this year we’ll remember
Keep on going, growing, keep it up
Right through to next December
But before long we’ve forgotten
And the fire fades away
Until the only revolution
Is the earth revolving quietly
At the start of each new day.

(c) Rich Clarkson 2011

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Advent Candle V

Sometimes it felt like this day would never come
Like the waiting would be too much to bear
As we counted the hours, the days, the weeks
And whispered our hopeful prayers
As these candle flames burst into life one by one
They served to constantly remind us
In the midst of our waiting God’s promise holds true
For he promised to come down and find us
Now the day has arrived we remember again
How he came without fanfare or distinction
In the midst of our dark, dirty world came a child
To bring light to the whole of creation
So today, as we celebrate the source of all joy
We must start to look forward again
For Christ who came to us is coming once more
To restore all creation to His rule and reign

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

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Advent Candle IV

All that’s left to do is wait
The pieces are in place
As the brightness builds and flickering flames
Finally turn to face
The central candle, that longed for light
The hope that is to come
These four shining candles remind us
That the waiting is almost done
The time is near when there’ll be no pain
Or mourning or crying to do
For the creator God who made all things
Is making all things new
The stage is set
And all the preparations have been made
Christ is coming back, we know
Now all that’s left to do is wait

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

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Advent Candle III

As we await the coming of our king
and darkness battles light to gain control
of hearts and minds, the prize is everything
in this great cosmic struggle for our souls.
The battle rages on but both sides know
there really isn’t much left to decide
The killer blow was dealt so long ago
when God was born a man, and lived and died
So we light these candles, not one, not two, but three
As those ablaze outnumber those unlit
to remind us that Christ’s light has victory
And darkness has no power to conquer it
So now we wait and hear that tale repeated
for Christ has won and darkness is defeated

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

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Advent Candle II

As we move deeper into advent
    [holy holy holy]
We strain our eyes towards the dawn
    [holy holy holy]
To see a shard, a flicker, a fragment
    [holy holy holy]
Of Heaven in the coming morn
    [holy holy holy]
So we light these candles, not one but two
    [holy holy holy]
To remind us that the day draws nearer
    [holy holy holy]
When He will be revealed anew
    [holy holy holy]
And we will see Him so much clearer
    [holy holy holy]
But now we wait, we watch , we pray
    [holy holy holy]
As advent slowly passes by
    [holy holy holy]
And we await that glorious day
    [holy holy holy]
When with countless angels we’ll cry
Holy Holy Holy

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

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Advent Candle 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 creator

[pause to light candle]

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 creator

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

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Lest We Remember

It’s easy to forget
As poppies bloom in winter gloom
Reminding us that time of year is near
Yet we choose to forget
grow flowers in our shirt
As if the hurt
And pain
Was all in vain
Yet we remain
Unchanged
For to truly remember would be to invite
The pain and bitterness of the fight
To darken our sight
And we fear we might have to adjust
We forget because we must
So we plant our poppies
Each November
Lest we remember

(c) 2010 Rich Clarkson

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Time

Do not fear
The passing of time.
Each second is but a pause,
A fragment of a moment
Not to be feared
But to be treasured.
Celebrated as a snapshot of life
In all its technicolour splendour.
And as it passes
Gently into memory
A new moment takes its place.
Sometimes this new moment is an echo
of time just passed,
Sometimes this new moment changes everything.
But in that moment,
This moment,
These moments,
Time is not to be feared
But to be held gently
And remembered for all it is
And was.

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

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