Poetry at its best needs to be both seen as words upon a page and also read aloud so the shape of the words can be seen and the sounds of the words can be heard. Poetry wakens our senses, stirs our imagination, stretches our minds, and moves us into moments of pondering and playingContinue reading “Through the Ear of a Raindrop”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
A Cup of Tea
Many of my days begin and end with a cup of tea, and in between a few other cups of tea. In Scotland, as a minister, drinking tea was an occupational essential. Of the many “tea” stories I could tell, I will settle on two. I recall the phone call 38 years ago as ifContinue reading “A Cup of Tea”
Famous
For me, hardly a day goes by without the sounds and lyrics of Van Morrison. Unlike Bob Dylan, Morrison will not likely receive a nomination for the Nobel Prize for Literature. Dylan received this award in 2016 and the Swedish Academy noted why “for having created new poetic expressions within the great American song tradition.” Continue reading “Famous”
“The meaning is in the waiting.”
Whilst taking a vacation in Cornwall a few years ago I visited The Church of St. Enodoc. Primarily it was known to me as the burial place of the poet Sir John Betjeman. However the history of the church is intriguing. A church in the middle of a golf course, it just doesn’t get anyContinue reading ““The meaning is in the waiting.””
Breath
The novel, Breath by Tim Winton is set on the west coast of Australia and tells the story of two boys coming of age and of their competitive obsession with diving and surfing. The New Yorker described it as “both a hymn to the beauty of flying on water and a sober assessment of theContinue reading “Breath”
Borders
The word “borders” can stir up many different feelings. Growing up in N. Ireland the Border was something you did not cross and in my teenage years it was heavily patrolled! At primary school a border was what you ruled on both sides of the page and kept your writing within. As I played racquetContinue reading “Borders”
On Eagles’ Wings
One of the most majestic of birds, if not the most majestic, is the Golden Eagle. Here, in nearby Bernheim Forest, Kentucky, a pair of golden eagles have been tagged and traced over the past 5 years. Athena and Harper have been returning from Manitoba, Canada, to winter in Bernheim. Just this past week theyContinue reading “On Eagles’ Wings”
My heart dances!
These past days have had their fill of waiting expectantly for the signs of spring. Nothing is more pleasing than that first daffodil. Amazingly it has made it through the winter and survived under recent blankets of snow and frost. At last it stands in full display sharing its beauty and color for all whoContinue reading “My heart dances!”
“The waves run up the shore”
The novel No Great Mischief, which is set in Canada, tells a story through the relationship of two brothers, Alex and Calum, and in part their shared childhood memories in Cape Breton Island. The author, Alistair MacLeod, tackles the conflict between the rise of individualism and family in the post modern world. There are soContinue reading ““The waves run up the shore””
Desert
We are not good at doing nothing. We have difficulty being still for more than a few breaths. The desert landscape is at one and the same time inviting and terrifying. To enter into the desert is to leave behind comforts to embrace uncertainty. Yet the journey into and through the desert is not justContinue reading “Desert”
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 