Snippets from Simon

 This is a retro post of poems from 2019 that were originally on WordPress. Picture: Olive Grove, Garden of Gethsemane, Jerusalem, Israel (February 2010). I Couldn’t Go to Jerusalem or Good Friday For Christians, Good Friday is a day to remember a life lived, and given away for others, even in suffering. This is for those who want to remember, but are not able to join others in Churches. I couldn’t go to Jerusalem – My mother-in-law just Died And we are mourning as Burial is prepared.   I couldn’t go to Good Friday – I’m a nurse But I saw the arms of the cross In the open arms Of a man Reaching from the chair As I moved him To his bed.   I couldn’t go to Good Friday – I’m at Lifeline Taking calls But I heard the cry “My God, why have you abandoned me!” In the tone of a caller Still reeling from abuse By one once trusted.   I couldn’t go to Good Friday – I’m old and My days of driving Are in the yesterdays of my life. Family staying here Won’t take me to Church It mea...

On the Prospect of Not Celebrating Easter this Year Will Christ not rise again This year For us? Is he in fact Still Dying among us? In those succumbed To COVID-19. Or is he Still Dead? Is he in the tomb With us? Quarantined from life Before rising Infected and decaying With the virulence Of toxins? Of needy-greedy panic Grabs at shopping shelves? As panicked voices Constantly ask questions What about this? Or that? What now? What now indeed. Will there be no people As the body of Christ Holding their candles Light in the Lord? Signs that Christ Has risen And shines In us and Among us? Or are we consigned To private piety, In our own place, So foreign To genuine faith That seeks to hold us together As parts of the body Of the Risen Lord? What of this distant, Isolated, Seclusion? Dying alone In the dark And waiting In the tomb? When will we rise? When shal...

The Kelpie Dog at Christmas They gathered around the Christmas scene, All those years ago; In the cold air of Bethlehem, In a rocky cave hollow. Mary, Joseph and Jesus, Gathered on some hay; Amongst the rocks and animals, On that first Christmas day. Angels called to shepherds, Who came in from fields to adore; On entering the cave they crouched down, Amongst the animals and straw. Outside the cave in the weather, Some sheep twitched in cold, damp fog; But before they could get away, Along came a kelpie dog! His black coat glistened with droplets, His ears pointed to the stars; His eyes took stock of that restless flock, He’d put an end to their baas! He circled round the flock, He mobbed them right in tight; They were bunched up together, On that first Christmas night. And while the shepherds paid respect To Jesus on the hay; That kelpie dog served vigil, And kept the sheep at bay. That night wa...

Two people came into my life that have given me pause.   The first is Ailsa Piper . In her account of the Camino Walk Sinning Across Spain ,  she writes beautifully of her experience of both events and her inner life. I particularly liked her love of language, landscape and a good yarn, seasoned with delightful servings of poems. T he second is Noel Braun . I've met Noel Braun on a couple of occasions. After his wife died, Noel went on a Camino. He described this in his book The Day was Made for Walking .  After that, he did the Portuguese Camino and related his experience in I Guess I'll Just Keep on Walking . There are others out there. These two have helped me.