When the night is the darkest
Look up to the sky
See all the stars there
And understand why.
When all so black
You can’t see any more
You must, in faith
Fling open the door.
Step into the starlight
Where the stars will show
Indicate quite clearly
The way you should go.
But you have to look up
Not down or around
For up is where truth
And hope will be found.
I raise the window blinds
Revealing a beautiful, bright day
Dawn has just broken.
Looking down from my window
I notice a jackdaw, grey head nodding
Strutting down the middle of an empty road
Searching in the careless quiet.
Looking up I see plane trails
In a pale blue, cloudless sky
I watch these heavenly escalators
Form a cross, sharp and clear
Tracing the glory of the early morning.
The jackdaw, meanwhile, continues
Head bent down, totally unaware
Of the revelation in the skies above
Heaven declares, yet earth perceives it not.
Lord I see your promise
Stretched across the sky
Full of wonderful colours
And it answers my question why?
Why everyone is not destroyed
Because of our wickedness
But given new life through Jesus Christ
And so eternally blessed
The bow that touches heaven and earth
Reminds me of grace come down
The love of the Father through the Son
That in the ark I will not drown.
Your promise is quite certain
I need not wish on a star
For you are a faithful God and true
And will bring me to where you are.
To that place at the end of the rainbow
A place in heaven above
Where one day I’ll see you face to face
Know the full extent of your love.
Genesis 6,7,8 and 9:12
An early January day
Beneath a leaden sky
On an angry racecourse sea
Jockey-less, majestic white horses
Pure white, no chestnut, bay or black
Prance and dance
Jostle and chase
Catch and overtake
Mercilessly wind-whipped
Toward the finish
A sandy-strewn end
Which is devoured and spat out
By the voracious equine monsters
As they cross the line.
Then nothing!
Nothing at all!
Just a dribble return
Lost to the vast ocean
Swallowed up for ever.
No losers!
No winners!
Another grey, gloomy day
No sun. Lowering skies
Menacing clouds. Leaden
Threatening rain.
What to do on such a day?
Remember blue skies
Retreat to memories of sun-filled days
Childhood moments of warm pleasure.
Playing carefree on sunlit beaches
Running through sparkling waves
Skipping in wildflower meadows
Hiding and seeking round bushes
Climbing trees. Nonchalant swinging.
Wonderful recollections
Heart-warming reminiscing
I feel better already.
