Heaven’s Gift

On Christmas day in barn so bare
Beneath a starlit sky
From manager in a cattle shed
A babe was heard to cry
His first sweet breaths; his tender plea
That soon would be heard wide
Yet first reached out to mother’s heart
To be there by his side

An infant who depended on
The warmth and love she shared
To nurture and protect him as
An angel with such care
Where wings wrapped closely round him and
Her halo gently glowed
To comfort him the way Mums do
With so much grace bestowed

And there without even a bed
Nor anything at all
The Christ child lay wrapped up in just
A cloth; a swaddling shawl
With nothing bar the love of those
In whom their arms he lay
No trappings and no Christmas lights
But simple modest hay

And so if there’s a message to
Take from this humble start
Is that each child can grow to be
Reflections of the hearts
And minds of those who care
Without riches galore
For children are but heaven’s gift
For us to all adore

And each arrives with nothing bar
The wish to be so loved
Wrapped up in hope and peace and trust
That’s handed from above
And so for Christmas every year
Be sure to thus impart
The gift of unconditional love
That flows out of your heart

The Virgin Mary with the Baby Jesus, Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, and Saint Prosper of Reggio, 16th century. Reggio Emilia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Advertisement

Baptism

A small bright shining candle
All glowing in this world
A ray of hope and happiness
An incandescent pearl
A beam of joy and harmony
A shaft so radiant white
A stream of Godly wonder
A life of love and light

Baptism Card available from ginzandtonic.com raising funds for stars.org.uk. Use contact link above to enquire further

 

An Easter Message

When you wake up in the morning
And you feel a fresh new day
When you breathe in and remember
There is another way
When you think and dare to alter
The way you used to be
When you grapple with your mind’s thoughts
To use plasticity
When you push through and consider
That old means are no more
Then that’s the resurrection that
Ignites your inner core

For a pathway that’s well-trodden
That needs to deviate
And choices that one makes in life
To shift and relocate
Can be changed to make a difference
To push and surge on through
Moving boulders that reside within
And alter what you do
For rising to each challenge breaks
The mould in life and chain
For inside you, my friend, is where
You can be born again

Easter eggs // Ostereier (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Good Friday

I spied the Easter bunny
With a cheeky glint in eye
Foraging in the undergrowth
For Easter eggs to spy
And dressed in Easter bonnet
His Mrs stood nearby
To carry all the chocolate
To their warren near the sky

For on the far horizon
Their babies waited in
With fingers crossed and tails all bobbed
Saliva on their chin
From the thought of many Easter eggs
With sassy toothy grin
Their favourite time of year by far
As Easter could begin

And on a nest not far away
A golden hen did roost
With thoughts of other sorts of Eggs
So precious she deduced
For her eggs were all made of gold
By feelings she induced
With special ores of golden drops
That she alone produced

But nearby on that hillside
A knocking sound was heard
Of hammer onto silver nails
A sound that was absurd
A sound that froze the blood of those
Who saw the gallows bird
A man whose flawless life now hung
By virtue of his word

The word that brought new life to those
Who listened; understood
A word of faith and hope and love
Now nailed upon crossed wood
Where all the sins from all the world
Were in one act, withstood
By sacrificing innocence
And all that stands for good!

The Passion And The Cherry Blossom

A lamb on mule beneath the tree
With buds now in full bloom
The cherry blossom beautiful
That shelters the bridegroom

With flowers a fleeting reminder
Sweet pink fragility
Ephemeral nature of a life
To set the world so free

The passion of the cherry bloom
And all that goes before
The present moment that exists
With palms spread on the floor

And riotous vision set ahead
Prodigious majesty
As blossoms fall before their time
His sacrifice to see

Cherry Blossom Festival (Photo credit: ucumari photography (Valerie))

Childlike Eyes

Let’s look and see with childlike eyes
Regard for one more time
And view the world the way we once
Saw everything sublime
When all was bright and brilliant
And everything was new
The simplest thing gave such delight
Enchanted senses too

The joy of seeing snowflakes fall
Or robins in the tree
The love of getting our first glimpse
Of waves down by the sea
The wildest buzz and marvel of
Clouds flying in the blue
The kick of visions wonderful
Where webs were laced in dew

Let’s gaze upon the butterfly
Emerging from cocoon
Or lightning bolt streak cross the sky
See changing shape of moon
Light up our faces one more time
Like young eyes shine brightly
Lest else the mist of time obscures
Visual acuity

Peace

What is peace
If it is not more than that inner sanctum
That state of knowing
That sacred sense of calm, safe, secure, stability
That rests in the heart of mankind
Peace – the friend of sanity
The heartbeat of concord and harmony
That reconciles us to ourselves
In armistice with each other
A truce with life
That is Peace

en: Peace dove icon. es: Icono de la paloma de la paz. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One Day

I know one day I’ll surely die
I’ll draw my last long breath
I’ll close my eyes and let my soul
Be consumed by my death

And at that time I pray I’ll know
That life has really been
The best adventure here on earth
Lived fully – ever keen

I pray that I’ll have soared the skies
Have walked the highest range
Swam in the deepest ocean blue
Have welcomed, embraced change

I pray I’ll have just lived a life
The best one that I can
With love and laughter radiantly
Since when my days begun

Caught hold of inspiration bright
Kissed wonders to behold
Danced with great happiness and hope
With truth my life unfold

And in that last breath tentatively
I’ll pray that you’ll know still
That I have loved you from your first
Deep breath and always will.

And A Partridge In A Pear Tree: Part III Three French Hens

Three French hens in the garden on
A Galleneous throne
Chatting and making quite a noise
From whence they have been blown

Their names they say are Hope and Faith,
And also Charity
But they’re concerned by turtle doves
And Partridge in the tree

For word out on the street is that
Their tree’s about to fall
Or at the very least thought soon
To hit the garden wall

And so they perch a bit away
Upon the garden seat
In conference or parliament
Quite happy there to greet

All who might come a wandering
Or those who just pass by
Three French hens next to turtle doves
And partridge way up high

This is a continuum of our Christmas take on the Twelve Days Of Christmas in 12 parts.  To see the whole poem build day by day please visit the link above or click here to the 12 days of Christmas.

To My Children

To my children, Merry Christmas
For blessings to befall
With faithfulness that’s flowing
And goodness ever knowing
For peace to one and all

And may this special day bring
Joy in many forms
Happiness with thanksgiving
Gladness in lives your living
Blessed memories recall

For with a full and open heart
And caring kind embrace
Be content in feeling warm
To forbear the biggest storm
With hope in yuletide grace

So my Darlings know you’re cherished
And dressed in cloaks of love
To welcome in the Christmas morn
Behold the babe in manger born
From heaven high above