May 30, 2020

Poems From The Soul

Hope

When loss seems all encompassing

And the way ahead feels blocked,

Do not let fear or grief overwhelm you.

Push fear away.

Say to yourself that it has no place here.

For fear clouds judgement.

Pain blocks out right vision.

Tears can drain you or be a release.

Look for the tiniest speck of goodness in this moment.

Remember who you are inside yourself

Despite the suffering.

Keep trusting that things can change

However slowly

Even if you know not how or what to do

Be innerly still

And wait

For the next moment to unfold.

Perhaps it will be bring new insight

However tiny and fragile,

Remembering that you are precious

in every moment

And your presence matters

Even when you cannot see it clearly.

Hold on to hope.

Easter Day Poem: Silent Moment

Silent Moment

early in the morning

silent moment of absolute power

explosion of light

shook the tomb

wherein you lay

Dead

then

Alive

So hard to even begin to understand

Love given out

to the very last drop of your existence

returned in splendour

essence of life

returned from its journey

made manifest once more in the world

bringing us out of utter darkness

into pure radiance of Light

No wonder the stone was rolled away

with the immanence of God

in that moment

come back into the world

to reunite us

forever

with Love.

From Love Returned by Linda Crowhurst

John's Hope

Heart of Love

Dying for the world

Reaching out to save

All I can do

is stand by you

an onlooker on the sport of death

All I can give

I do

My heart

in all its simplicity

lies with yours

All I can hope

is that it is

some small speck of comfort

some speck of light

in the gathering darkness

which obscures

the True reality of

Your Glory

You are not alone

We hold you in our tears

We stay with you beyond the end

hoping, praying, waiting

for the New beginning.

From Love Returned by Linda Crowhurst

A Mission of Love

Hands

Hands pinioned with pain

Holding us all

With ragged tenderness

Fingers now motionless

That once touched so many

With the gentle Power

Of Healing Love

Searing pain and paralysis

What grief

Is this

Held here

For all to see

And none to notice?

An agony of labour

Still

Answering a call

Blood mingles

With the grain of wood

Stain of human sin

Reconciled for all

Time

In those timeless

Hands

Wounded for Love’s

Greater purpose.

From Love Returned by Linda Crowhurst

As It Was Before

The best we can hope for

It seems

Is a stillness of moment,

When the ravaging of disease ceases to capture, momentarily,

all available attention

And an inner peace

Surely not of the world,

Can triumph

And the blessing of love

Can be felt,

Amongst and amidst the torment.

This illness never leaves

Despite our best hopes

And yet...

And yet, we still hope and pray

Despite outward appearance

And inner destruction

That miracles will bless our lives

So that one day

We might walk free of it

And be together

In an absolute harmony

On every level

As it was before

So may it be again.

The Mystery of Tomorrow

So what can I say about tomorrow

Except that it is always uncertain, never known,

Always a possibility, waiting to unfold?

I can adorn it with fear or I can adorn it with love.

I can imagine the very best happening

Or I can imagine the very worst,

Each conceivable picture I make of what it might be like

Could paint a thousand different possibilities.

None would necessarily be right,

For tomorrow has not yet come.

It can only ever be an idea, a dream, a belief, a hope, a direction

With a probable shape, but always, still, just out of reach.

It is ephemeral, fay, mysterious,

Not as set as it might seem.

For nothing is truly set or absolutely known.

There is always unpredictability in the unforeseen.

Everything can unexpectedly change.

Nothing then is quite what it seems,

Everything is fragile, transient, changeable

Though habit makes us feel safe.

Each swirling moment of time is full of so many different options

If life has not trapped you into thinking it is a dulled or set reality.

Or illness has not stolen you away from the world altogether.

Look then with new eyes at tomorrow.

Paint a wonderful picture for yourself and those you love.

See tomorrow unfolding kindly towards you.

Look with an adventuresome heart

At what tomorrow could bring.

Check out your confining views,

Especially ones that stoke your fears.

See the limits they may place upon you

Then chose to let them go.

You see, tomorrow is always going to be ahead of you,

Waving its flag

Saying this way, lies the future!

Yet it will never actually arrive at your feet,

Because it is already dancing further down the road

That you have not yet travelled

Though always seemingly close, it is still just out of reach,

Leading you tantalisingly further on,

Down your own unique and very individual, yet to be created, path.

Comment:

To write this poem I needed to step above all the mangled, battering, constant symptoms, to see the world and tomorrow free from their entanglement. Then I could be pure poetry flying on the wings of life.

We Light A Candle In Our Hearts

Today we light a candle in our hearts

For the broken,

For the suffering

For the misjudged

For the hurting

For the lost

For the lonely

For the isolated

For the crushed

For the dying

For the grieving

For all who need sustenance

And comfort,

Strength and hope.

We light a candle in our hearts

And ask God to pour light into

The unjust

The persecutors

The ignorant

The unloving

The cold- hearted

The arrogant

The self- righteous

The neglecters

The cruel

The greedy

The selfish

The apathetic

The indifferent.

May their hearts

and minds

be opened

In a new way

To love.

Amen

23.11.14

Yet We Love

We live in a secret hidden world few know

The world knows us not, acknowledges us not

Persecutes and even harms us

Sometimes deliberately,

Sometimes through ignorance

The world knows us not

But we know each other

We understand or try to comprehend

The intensity of invisible suffering

The inner brokenness of the body

The separation and isolation

Forced upon us to survive.

We do not meet

We cannot move

Yet we love

With the greatest compassion

Of all.

29.10.15

Be Bold

Take time to be still and find me.

Reach into the stillness of my love.

Let it fill you.

Let your heart say Yes to me , endlessly Yes.

In that Yes we can work wonders

In that Yes all things are possible

Be Bold

Come find me

In the power of that Yes

Fill me with Joy.

Take the step that leads to me,

Only say Yes

And find me

The Shifting Sands Of Time and Space

It is the soul who is poetic

The soul who sees clearly

With amazing wisdom,

sensitivity and inner vision.

Oh how we need to open ourselves

To the true knowledge

The amazing depth

Of awareness

That is our true nature

Totally in touch with the truth

Of all that is

Knowing God in His intimate fullness

And singing songs of joy

And praise

For ever more.

Amen.

The soul is unique

And shining clean and bright.

It echoes truth

And beauty

In the world.

It is the true knower

Of God in His essence.

It is the light

That shines within us

In the darkness

Of our physical existence

For it is the light

Given to us by God

Before our birth,

Radiating spirit

Living in the shifting chaos,

Yet connected, ever presently,

To God Himself,

Knowing the truth of reality

Beyond the shifting sands of time and space.

Lord, Give Me My Life Back

All of me hurts

I do not know how to endure it today.

It is constantly with me.

It will not reduce,

Calm down,

Go away.

It pounds at me.

It burns me.

It makes me weep

With its voracity.

18 years

And it still will not

go away.

What else can I do now

But beg it

to go away.

Lord I cry to you

Take it away from me

now

Make me well

It is too much

It is well over enough

Please hear me

And help me

Give me my life back

So that I can be kind again.

21.1.12

Snow Dog

The snow fell today

And dog

Who had

Gone away

Slowly materialised in snow

With ears a glowing

And a stone nose and eyes

What a surprise to see him

So forlorn

And icy cold

Boldly going

To and froing

In the snowing

We remember our beloved dog

With tender love

And tears of joy

Both so sad that he is gone now

But oh so glad

That he is one now

With the Son now

And still a playing

Every daying

Close by

With us

In the snow

They Leave A Trail Of Love

They leave a trail of love in your heart when they go,

Each one adding together to the others

Who sing and dance and leave a path of memories in your mind,

Till the whole is greater than the sum of the parts.

Wrapped in a special golden energy,

Their images dance within you

Flashes of kindness, sadness, special words and deeds,

All meaningful, important, precious,

Come back at unexpected moments,

Tip over into every day feelings,

Run riot with bittersweet joy at the memory and grief for the loss,

Blend your mood with what is lost and what is remembered,

Yet touch your life with an urgency

To feel,

To express,

To be.

To recognize

The precious space

That is your life,

Always remembering,

Never to be forgotten,

How they have touched you,

How they have helped you,

How they have warmed your life,

How they have loved you too.

We Remember

We remember them with kindness for it is important to honour the dead

We remember them with tenderness for we cared beyond imagining

We remember them with trepidation for we have to face our losses

We remember them with boldness for it takes courage remembering the pain

We remember them with sadness that they are no longer here with us

We remember them with frustration that they were not helped

We remember them with anger that they are gone

For we remember

All the hurt

All the denial

All the extremity of pain

All the neglect

All the harm

All the harrowing moments

All the suffering

All the grief

And we weep with gratitude

For their precious lives

For their tremendous personal strength

For their utmost conviction

For their forthrightness in speaking out

For their passion in life

For their compassion to others

In a hostile, empty world.

We remember and give thanks

For who they were

And who they will always be

In our hearts.

Living On The Edge Of Existence

Living on the edge

of existence.

You cannot plan,

You cannot predict,

You cannot control

your experience,

thoughts or actions.

You live there, in a strange surreal state,

Unknown to most,

Not knowing how or when

You might leave.

Others live here with you

Strangely visible to us

Even from a great distance,

Yet oddly invisible to the rest of the world.

Some leave painfully quickly and young,

Whilst others cannot endure the uncertainty, the isolation, the negation,

nor the multi- layered pain

And choose the moment of their parting,

To silently, let go,

Whilst we look on, helpless

to know how to help

them,

each other

Or even ourselves.

And yet we, remaining, still hope,

For better moments

For healing to somehow magically occur,

Despite the odds.

We hold each others virtual hands

And send out love across the universe

Into the abyss of not knowing,

Praying for miracles

to save us all.

When I Am Overwhelmed

When I am overwhelmed

and incapacitated by fear

I focus on all that is good,

all that is safe,

all that is true right now.

I see the beauty of nature

surrounding me,

as Spring unfurls.

Whether I am outside or trapped indoors,

I think of the trees.

They stand glowing

As buds burst into new life.

A promise of blossom

then an abundance of fruit to come.

They tell me, they are not afraid.

Spring is coming in.

Nothing can stop the slow, steady progress

Of their growth toward the light.

When I feel fear staring me in the face

Blocking my senses

Tearing at my mind

Whispering unhelpful possibilities,

I look up and out upon the stars.

I tell myself

that they are not afraid

of falling from the sky.

Their light still shines

From a billion light years away

To reach me in the gathering gloom.

When I feel fear grasping at my heart

I look to you

and see you

Standing before me,

Arms open wide

Loving me

Caring for me,

Affirming me

Helping me stay strong.

Against all fear

We stand together.

Love Has Held Me Close

What we have been through

simply cannot be expressed

So many tortured moments

lived within

Lived through

Barely lived at all

Heartbreakingly borne witness to

Can never be completely recaptured on a page

All I can say is that love has led the way

And love has held me close

Even when touch when impossibly hard to bear.

Love has been the guide

And the victor

In a story too painful to fully recount.

Years of fractured moments

Dissolving self into virtually nothing

Have been held together by the brightest spark of hope

Held high by my beloved

Till helplessness

And hopelessness

Have simply flown away,

Comforted by a warmth of love that never wanes

Or dissolved away with the countless tears

That washed me clean for just a moment

Long enough to feel the truth

That we are greater than any suffering

Your love remains a tower of strength in the darkest night

And holds me to each tomorrow

With its golden light.

Spirit in action

flows like the wind

dances like fire

encompasses all in

the Light of the World

whispers of freedom

sings wildly of Passion

Brings Power and Wisdom

to all those who hope

Spirit is action

and Spirit is Fire

Spirit is Freedom

and Spirit is here

Spirit flows like a fountain

cleansing all in its Pathway

unstoppable Spirit

the Spirit of Love.

Spirit is Joy

and Spirit is knowing

Spirit is wonder

and Awe at the sight

Spirit brings Peace

and a Joy never-ending

in a dance of forever

Spirit brings us to Light

Spirit is Tender

and Spirit is water

Spirit is weeping

and Spirit is Prayer

Spirit brings Love

to the heart of creation

Spirit is gentle

and tenderly there

Bringing all in its pathway

to once hidden places

Setting Light to our hearts

bringing Hope to despair

Blessing all as it passes

it moves like a windswell

breathing Life in our spirits

bringing all now to Truth.

For Spirit is God

and is there at the centre

and Spirit is Love

and holds all for all time

and the Peace that God brings

is the Peace of forever

and the healing that blesses

brings Life to us all.

Oh Love - hear our call.

Hope

Easter Day Poem: Silent Moment

John's Hope

A Mission of Love

Hands

As It Was Before

The Stars Are Not Afraid

The Mystery of Tomorrow

We Light A Candle In Our Hearts

Yet We Love

Be Bold

The Shifting Sands Of Time and Space

Lord, Give Me My Life Back

Snow Dog

They Leave A Trail Of Love

We Remember

Living On The Edge Of Existence

When I Am Overwhelmed

Love Has Held Me Close

Spirit in action