Autumn

As I step in to Autumn

the days close around me.

The edges of light draw in.

I am not restricted:

I am held.

Encircled.

And I slip,

foetus-like,

into the place of rest.

 

When the clouds are heavy

and the storm breaks,

I sense my vulnerability.

The encroaching fear

needles me.

Will the flood sweep me away?

 

But the holding is gentle

and the silence is safe:

it beckons me deeper.

Encased as a seed,

I tumble into the abyss

and curl into the loam.

 

I am planted deep in the divine.

The darkness shines.

I wait to hear love’s call.

Photo by Red Dot on Unsplash

 

God is like a sleeping bag

 

Maybe,

God is like

a sleeping bag.

 

On one of those dark nights,

When life was battering you,

You found him;

climbed into him:

you rested in his gentle holding.

 

And then the morning came,

And you thought about how you could keep God with you.

It was easy at first:

Folding the end of him and rolling him up.

But the bag in which you would carry him,

soon seemed full.

Some of you will be experts at this,

but when God is your sleeping bag

don’t expect to stuff the last bit of him in.

 

If you could, what good would He be to you?

That sleeping bag stuffed into its own bag?

I guess you could lay down and rest your head on him.

He may soothe your thoughts;

smooth out your anxieties.

But how would He touch your heart?

How would He cradle your soul?

 

I guess you could sit on him.

He may enable you to take the weight off your feet,

whilst you wait.

For something; for someone.

Or maybe you could use him as a meditation cushion?

As you sit on God would He seep into you

And still you?

 

But I am not sure

That He will ever let you squeeze him into that bag.

I feel that as you begin to enclose him,

He will expand;

He will open out.

And when you go to pull the chord and hem him in,

You will look up and see that He has spilled out

And stretches beyond your grasp.

 

He gave you rest.

He held you in the darkness.

Is it impossible to carry him with you,

so that He is there when you need him again?

Is there something that you can carry that will contain him?

 

Yes!

You can carry him inside yourself.

In that space of your soul

Which longs for his presence,

and echoes the universe in its capacity to expand.

When you carry God inside you

your soul will grow.

God will gently push the edges outwards,

Sometimes slipping through its porous perimeter

And touching the world around you.

 

And if your soul should ever

become full of God,

He will pour out of you,

and cover the world

in a blanket of love.

 

 

 

Love is like a sleeping bag

 

Maybe,

Love is like

a sleeping bag.

 

On one of those dark nights,

when life was battering you,

you found her;

climbed into her:

you rested in her gentle holding.

 

And then the morning came,

and you thought about how you could keep Love with you.

It was easy at first:

Folding the end of her and rolling her up.

But the bag in which you would carry her,

soon seemed full.

Some of you will be experts at this,

but when Love is your sleeping bag

don’t expect to stuff the last bit of her in.

 

If you could, what good would she be to you?

That sleeping bag stuffed into its own bag?

I guess you could lay down and rest your head on her.

She may soothe your thoughts;

Smooth out your anxieties.

But how would she touch your heart?

How would she cradle your soul?

 

I guess you could sit on her

She may enable you to take the weight off your feet,

whilst you wait.

For something; for someone.

Or maybe you could use her as a meditation cushion.

As you sit on love would she seep into you

And still you?

 

But I am not sure

that she will ever let you squeeze her into that bag.

I feel that as you begin to enclose her,

She will expand;

She will open out.

And when you go to pull the chord and hem her in,

You will look up and see that she has spilled out,

and stretches beyond your grasp.

 

She gave you rest.

She held you in the darkness.

Is it impossible to carry her with you?

So that she is there when you need her again?

Is there something that you can carry that will contain her?

 

Yes!

You can carry her inside yourself.

In that space of your soul

which longs for her presence,

and echoes the universe in its capacity to expand.

When you carry Love inside you,

your soul will grow.

Love will gently push the edges outwards,

Sometimes slipping through its porous perimeter

And touching the world around you.

 

And if your soul should ever

become full of Love,

She will pour out of you

Like a blanket

Settling gently on the world.

 

 

Love says

Love says:

I am here

 

I am in the waiting.

Pregnant with the life

that will unfold.

 

I am in the

sound of the wind,

and in its silence

as it comes to rest.

 

I am in the pause,

in the full stop,

the comma.

 

I am in the snatch of time

between your busy thoughts.

 

I am in each Nano second,

which passes

without your noticing,

beyond your grasping.

 

I am within the sound waves.

Caught in the bird’s song

And the hum of traffic.

 

I am the infinite space

Between each molecule.

In the narrowest gap

which opens up into my expanse.

 

Love says:

I am here

I am not in the stillness.

I am the stillness

that seeps into you

as you sit in my loving gaze.

 

Poem:

A Blessing of  the Light

May God’s light fall on you:

Warm your skin;

Seep through the atoms of your being;

Find the hurting places, and

Touch them, with love.

May it lift your chin and pour into your eyes.

May it kindle the love that only you can bring:

A glimmer in the darkness.

 

May God’s light grow in you.

Glow in you.

Connecting the inner pathways;

Bridging the broken places.

May it rise up from your belly,

Energising and revitalising,

Opening up the sacred space

Within you.

 

May God’s light shine from you.

May your eyes be lanterns

For the light within your soul.

May it reach into the places of sorrow,

Touch the suffering,

Bring hope to the hopeless.

May it connect you with life

As the darkness within you falls away.

 

May God’s light lift you

when you fall – because you will.

May it take your arm

in your frailty,

and hold you.

Until all around you, and within,

Is love.

Love, love, love.

 

Photo by Casper Rae on Unsplash

 A Poem for Easter

We give thanks for the night,

Because in the night

The seeds of hope were planted.

Whilst we couldn’t see,

You were there,

Accompanying us through pain,

Planting life in the barren places.

We give thanks for the night.

 

Let the morning bring light. 

Light that pours into our eyes

And reaches our souls.

Light that wakens the seeds of hope.

Beckons them to push their way through the soil

And break the surface.

 

Let the morning bring life.

Life that warms and wakens us,

That seeps into our bones

Renews and invigorates.

Life that expands inside us

And lifts our gaze.

 

Let the morning bring love.

Love that reaches out,

Builds bridges and connects.

Embraces.

Love that reaches down

And roots us to the earth.

 

 We give thanks for the night.

But let the morning come.

With its nourishing light;

With its tangling life.

Let love be born in us again,

Because the morning is here.

The morning is here.

 

The Blessing of the Mist

Let the mist descend,

And bring its blessing:

Muffling the noise of the world,

Stilling the voices echoing in my head.

 

Let the mist descend,

With its gift of quiet calm:

Softening the hard edges.

Allowing the doubt.

 

Let the mist descend,

So that my next step engages faith

and fosters trust.

Sense not certainty.

 

Let the mist descend,

And in its mingling

Let me step into the unknowing

And find oneness in its blessing:

The blessing of the mist.

Winter

 

In the Winter of life

I turn my face to the sun

And feel its warmth

On my skin

 

The breeze is gentle

And whispers of a world

Unknown

 

I sense infinity

Waiting on the edges

 

I feel the pull

But there is no rush

 

“Rest a while.”

 

My soul stills within me

As love takes my hand

And leads me on.

 

 

Poem for Christmas (2)

God’s plan

 

As weapons are wrought,

And cities fall.

As stomachs rumble,

And muscles waste.

As cold bites at fingers and toes

And the pavement hardens.

As the darkness brings no relief,

only crushing fear.

 

Where is the hope found?

Where is hope found?

 

God’s plan was never strength and might.

God did not plan destruction and distress.

He did not come as conqueror,

Or King.

 

He came as a baby:

A seed of hope

Planted in a dark night

That shivered with fear.

 

Was this foolishness?

No, this was Godliness

 

A baby!

 

Can you see the delight on the faces?

Can you hear the gentle breathing?

Can you find the Christ-child?

Born into your soul;

Renewing your hope;

Bringing love into the world,

Again.

 

 Photo by Travis on Unsplash

Poem

For Christmas

Does Christ drop into you,

like water?

Sink into the deepest places,

seep into the narrowest ways;

right down into your feet

to ground you?

 

As Love descends,

does She hollow out your soul?

Stretch it at the edges.

Expanding your capacity for herself;

opening up the space inside you?

 

In the stillness,

Can you reach down?

Can you feel the warmth

on the tips of your fingers

as you touch the mystery

within?

Is it too deep?

Out of reach,

Just beyond your grasp.

 

Don’t give in to fear, dear one.

Be still.

Wait: the Christ is born again.

Love is rising.

 

 Poem

Let the Silence Be

 

Let the Silence be

 

Let it seep into your skin

Don’t fight it

Don’t hurry it

Don’t ignore it

Don’t push it away

 

Let the Silence be

 

Let it whisper to you

Let it touch you with love

Don’t interrogate it

Don’t prod it

Don’t give up on it

 

Let the Silence be

 

Let it move around you

Let it reach into you

Let it open up your heart

Don’t resent it

Don’t turn your back on it

 

Let the Silence be

 

Let it embrace you

Let it fall into you

Let it expand within you

Let it in

Don’t fear it

 

Let your defences dissolve

Relax

Let the Silence be

Be still

And

- in its presence -

Simply

Be

 Poem

Listen

 

Stop for a moment.

Stop for this moment.

Listen

 

Love is calling you.

Reaching out from the pain of the world

Alive in the eyes that yearn for connection

Tingling in the touch that affirms oneness

Seeding in you the joy that life can bring

 

Stop for a moment

Stop for this moment

Attend to the silence

 

Let yourself be held.

Let yourself be healed.

Love touches you,

Comforts you,

Lightens you.

 

Let go of the heaviness that holds you

And fly.

Be alive to life

Be alive to love

Dance in the freedom she brings

 

Listen

To the tuggings in your heart

To the stirrings deep within you

Answer love’s call and dance!

 

 

 

 

 

 Poem

The Heart of It

Let my heart open

Broaden

Deepen.

That it may hold

all

that needs to be held.

 

Let the thoughts that hurt me

Drop into my heart.

And be loved.

And be healed.

 

Let the hurts that surround me

Be held in the hope

Pulsing through the depths of my heart.

Let hope expand.

Pushing the walls of my heart wider.

Let me hold the suffering of the world

and…

be.

Feeling the pain that love brings.

 

And when my heart becomes heavy

and I am close to falling

Let the seed of Infinite Love,

buried in the crevices of my soul,

Awaken.

 

Let it grow

Until it cradles my heart

and I sink into its embrace.

Dissolving into the love

that has always held me.