a tree
God
is a tree said Kabir
a tree in the forest; when the woodsmen come
to cut Him down
He will not defend
And so the season changes
Posted on by James Woodward
Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;
Lengthen night and shorten day;
Every leaf speaks bliss to me
Fluttering from the autumn tree.
I
Inhabiting RS Thomas on his own soil
Posted on by James Woodward
It is a long way from Salisbury to the Llyn Peninsula. This was a pilgrimage of sorts to the RS Thomas Poetry Festival.
Patience
Posted on by James Woodward
patience
An absolute
patience.
Trees stand
up to their knees in
fog. The fog
slowly flows
uphill.
White
cobwebs, th
of grief …. and getting past it
Posted on by James Woodward
Starlings in Winter
by Mary Oliver
Chunky and noisy,
but with stars in their black feathers,
they spring from the telephone wire
Patience
Posted on by James Woodward
An absolute
patience.
Trees stand
up to their knees in
fog. The fog
slowly flows
uphill.
White
cobwebs, the grass
leaning where dee
Reading David Whyte – Consolations
Posted on by James Woodward
We live in strange times. Listening to this mornings news adds to the complexity and anxiety. The junior doctors strike which informs us
‘Bedtime’ Reading : Super- Infinite: The Transformations of John Donne
Posted on by James Woodward
Being confined to quarters while a bout of flu ( or something - I have never been very good at diagnosis ) and amidst cancelling appointments
Hearing God in Poetry by Richard Harries
Posted on by James Woodward
Hearing God in Poetry
Fifty Poems for Lent and Easter
Richard Harries SPCK 2022
This is the time of the year when some turn to th
Poetry and Dementia
Posted on by James Woodward
Poetry and Dementia: A Practical Guide
John Killick
Jessica Kingsley Publishers 2017 ISBN: 9781785921766 £16.99
I wonder
Poetry on Sunday
Posted on by James Woodward
a lyrical manifesto for large-hearted living.
Walk through life
Beautiful more than anythi
The Windows
Posted on by James Woodward
The Windows
Lord, how can man preach thy eternall word?
He is a brittle crazie glasse:
Yet in thy temple thou dos
understanding people ?
Posted on by James Woodward
Affinity
Consider this man in the field beneath,
Gaitered with mud, lost in his own breath,
Without joy, without sorrow,...
Without children, wit
Glass
Posted on by James Woodward
glass
It is like the light coming through blue stained glass,
Yet not quite like it,
For the blueness is not transparent,
Only translucent.
Praying for Peace
Posted on by James Woodward
and listening to the voices ......
Erich Fried
When we were the persecuted
I was one of you
How can I remain one
when you become t
empty hands
Posted on by James Woodward
they go there with empty hands
What do they do,
The singers, tale writers, dancers, painters,
Shapers, makers?
They go there with empty ha
Tulip
Posted on by James Woodward
tulip
Perhaps the tulip knows about impermanence
and that is why, on a green stem
it carries a wine cup in the wilderness
Hafiz, (re)transl. Tom
Light
Posted on by James Woodward
light
O splendour of what is, by which I saw
the high delight, the true communion:
please show me how to say all I could see.
Up there the
Blossom
Posted on by James Woodward
blossom
There are days we live
as if death were nowhere
in the background; from joy
to joy to joy, from wing to wing,
from blossom to bloss
people vote for different reasons!
Posted on by James Woodward
crystal
I am unjust, but I can strive for justice.
My life's unkind, but I can vote for kindness.
I, the unloving, say life should