Glad Tidings - A poem about life after life

Glad Tidings 

If you should hear that I have died,

Do not be sad, be glad for me.

(Though life is good and joys abound

Though happiness may yet be found,)

The many tears that I have cried

For grief untold and sorrow seen,

For what is and what might have been,

Will fade away in love's embrace

When we behold the wondrous place

Where all shall dwell in love alone,

Our final and eternal home.

A poem about seeing God in the dawn and the dusk of the day

Oh God, you are my God and I love you.

I see you in the flowers of the gardens and the fields.
I feel you in the gentle breeze that brushes on my face.
I hear you in the singing and the callings of the birds.

Oh God, you are my God and I love you.

I see you in the late and the lingering light of day.
I feel you in the warmth of the afterglow of sunset.
I hear you in the darkness and the silence of the stars.

Oh God, you are my God and I love you.

About seeing God in the sky at dusk, through my bedroom window

A couple of nights ago, I walked into the bedroom and, looking through the window, the beauty in the sky took my breath away. I really felt I was looking at the handiwork of God, that God was actually in the sky.

As I lay in bed shortly afterwards, these words came into my mind.

I saw you in the light of the sky.
I felt you in the warmth of the sunset.
I heard you in the silence of the stars.

A second verse grew from this.

I see you in the flowers of the fields.
I feel you in the breeze upon my face.
I hear you in the callings of the birds.

The poem which follows this post grew from these two verses.

A poem for the time when I am no longer here

In Love's Embrace

If you should hear that I have died
do not be sad, be glad for me.
Though love is real and joys abound,
life's pain is clear, for all to see.

The many tears that I have cried,
for grief untold and sorrows seen,
for early dawn's anxiety;
for what is and what might have been,
will fade away in love's embrace
when we behold the wondrous place
where all shall dwell in God alone, 
our final and eternal home.

This is certainly not the greatest poem ever and some of the lines are not very good, no matter how I search for better expressions and rhythms. However, others of the lines have been echoing in my head for weeks and will not let go so this is the best I have come up with so far.

Also, it seemed appropriate to post them in November and particularly on the weekend of remembrance, here and maybe in other places around the world but especially in France, on the anniversary of the atrocity which took place in Paris a year ago today.

It might even be something that others might have liked to say to their loved ones who are left behind. I can only hope that in some circumstances, it might, perhaps, bring some sort of comfort and, maybe, some understanding.

'God thoughts' connected with the poem "On His Blindness" by John Milton

These may be of interest to some and are on the 'About all sorts' blog.

A poem for Holy week

This is a post I wrote in my original blog last Holy Week. I felt it belonged here now so I offer it once again.

These words began to form in my mind quite some years ago.
It concerns Jesus after his arrest when he is brought, firstly, before King Herod and afterwards, before the Roman Governor, Pontius Pilate.

                        ONLY SILENCE

                  He didn't speak to Herod,
                  But for Pilate there were answers;
                  One, of his own race, a king,
                  And one, the hated foreign ruler.

                  We may wonder why this silence 
                  for the one and not the other.

                  May we learn when not to answer
                  Is the wiser path to follow.
                  When the hearer doesn't listen
                  Only silence speaks our truth.  

Why is it that we can see these things, and even write poems about them, but not be able to follow our own advice or, even more so, the example of Jesus? Still learning, I suppose.