-
When the magic stops, we might be getting near
It was magic when the star appeared, Bright shining reshaped the customed sky. It was magic to research, poring over books, Speculations escalating in our talk, Sparking vision beyond vision. It was magic when the fog cleared And the new king’s birth appeared As the vision’s meaning set us on our way to find him. It…
-
No Kingdom No Baby
A remark on contemporary Christmas in England Today we have baby But no kingdom The baby is beautiful What baby is not? But the baby signs Nothing now The baby signs No gift, no hope, No kingdom Signs nothing Because for us Self-referencing consumers There is no screen Picking up and reflecting back The light…
-
Shepherds of Israel
A Christmas meditation on Ezekiel 34 There are no shepherds For God’s people any more There are shepherds abiding in the fields Looking after their sheep by night But where are the shepherds of Israel? There are wheelers and dealers in a palace In Jerusalem, An upstart dynasty, dysfunctional family Tearing and devouring the people, …
-
There are many theologians in the world
For some, there is no God. For some, God is a vague shadow around the edges of life For some, God is tremendous presence, filling life, silencing speech For some, God is found in the Bible and in the church For some, God is named the Rock, the God of Israel, For some, God is the Father…
-
The walk to school (three poems)
One little old lady Little old lady Topping eighty Rucksacked Runs the roads Faster than I can (that not to say much) Towing a little old dog, Scrawned in her image She was a regularity On our walk to school Then she was missing, One month, two This morning, Sunbright, We saw again, Summer shorts,…
While it is yet day
Haddon Willmer