Not in the Thunder

 For all your light shows

And all the right showings

For your crowds of baying, praising enthusiasts

For your stadium shaking thunderous bass

And ethereal wailings

Your many harmonies 

And the thudding of the drums

Mirroring heartbeat syncopations

And a noise that would wake nations

From their slumber

There is the figure of one

within your number

Who stands with arms folded


He wasn't in the Thunder

Nor the earthquake

Nor was he any less in them

Whatever turf you take,


There is a man

In a bedroom somewhere

Who realises for the first time,

That The Son of God himself

Knew what it was 

To fear God

For all the thunder

And what goes on under

For absence of the quake

His shoulders start to shake

Even to know him in perfect love

Is still to fear him.

Even the most intimate son

Revered him.

And this is the love 

He has bestowed.

Now make some noise.

Fourteen One

The Fatherless Children of Chance

Born of good luck and happenstance

Alone in the wide universe

Alone and alive without blessing or curse

To do and be done as they might

Without a reason or wrong or a right

And reason's alright as it goes

And for all that I do, I've got one of those

But there's no reason for reason at all

It's dog eating dog or the last one to fall

In the end were all the dust that we came from

And meanings mean nothing without explanation

And there's no judge who can cast judgement on me

I proclaim him a myth and I find him unworthy

Go give account to the sand

Go return your body back to the land

You can take this down as verbatim

There's no God, but Oh, do I hate him

Doorkeep

Rather than a selfish life,

Filled with every luxury,

Preferable to poverty and porcine envy,

I said I'd be a doorkeeper,

A hired servant.

If the remains of my life were to last only a day, in your presence,

It would outweigh all the wanting,

Of a thousand filled with every indulgence,

But

I have to be honest boss,

I have to be straight with you, Dad,

I'd take that,

I would.

I'd take it and be grateful,

It's more than I deserve or could ever ask for,

But I' can't help but hope for something more, 


It's not the robes or the ring

It's not the fatted calf, or any other thing,

It's the bit where you fall on me,

And welcome me in 

To your house,

Forever,

It's the bit where I get to spend forever as your son,

Daddy, I'll take the Doorkeep's job. 

I'd bite your arm of for it,

But, forgive me,

I want so much more

Wordless

 It is here

In my wordless prayer

I still my soul

To meet you there

My words betray

My anxious thought

And so I kneel before you

As I ought

My inner longings

Long have taught

That my outward strivings 

Will come to naught

So wordless I 

Let my heart be caught

Adopt the posture

Let hands be raised

Let life be rendered

In ceaseless praise

Let all I am,

Without a noise,

Lift my life 

As my loving voice

That all my deeds

Proclaim your love

Hearts and hands

And head above

Lost in praise

And wordless love

Extremities

Hands held by nails

Feet impaled
You always go to extremities

To show us your love

Hands healed
Feet heeled
You walked a thousand miles
To show us your love

Feet held,

While hands washed, 
You took the towel.
Before the power,

You always go to such extremities,

To show us your love,

Feet Scarred,
Hands holed,
Forever you will bear the mark,
Of the extremities you will go to,
To show us your love

We Sang

 

We sang 'Holy Spirit come',

And then we went home,

Did he turn up later on,

Alone in that room?

Did he brood over the face,

Of the kick drum and snares?

Did he pour out his love

Over our empty chairs?

Did his still presence

Descend on the keys?

Did the microphone stand,

In still silence and peace?

Did the power point suddenly

Splutter into life,

To point out that power

Can exist in the strife?

Did he linger then,

Eliciting praise,

But no voices nor heads,

Nor hands could be raised,

Because we'd departed,

And gone on our ways?

Come Jesus, we said,

Come Spirit we'd state,

And turn on our heels,

And make for the gate,

If the Spirit will,

Why then won't we wait?

Skullduggery

Golgotha,

The place of the skull,

where the lamb and the scapegoat

Were dragged for the cull,

Splayed and stretched out ,

Side by side,

 Innocence,

Guilt and pride,

Matryoshka,

In The Inside,

They crucified a lamb,

But a Lion would rise,

You thought this was a criminal,

Convicted and tried,

You thought this was a saviour,

But save your eyes,

The greatest heist,

Job done from the inside,

Stole back life,

To give to his bride,

The hero died,

But he also survived

And those driving the death,

Were merely along for the ride

In all of their pride and their thuggery,

This plain-hiding scheme could have seemed,

Like Skulduggery,

It was 'probably a robbery' 

Eloi, Eloi,

Lama sabachthani

You forsook, what it took,

But now you've come back to me,

Hosanna

Maranatha,

Hallelujah,

Golgotha,