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February 21, 2009
A Lament
I have had the honour - and terror! - of being asked to write 2 prayers over the last couple of weeks. One for Darwin's birthday which is too long to post here and the other that I had to speed write this week, for the economic crisis. Apart from writing for ceremonies, when it is an occupational hazard to gather the words for a group, I feel much happier writing from an "I" place than a "we" place. This is a throwback from years of sitting in church ducking the words that were meant to represent how I thought and spoke when a lot of the time they did neither. So, not my preferred way - even if the recession affects all of us, I tentatively post my offering.....
A Psalm of Lament in Times of Economic Crisis
Look O Merciful One, look on our land and hear our cry.
Work-clothes hang untouched in cupboards,
businesses boarded up, "For Sale" signs that never turn "Sold."
Worry like a fog settles over all, robbing our vision;
Loss damply seeps into every news report and every story told.
The rich have not been sent away empty but remain well fed
whilst little open mouths in scratchy nests wait
for job-seeking parents to return.
Our hunger for more lies hollow and wanting
masked by the shrill pursuit of placing blame.
Lead us O Faithful One, take us by the hand.
Lead us all the way down the stem to the quietness
where it all began, long before these times.
Help us to see before it grows over again
for we will never choose to be stripped back or look full face at our fear.
Expose our vanity but do not leave our need unclothed.
Cover us with your loving kindness
for your enough is abundance running over
and there is nothing new under the sun. This too will pass
like the leaf that turns and falls, baring the branch for replenishment.
And in the hiddenness, before the bud,
may we hear afresh the sheer silent invitation
to greet with compassion and gratitude all that meets us each new day
and to trust in the confidence that creates the universe.
Posted by Tess at February 21, 2009 10:45 AM
Comments
No I'm not Simon. He is Mr Bojangles. I am Tess Ward and unfortunately those of us who are later are not given biogs which I think can be quite helpful because apart from Simon, you don't know who anyone is. My website is www.tessward.co.uk
Lovely to make contact with you. Tess x
Posted by: Tess Ward at February 27, 2009 07:04 PM
hi Tess, glad you like the poem - i wrote it quite a long time ago and I'm still looking! Feel free to use it as you wish, it flowed, as many flow, from an eternal fountain, maybe the place I think I'm looking for. I really enjoyed your lament and sensed quite fragrantly the poet within - especially in the pre-bud hiddeness down the stem - the essence. In what more beautiful way could this be expressed? I'm a bit confused as to identities ... are you Simon? Essence cannot hide behind a label.
Posted by: rose at February 27, 2009 06:10 PM
Rose - what a stunning poet you are! Thank you for posting this. I am occasionally asked what I think heaven is like - I would love to use this to answer it. I say the same thing in a rambly way because the words are hard to find but you have found them.
Thank you. Tess x
Posted by: Tess W at February 25, 2009 09:10 AM
where is that pureness
of spirit, of soul
where is that place of being
that knows no control?
where is that stillness
where thought is unheard
where judgment is lost
in the unspoken word?
where is that brightness
where shadow cannot fall
where pain can't encroach
where fear can't enthral?
where is that omniscience
that vastness of mind
untainted by ego
the I left behind?
where is that oneness
with all of creation
communion of souls
cosmic revelation?
where is that nowness
where time is unknown
where all simply is
in the infinite zone?
where is that sublimeness
where beauty's unseen
where blue seas and sunsets
appear as a dream?
where is that divineness
where true freedom lies
where love's the pure essence
where heart never cries?
where is that pureness
each godhead can share
where is that place of being -
shall we meet there?
thank you, o Listening One, for showing in all your fragrant abundance - it's down the stem!
Posted by: rose at February 24, 2009 11:05 AM