How long?

Posted on January 1, 2017 by aperture

All I long for is communitas
Missio Dei a valid task
How long, O Lord, can I sustain
agape?

‘Clock face made by convicts – hospital for the insane’ Willow Court New Norfolk, Tasmania.

Current

Posted on November 16, 2015 by aperture

river stones Swamped by rapids and torrents

sweeping debris downstream

eroding every sandbank

every creature’s home of dreams

pulling on weeds and reeds

that populate the banks

irrigating flood lands

without a word of thanks

Such forces here faced

buried deep in to bedrock

a boulder immersed in waters deep

clear water for the flock

The gushing noise it causes

could illuminate our fears

But rather not still water

growing tepid over years

Such solid rock is moulded

constant force of river wide

smooths out all imperfections

buffs the surface to a shine

no watershed moment could

make a boulder weak

one so vast and solid

made from mountains’ peak

————————————–Photo by Beverly Nguyen

Love from Frank

Posted on October 28, 2015 by aperture

Where your heart lies

there your treasure lies too

Give that treasure to all around

without payment or compromise

silently waiting to share in another’s

heart.. listening for a beating or breath

only silence rings.

I run to double the beats in my ears

double the breath to push down my fears

that although surrounded I am alone

They form a ring around me

facing out, their backs do not reply

I fall to the ground, prostate

on the carpet that I laid, soft and new.

Sobbing echoes against these antique walls

as if occupied by many grieving widows

will my soul haunt here if I pour out my all?

I stare at the golden hue

bursting through the retro windows

let the golden rays kiss my face

and forever remember that He says to me

“I love you.”

I feel I have stepped back from a sharp precipice

as I gaze at the crisp perfect circumference

of the moon in full bloom

I casually stroll through the door

return the key to my sanctuary

‘It belongs to me, too’ I whisper.

The honey on my lips sublime

sears the sting of wind chapped sores

The only outward sign of pain

The rest I store inside, until next time.

For Whom the Bell Tolls

Posted on June 22, 2015 by aperture

“All mankind is of one author, and is one volume;

when one man dies, one chapter is not torn out of the book,

but translated into a better language;

and every chapter must be so translated;

God employs several translators;

some pieces are translated by age,

some by sickness, some by war, some by justice;

but God’s hand is in every translation,

and his hand shall bind up all our scattered leaves

again for that library where every book

shall lie open to one another.

No man is an island, entire of itself;

every man is a piece of the continent,

a part of the main…

any man’s death diminishes me,

because I am involved in mankind,

and therefore never send to know

for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.

No man hath affliction enough

that is not matured and ripened by it,

and made fit for God by that affliction.”

Meditation #17 By John Donne From Devotions upon Emergent Occasions (1623), XVII:
Nunc Lento Sonitu Dicunt, Morieris (Now this bell, tolling softly for another, says to me, Thou must die.)

Read the whole Meditation here

Surrender

Posted on June 15, 2015 by aperture

Tout comprendre c’est tout pardonner..

“To understand all is to forgive all”

– Evelyn Waugh Brideshead Revisted.

This quote originated somewhere else at an earlier date – Leo Tolstoy in War and Peace; I am inquisitive about it – as to its meaning.

I have reflected that to truly understand (or empathise) one must have suffered a similar situation or to a similar degree. No one would wish that upon anyone. Therefore I consider it important to note that true forgiveness is not about empathy or understanding from our own experiences, it is a giving up of one’s self – our criticisms and doubts and selfish desires – to consider another person more important than oneself. It does not require in-depth understanding but a depth of character that is reflected in Christ’s nature – to reflect the image of God.