shame (part 1)

I see you in the corner,

Never speaking, never moving.

Hidden from view,

Long fingers silently gripping,

The air thick with unspoken shame.

Looking, not all see you,

Your silhouette crouching behind,

The smile called apology.

Reminders of past pain,

Wrongs spoken in carelessness,

Eyes averting the elephant in the room.

But now I call you out,

Expose your machinations.

You plead for my company,

But I turn my ear to deafness.

sč

KL, May 27th, 2007

life together

Six years away,
A step back, friendships renewed,
Our conversations before?
My mind recalls not,
But my spirit recognises the bond.

Five days with you,
News relayed, stories recounted,
Our struggles formed into words,
The Spirit's move in our lives we share.

Community, we say we aspire to it,
Do we understand what we ask?
No more idle words or empty postures,
This is the time to be vulnerable,
For in finite time,
Programmes for humerus matter not.

Community, you say you want it,
But what will you give up for it?
Slick masks belying reality,
Moving lips filling uncomfortable silences,
Busy bodies dancing on a string.

What price the spurring of our spirits?
"No, not here, my life in comfort being,
Everyone happy, content in shallowness."
But do you want social existence,
Or life together?

sč
Prague, May 17th, 2007

two trains, two ferries & a bus

Awake at the crack,

Bags to carry, miles to go.

Seemed good at the time,

Where are we going again?

Wings landing,

Running to train,

Got it! A moment to breath.

Wheels arrive,

Stations to change,

Missed ... now two hours to kill.

Midday comes,

Train now running.

From station to port,

Past city, field, hill, river and loch,

People fading into lambs.

'Tis clockwork now,

Off the ground, past the water and over the hills.

Eaglet taking off,

Our trappings left behind.

Standing on the shore,

I am a tower,

Looking out,

Here at the edge of the world.

Amazed at the dusk,

The hours we counted, miles we traversed.

Seemed good at the time,

But who needs good when here is astounding?

sč

Iona, May 6th, 2007

remembering you

One year today,
You passed on, your pain ended.
His hands calling, arms holding,
Our tears flowing, we let you go ....

One year today,
Our hearts aching, we remember,
The gowns and tubes, the suffering and fear,
The questions with no answers.

But beyond that ....

I remember ...
Care given, laughs shared,
Concern shown, tears shed.
Your heart revealed in service of others.

I remember ...
Hardships endured, anxieties hidden,
Difficult lives you bore,
In prayer and in deeds.

I remember ...
Time that should have been made,
Hurt that could have been saved,
Love that should have been said.

This was not the song's end we would have planned,
But I remember,
And I'm thankful for the art your life was to mine.

For what your life was in whole,
The smiles, the heartache, the love,
I remember them all.
Remembering you.

for Mum

sč
KL, May 6th, 2007

green three

In my mind I dreamed of you,
Visions from a page,
The broken stones and big fields.

In the wind, in the blowing of the pipes,
I hear your land bleed in its songs.

To a continent lost and growing darker,
You gave your sons,
Each one a burning candle.

And though beaten,
You were not conquered, not crushed,
Your spirit survives through ages,
Rumbling beneath,
One day to break free.

In my mind or in my ears,
I see your eyes and hear your voice,
Though pain and hardship afflict,
Your gaze still shows to three,
Father, Son and Spirit.

sč
Dublin, May 5th, 2007