Sand Desk at the Jamtli Folk Museum, Ostersund Sweden
Carrot or stick?
Which is
the teacher’s best friend?
A word in season,
A well timed smile,
A friendly nudge,
will melt ice
soften frowns
and make hearts,
minds and hands
willing and wanting
to learn.
The Word stares
at me
and challenges
my heart
and hands.
I parse
and exegete
unfold and explore
but it waits
and silently
demands more.
The words are cross referenced,
the context considered
and yet it says
“So what?”
What will you do
with your gleanings
to make Christ
and His Kingdom known?
With apologies to John Donne
One plus one
Equals
Relationship.
One plus one plus one
Equals community.
Each sum
Requires the addition
Of our commitment,
Our time,
Our selves.
With subtraction
Comes pain
And loss.
Completeness disappears.
The sum
Doesn’t
Add up.
The sun rises
on Sunday
heralding
a new day
a new hope
and promises
of eternal life
Nervous vows,
promises to love,
all those years ago
mumbled in the bluestone church
grew
rapidly . . . and sporadically,
fluently . . . and uneasily,
depending
on the season or mood,
circumstance or storm.
But since time has wandered
its unfathomable path,
the ties are strong,
the love stronger
and the understanding
solid – most times.
The children
came
and then went
on their own time bound journey.
But we,
we are still here,
warm in our history
of gathered affection.
Patience
eludes my grasp.
Things never happen
quickly enough –
The Maze In Chartres Cathedral
in a timely fashion!
Irritation
creeps and worms
through the sinews
which tense
and twist.
But there are some things
for which I am not impatient:
bills,
certain visits
and death.
Whose words?
challenge the heart
and rattle the mind?
What thoughts
course through our minds?
We crave to have our ears tickled
Keldby Church, Denmark
And hearts caressed.
We long for pleasant words
to justify ourselves.
God’s word
like a two edged sword
cuts deep and leaves
no thought, action or value
untouched,
unearthed
unseen.
Ocean Grove Primary School circa 1957
Some minds twitch with eager attention –
ready to absorb, engage and respond.
Others meander between sleep and apathy.
A few sparkle with their own thoughts and musings –
but not with my instructions.
The sound of a football or distant song, piques their interest,
however the poem or play, theme or plot hardly registers.
How to excite the neurons,
that is the question.
To electrify ideas, thought and wonder
beyond the mundane and internet fed drivel,
is the challenge …
as the wandering mind sits behind the desk,
waiting for recess.
And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Matt 10:30
You know my name,
my atoms and cells.
You created them.
You know the hairs on my head:
The number,
the colour.
My eyes,
My wrinkles
and every quirk,
You know.
You know my very DNA,
my core.
You know my movements
and thoughts,
my rebellion and
obedience.
But more than that,
You know my heart,
no matter what I hide.
My lies, my truth.
You know me
and you still love me!
In the beginning …
God spoke
into being
Ex nihilo
from nothing.
God’s breath
brought forth
the stars
the atoms
me.
The covenant
Word swept
through creation
and rebellion
empires
and kings.
His Word
sure and firm
whispers and roars
through time
and place
over sea and continent.
The Word
walked among us
and will come again
to reveal
a recreated kingdom
a world reborn
by the
Word.
Travels from Ur 