From Stable to Table

The famine of the word of God

Finished: The word in full: Supplied,

The Word fulfilled, The Word made flesh 

Jehovah Jireh would provide:

Into the House of Bread

Long before the bread was torn

In Bethlehem where he laid his head

He came: The Bread of Life was Born,

Being in very nature God

He took on flesh, to be one with us, 

He took on himself our sin and sorrow

The bread was broken on the cross,

His Body broken now for us

Born into the House of Bread,

Provision of the bread was made,

That would feed us evermore,

And in the manger, the babe was laid.

And on the cross his body splayed

For the bread of God comes down From heaven,

Whoever comes to him, He'll never turn away,

And they will never need go hungry,

And he shall raise them on the final day,

And brethren, we are his body now,

And broken often, yet we are one,

One bread-one body-one church-one Lord,

And so, now in unison we come,

Because we partake of his bread,

We are one,

So to his table, 

We now come

Woken Stirred

 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ~ John 1:1

I'm woken and stirred,

For the spoken word,

Not choking or slurred,

Let the broken be heard,

I'm stirred and awoken,

For the word that is spoken,

Lazarus come forth;

Let the graves be opened,

Let living lies die

And the dead come alive

Let the voiceless be heard,

Let their voices arise,

Their joys realized,

Let their noise fill the skies 

Pray silence, then, 

For the king to arrive,

He's the living, walking sacrifice,

The Loving risen Jesus Christ

Word become flesh

So we heard it afresh

Born in a stable

In Swaddling dressed

Born on the run and laid in a manger

Born in a barn and into danger

Born to a mum who was just a teenager

Faced disgrace so you wont be a stranger

He was displaced, misplaced for his people's sin

So if his people will turn and believe in him, 

You're no longer a stranger but you're welcomed in

It's no longer death but instead life never-ending

It's mind bending what this little baby can do,

He can transform this world like he can transform you,

Your story may be filled with anxiety and dread

But I promise you he's the King who turns things on their head

*The loser wins,

The winner loses,

The free man cannot,

Do as he choses,

The first is last,

The last is first,

The worst is best,

The best is worst,

The poor are rich,

The rich are poor,

What's yours is mine,

What's mine is yours,

The bereft shall sing,

The happy weep,

The grabber forfeits,

The giver keeps,

If you lose it now,

You gain it later,

The greater the lesser,

The lesser the greater,

If you want to be master,

Then learn how to serve,

Pray then for mercy,

Not what you deserve,

And follow the King,

(Through whom all is made)

As he washes our feet,

On his victory parade,

He became sin for us,

He who was pure,

He was locked out for us,

He who opened the door,

He became last for us,

He who is first,

To gain best for us,

He endured the worst,

He endured shame for us,

He endured the worst,

Now glory is his,

Forever the first,

The dead come alive,

While the living are dead,

All hail the King,

Who turns things on their head*

I'm stirred and awoken,

For the word that is spoken,

Lazarus come forth;

Let the graves be opened,

Come forth from that tomb

That you've made your room,

You have to leave now,

You have to leave soon,

Leave the grave clothes behind

And take Jesus' hand

Come into the light

And take the stand,

I'm woken and stirred,

For the spoken word,

Become flesh and moved

Into the neighbourhood

I'm stirred and awoken,

For the word that is spoken,

The word become flesh

Let fresh hearts be opened,

*Poiema: The Lastest Bestest (matthewjosephpoet.blogspot.com)

I used the above existing poem and incorporated it into 'woken stirred', which was written primarily for performance at Ridgeway Community Church's carol service (2023) as it seemed to serve the idea well.

Horizon

The invisible line to which I run,

The sweet soul-fabled horizon

The horizon into which I disappear

Fantastical and mystical,

Is there

But never here.

If I should disappear from view

As my chords of sweet melancholic freedom tell me to,

Remember I am not gone, though I am no longer there,

I'm just exiting to the music that promised me somewhere,

The freedom promised is sweet escape,

Note perfect lies on audiotape,

For the landscape of promised freedom

Only exists beyond the horizon

But oh how I long for the lie

For it tells me what I want to hear

That escape is still possible

It is in itself, music to my ear.

But I must stay and fight

And only occasionally contemplate flight

And walk flint-faced into the Sun

And the disappearing, 

Reconfiguring,

Ever moving

Horizon.

The Austen Laments & Limericks

Closet Period Drama Fan

I find it hard to admit to, quite often,

To the lads, that I do love Jane Austen,

Oh, how I wish,

They weren’t so prejudiced,

And perchance, my pride may at last soften.

 

Jealousy

Oh, how I loathe George Wickham,

He show’s how the ladies can pick ‘em,

They love a bad boy

Whate’er his employ,

But mention marriage and his pace will then quicken,

 

Jealousy (pt 2)

Like Captain Wentworth, I’m all out at sea,

For the shades of great Pemberley

Could they be so polluted,

For a verse convoluted?

I’d consider a platonic civil partnership with Mr Darcy,

 

Lack of Sense (But presence of Hope)

Marianne will optimistically face it,

Though it bucketeth down She’ll not waste it

It may be miles away,

On the rainiest day,

She says there is some blue sky, let us chase it!

 

A Clergyman's Duty To Set an Example

Oh Mr Collins, You coy courting Cousin,

You could have your pick of a dozen,

Fordyce put aside

For You must have a bride

Lady Catherine will have no further discussion.

Something I Cannot Summon

I crave the fire

The flames again

I crave desire

I call The Name

The time has come

And has been coming

The time for passion

The season's change,

And Oh, My God,

I have been running

But you've seemed always

Out of range,

I crave the fire

The flames again

I crave desire

I call The Name

I find myself

In need of you,

In want of you

And your burning love,

My efforts cannot

Hold a candle,

However hard I huff and puff,

However much I push and shove,

I crave the fire

The flames again

I crave desire

I call The Name

I'm looking for

The overflow of heaven,

The Spirit's fire,

The pent-up flood,

The living-water-table rising

Filled up from the heart of God,

I don't want hype

Or human effort,

I want God,

Or shut up shop

I don't want something 

That I cannot summon,

I want something

That I cannot stop

I crave the fire

The flames again

I crave desire

I call The Name

When You're Young

When you're young,

You can squander good will,

Thinking that good will fill,

Your days,

But count the ways'

It's only 'if's and 'may's

And, if it may be, the will, will evaporate

With youth's haze,

The hand retracted

The unreturned gaze,

When you're old,

It's all silver and gold,

A gaze is as good as a hand to hold,

And good will grow still,

Like fast moving mould,

Whatever the source, you can't turn it down,

That you take what you find is wisdom's crown,

For fewer and further between,

Will you find the will

That's good

And clean,

And you cherish it

It is your King and Queen,

When you're young you scoff at it,

Like it's something obscene.

Not Alone

Are you tired, all you introverts?

Are you worn out and spent?

Are you constantly hounded?

Wondering where your alone-time went?

Are you sat there at the party,

Asking when's okay to leave?

Polite smiles on the outside,

While inside you want to plead,

'Please, please, please, please

Please can I go home?'

Introverts I want you to know,

That you are not alone,

And that's the problem.

Introverts, we feel you,

Introverts, don't moan,

We'll all gather 'round  you,

And hug away the alone,

I want you to know, 

That you're never on your own,

Introverts, we love you,

There's no need to groan,

Introverts we're here for you,

 Introverts, you're not alone,

And that might just be the problem.