Fog -“the opposite of Pentecost”!

It may come as no surprise to you to learn that my desk diary is the Faber & Faber Poetry Diary 2024. Each week contains a poem and as I turned the pages into October, there it was, a poem by Christopher Reid from his book Toys/Tricks/Traps entitled Fog. As he describes fog descending to give each of us a hug he contrasts it with Pentecost, that wonderful Christian celebration of the birth of the church. It reminded me of an old expression about Presbyterians so often caught up in order and committee, reserved and stiff that we are the “chosen frozen” The frozen show no signs of spontaneity or excitement ! I share the poem with you and hope you enjoy all the images Reid packs into just a few lines. Please pause, ponder, and pray. There is certainly much that requires our prayers.

Fog

A photograph of the nineteen-fifties:
      figures in fog.

Black and white, because it’s post-war
     and colour is rationed.

Also, that’s all fog needs, a slightly
    dirty white.

The figures, smudges of off-black,
    blur into the fog.

They stand in an unfamiliar street,
    perspective suspended.

Godlike, the fog has descended
    to give each a hug.

But it’s the opposite of Pentecost:
    a freeze, a silence.

Fixed there, the figures, for all that,
    are not lost.

This is the element in which they live;
    where I lived, too.               Christopher Reid

Prayer:
O Lord of Light,
come and dispel our darkness,
with the light of your love
Help us amidst our darkness of doubts
and the fog of fear which clings to our
hearts and minds.
O Lord of Joy,
sing a new song to our souls that our hearts
might hear the rhythm and our feet
dance to the melody of your mercy.
O Lord of Hope,
hug us with the gentleness of your grace
and the firmness of your forgiveness.
O Lord of Light, Joy and Hope, come
close and encourage us to stay close
as we follow in faith and in full colour . Amen.