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

0

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

0

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

0

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

0

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

0

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

0

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

0

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

0

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

0

The Littlest Monkey

This is a story about a monkey
Who wasn’t cool, he wasn’t funky
He wasn’t clever, he wasn’t wise
He didn’t have the prettiest eyes

Our monkey was a tiny creature,
That was his one distinguishing feature
He was so very very small,
He often wasn’t noticed at all!

The monkeys loved to race each other
Up one tree and down another
Every day it was the same,
The monkeys played their monkey games

Every day they gave the winner
An extra special treat for dinner
All the monkeys wanted the prize –
A bowl of tasty juicy flies!

But our little monkey wasn’t fast
He always used to come in last
He tried and tried to no avail
Our monkey always seemed to fail

Tears streamed down our monkey’s face
“How will I ever win a race?
Before I finish I’ve been beaten,
And all the nice flies have been eaten!”

One day a wise old monkey said
“Hey listen up, don’t hang your head,
You’ll soon grow up all big and strong,
don’t worry lad, it won’t be long”

Our monkey said “That’s very kind
to say those things but please don’t mind
If I don’t believe your words at all,
I always will be far too small!”

As time went on our monkey grew
The wise old monkey’s words came true
Before he’d noticed it at all,
Our little monkey wasn’t small

His fur got dark, his arms grew longer,
His tail got thick, his legs got stronger
He started to climb the trees much faster
and as for racing – he was the master!

One day as our monkey sat in the sun
Eating the flies that he’d just won
He spotted a monkey in a tree,
The littlest monkey he’d ever seen

Tears rolled down the monkeys face
As he said “I’ll never win a race,
I couldn’t even beat a snail”
So our monkey said: “Let me tell you a tale…”

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

0

Senses

Senseless violence they called it
I’m not so sure

The blinding flash of the explosion
The numbing punch of the shockwave
The deafening roar of the collapsing wall
The bitter taste of the settling dust
The acrid smell of the burning rubble

Mindless violence?
Maybe.
Senseless?
I’m not so sure.

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

0

The Dusty Curtain

The dust gathers on the old curtain
When it was last drawn I’m not certain
It looks so forlorn
All battered and worn
And even it’s seams have got dirt in!

(c) Rich Clarkson 2010

0

Blog at WordPress.com.

Up ↑