Poems

My dream pub would definitely be

The pub where all the drinks are free!

You can have any drink 24/7

You might just think you’ve arrived in heaven.

You could get food but not big meals

Just sandwiches, snacks and jellied eels.

The most delightful person you could ever see

Would be this pub’s landlady.

She’d give you a hug at any time

In between your sips of wine.

There’d be little swearing or negative talk

Just interesting conversation.

No very loud music to deafen us all

Few adverts from a radio station.

There wouldn’t be drunks or people feeling ill

And no dead flies on the window sill.

Come to this pub with a problem

And it will soon disappear.

I’ve heard it said that the reason

Is not just because of the beer.

The landlady’s called Mary

And the barman’s known as JC

And the Spirit is in the bottles

Beside the Christmas tree.

This pub – it really is like heaven.

You might think: “that sounds a bit odd!”

But you’d understand if I told you:

The landlord – he is God!

 

Written by Dave Evans & inspired by visits to the Harvey pub in West Swindon

I am not sure 

I wonder why the Daffodil

Blooms while others sleep so still?

Her golden trumpet hails to say

Today it is a special day.

 

The Snowdrop with her head hung low

Nods to and fro while breezes blow

She stood so patiently through Lent

Waiting for this grand event.

 

Catkins with their hanging tails

To rhyme with this, I thought of nails,

Which held our Lord on the cross to die.

“Forgive them, Father” was His cry.

 

The Crocus with her head held high

Looks straight to Jesus in the sky;

She stands so peaceful all the day.

I’m sure she means “look up and pray”.

 

Violets hiding in the shade

They seem to be a bit afraid;

With broad leaves and head so bent

But oh, how beautiful their scent

 

Now come on folk, look up and say

Were glad you rose again today.

The flowers have brought a life anew

But Lord, we say our thanks to You.

ONE NIGHT.

One night God's Son was born,

A babe to weary Mary,

Who laid Him in the sweet, soft hay,

Brushed by the breathing of the stable beasts;

And some shy shepherds came from a nearby hillsides,

Well, They had seen a bright Angel in the sky,

And just like the Angel said,

They'd come to look,

And gone back and told,

Which filled a book.

 

'

 

DEMENIA'S STRAIN

LORD, why this lingering life,

Why dread ebbing of the reason's flood,

When we once knew the harmony of love

Is now rejection,

And fear of one I knew so well;

The love I've loved a lifetime long.

Now lives but seems to love no more,

But lingers while I weep;

And long to see again that smile,

 Feel that touch of love;

Now grief, love, life, all linger on.

Jesus the name high over all

That’s what the poet said

His Mother laid him in a stall

Where beast and oxen fed.

 

The Shepherds left their flocks that night

To visit Mary's son

The Kings they followed a bright light

A new life had begun.

 

So many many years ago

We still rejoice today

But how many people really know

And from their heart can say.

 

Jesus was born to be my King

A pattern for my soul

And then you truthfully can sing

My Lord has made me whole.

 

WHEN I WAS JUST A LITTLE LAD

FOLLOWED FOLK TO CHURCH, I THOUGHT WAS MAD;

INSTEAD OF ENJOYING A SUNDAY WALK

JUST SAT THERE WHILE A CHAP DID TALK.

 

HE TALKED OF TIMES SO LONG AGO

JUST HOW HE KNEW, I DID NOT KNOW;

ON A BOOK HE DID JUST THUMP

AND KNOWLEDGE FROM IT HE COULD PUMP.

 

I WENT EACH WEEK TO SUNDAY SCHOOL

TWICE EACH SUNDAY AS A RULE;

SANG A HYMN OR SAID A PRAYER

ALTHOUGH I DIDN’T REALLY CARE.

 

AS YEARS WENT BY, WAS FORCED TO ROAM

CALLED BY THE FORCES TO LEAVE MY HOME.

NO PLACE FOR ME TO RUN AND HIDE,

I NEEDED SOMEONE BY MY SIDE.

 

I ASKED THE LORD INTO MY HEART

NEVER FROM ME TO DEPART.

HE MADE A PATTERN FOR MY LIFE

AND EVEN CHOSE FOR ME A WIFE.

 

I’M GLAD I FOLLOWED FOLK THOUGHT MAD

FOR THEY KNEW GOOD AND I KNEW BAD.

THE BIBLE WAS THAT LARGE OLD BOOK

WHERE YOU’LL LEARN MUCH IF YOU JUST LOOK.

 

IT TELLS OF JESUS AND HIS LOVE

AND OF THE ARK THAT HAD A DOVE;

OF PROPHETS AND OF WISE MEN THREE

SO JUST YOU READ AND THEN YOU’LL SEE.

The Sower.

A sower he went forth to sow

Why he went I do not know;

Scattered seeds here and there,

Where they fell he didn’t care.

 

Some they fell upon the road

Which you could see, as by you strode;

Birds came along and picked them up

And did enjoy them for their sup.

 

Some seed fell among the stones

Where ground was parched and dry as bones.

This seed shot, and then did wilt

For lack of moisture in the silt.

 

Some he scattered in the hedge

By other roots they seemed to wedge;

But the old they shot ahead

And choked the new seed in their bed.

 

But some fell where the ground was good

And sprang to life the best it could.

It’s feeding from the very best

Like loving God He does the rest.

 

Don Walker.

Under an arbour of leaves

Where the dappled shadows play

I reflect on You

In the heat of the day.

 

By some distant shore

Where the waves lap the sands

I consider Your vast majesty

And the beauty You planned.

 

From a mountain high

Where the hills and valleys meet

I gaze on Your creation

So perfect and complete.

 

In the stillness of night

Where only darkness I see

I praise You My Lord

That You know and care for me.

So day will soon be gone

And seagulls with outstretched wings

Fly home across a pink washed sky.

 

Ethereal stillness abounds in the silence

The backcloth canvas becomes red

Then purple, followed by murky indigo.

 

Night time will gradually follow

Spinning its cocoon of darkness

Preparing man to rest and ultimately sleep.

 

Bright stars will speckle the sky

They huddle and cluster together

Like sparkling freckles on a heavenly face.

 

With the moon in solitary brilliance

A beam of light from the Father’s torch

Shining until the new sunrise at dawn.

 

Then night will soon be gone

And seagulls return across a tranquil sea

Where gentle sunlight glistens on silver waves.

 

                    HARVEST TIME.

HARVEST TIME ONCE MORE IS HERE,

SOME IN POD AND SOME IN EAR;

SOME IN GROUND AND SOME IN TREE,

GLORIOUS FLOWERS HELPED BY THE BEE.

 

THE COMBINE IS SILENT, ASLEEP IN THE BARN,

CATTLE ARE LOWING DOWN ON THE FARM;

THE COWMAN, NO THREE-LEGGED STOOL ANYMORE,

JUST A BULK TANK STANDING DOWN ON THE FLOOR.

 

THE SHEPHERD, NO MORE WITH HIS SHEEP IN THE FOLD,

THEY GRAZE THE GREEN PASTURES OUT IN THE COLD.

THE CARTER, NO LONGER HIS HORSES WE SEE,

BUT MAN ON HIS TRACTOR RUSHING HOME FOR HIS TEA.

 

THOUGH TIMES ARE FAST CHANGING

AND LIFE SEEMS SO FAST,

THE BIRDS ARE STILL SINGING

THEIR PLEASURE TO CAST.

 

LEAVES ARE ALL FALLING FROM HEDGE AND FROM TREE,

BUZZING HAS STOPPED FROM HORNET AND BEE.

THE SPIRE AND THE STEEPLE LOOK OVER FIELD SO BARE,

GOLDEN CORN WAVES UNDER GOD’S LOVING CARE.

 

A RABBIT SCAMPERS TO HIS BURROW

OVER RIDGE AND DOWN THE FURROW.

HEDGEHOG SLEEPS TILL SPRING HE WAKES

SLY OLD FOX HIS PREY HE TAKES.

 

LET’S NOT FORGET THE HARVEST STORE

WHEN COLD WINDS BLOW AND FROST IS RAW

THE LORD SUPPLIES OUR EVERY NEED

NOT ONLY DOES OUR BODY FEED.

 

BUT GIVES US SIGHT AND SOUND AND TOUCH

WHY DON’T WE LOVE HIM TWICE AS MUCH?

Church and Lychgate standing there

Waits for us to come in prayer.

Praising God for what we’ve had

All things good but nothing bad.

 

The vane it sits upon the spire

Listens to Gods heavenly choir;

Sitting there in wind and calm

Sometimes it hears a quiet psalm.

 

The people sitting in the pew

Why, oh why. are they but few?

He listens to our every need

Why should the Lord our bodies feed?

 

The tombstones standing all erect

To ones before we do inspect;

They left their mark before they went

Some were old and some were bent.

 

The grass is now cut with a mower

And head flies off a little flower

The Church it now looks spick and span

We thank you dear Lord for this man.

(The man in the Poem represents anyone who does all the mundane things like mowing and general maintenance to the Church to keep It in good order.)

He meets me at the well,
asks me for a drink
in this my usual place
and his enquiring face greets
my weary weathered face,
my dirty dusty face,
my midday mid-life face, yet
he beholds my face.

He has no water jar
but he pours words
into my pain-filled space,
my guilt-filled place,
inviting me to face
my deep avoidance place, yet
this prophet man of grace
beholds my face.

So this well within
becomes a spring,
a bubbling babbling watering place,
an ever-drawing deeper place,
my Messiah meeting place,
my whole life’s breathing space, because
he beholds my face.

Life is like our highways with many ups and down.
We meet so many crossroads, which way to take? we frown.
We’ll take the easy route today, it is so wide and straight.
So off we speed and do not heed the beauty o’er the gate.

The motorway with three wide lanes for folk that’s in a hurry.
With engine running very hot just like an Indian curry.
No time to speak to anyone or pass the time of day.
We always think that other folk are always in our way.

The A road with its long white lines which mean ‘don’t overtake’.
Hold back a while, slow down and think, before it is too late.
The clearway says you must not stop; you’re in danger if you do.
Take notice of the highway code, it was written just for you.

The B roads are the ones to use, a pleasant way to go.
With time to view the beauty of life in the hedgerow.
With not so many orders to distract your eyes and mind.
And time to think what lies ahead and what you’ve left behind.

The highway code we all should know before we venture out.
But God’s own book is our best guide, for that there is no doubt.
So do not choose the easy route and rush your life away.
Follow the way the Master went, and daily to him pray.

THE TALENTS GOD HAS GIVEN YOU USE THEM THE BEST YOU CAN.

PLEASE DO NOT KEEP THEM TO YOURSELF BUT HELP YOUR FELLOW MAN.

THERE’S SOMETHING THAT WE ALL CAN DO, IF WE MAKE UP OUR MIND.

SO HELP SOMEONE EACH DAY YOU LIVE, THEN HAPPINESS YOU’LL FIND.

OUR LIVES WERE GIVEN FOR US TO SHARE, AND NOT BE FULL OF GREED.

SO DO NOT TURN YOUR BACK, ON ANYONE IN NEED.

YOU NEVER KNOW FOR ONE DAY YOU MAY BE IN THAT PLIGHT.

WHETHER IN THE DAYTIME OR IN THE DARKEST NIGHT.

IF YOU HAVE NOTHING ELSE TO GIVE, WHY NOT GIVE A SMILE?

YOU’LL NOT THINK THAT IS VERY MUCH, BUT ALWAYS IS WORTHWHILE.

SO BRIGHTEN UP THIS WORLD OF OURS WITH A GOOD DEED EVERY DAY.

AND HELP EACH PERSON THAT YOU MEET AND BE KIND IN WHAT YOU SAY.

During this “Great Pause”

I’ve learnt the value of joy,

The importance of gratitude,

How much God loves us,

Our part in helping others,

The privilege to pray for everyone,

Seeing creation recover

Thanks to less pollution;

Most of all the blessing of joy.

Appreciation is the key of a life lived happily.

Preparation is the key of a life lived successfully.

Try to appreciate all you have,
Say “thank you Jesus!”
Can He want more?
His heart of love will always help,
Your grateful heart is all He needs.