In an anthology of poetry and verse The Rattle Bag edited by Seamus Heaney and Ted Hughes you can find such a wide range of poems. My conclusion is if was good enough for Heaney and Hughes then it is certainly good enough for me! Nursery rhymes are strange things and often quiet sad andContinue reading “Taffy”
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“A blitz of a boy…”
From the book of poems The Rattle Bag, edited by poets Heaney and Hughes we find Charles Causley’s poem Timothy Winters. Written in the early 1950s the poem is a protest to the post WWII failure of the Welfare State to care for the poor and less fortunate. It begs us to pay attention and toContinue reading ““A blitz of a boy…””
maggie and milly, and molly and may
maggie and milly and molly and may maggie and milly and molly and maywent down to the beach(to play one day) and maggie discovered a shell that sangso sweetly she couldn’t remember her troubles,and milly befriended a stranded starwhose rays five languid fingers were; and molly was chased by a horrible thingwhich raced sideways whileContinue reading “maggie and milly, and molly and may”
Snowy, snowy, night!
As I write this blog snow is forecast to fall later this evening and in the overnight hours. Although snow brings with it some hard shoveling work, yet as it falls it creates much beauty as the landscape is painted white. Even every house in the street looks the same and every yard or gardenContinue reading “Snowy, snowy, night!”
92 Counties!
I know you were not expecting this but to be honest neither was I. As I turned through the pages of Carol Ann Duffy’s Collected poems I found her poem Counties amusing. Now to further complicate things I will introduce you to Munro-Bagging – climbing hills in Scotland over 3000ft. – named after Sir Hugh MunroContinue reading “92 Counties!”
Memory
In 1983 I moved from the city of Edinburgh to the far north of Scotland, to Golspie a village on the east coast of the county of Sutherland. Sutherland has an east coast, a west coast and a north coast with only the county of Caithness to its north and east on the top righthand corner ofContinue reading “Memory”
A little while after!
In the gospel of Matthew, chapter 2, we read of the journey of the wisemen from the east. When they actually arrived is not known, but we should not be surprised to learn that it may well have been some days or many weeks after the birth of the child. However, let us not fuss about theContinue reading “A little while after!”
“Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,”
Bethlehem, in the West Bank, remains a difficult place to get to. I recall being searched by armed Israeli police and having my passport scrutinized before being allowed to proceed to the Church of the Nativity. The photo above shows not a manger but a chaotic presence of a border wall which surrounds Bethlehem. ThisContinue reading ““Immensity cloistered in thy dear womb,””
And is it true?
The English poet John Betjeman’s poem “Christmas” has been part of my Christmas celebration each and every year, along with Eliot’s Journey of the Magi. I often used his poem in worship on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day. Eliot’s poem will be my next post! For now, just 6 days away from Christmas, it isContinue reading “And is it true?”
Emptying
The spontaneous ceasefire on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day in 1914 came about as British, Belgian, and French soldiers put down their weapons and climbed out of their trenches and joined with German soldiers singing Silent Night Holy Night! A moment of palpable peace in the madness of war, a glimmer of grace amidst the gruesomeContinue reading “Emptying”
Prayers, Poems, and Christian Ponderings 