Poetry

We first met you in the garden
It was the one where we were made
You walked with us through Eden
And you called us each by name.

Then in the garden of Gethsemane
on the night you were betrayed
you chose the cup of suffering
the price of death you paid.

And on that Easter morning
when tears had filled our eyes
You revealed you’re in the garden
Risen, and by our side.

So today if you feel lonely
isolated in your home
Know he’ll meet you in the garden
where you’ll never be alone.

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to be loved

I want to be loved.
Here, now and always,
to be treasured, and held,
to be valued, and seen,
forever in the perfect light.
Not judged by my worst day,
or even my best.
Loved because I am.
No longer marked by what I do,
or didn’t do.
Instead given grace again,
and then again, and again,
because I am yours,
because I am worthy of love.
I want to be loved,
simply because
I am human.

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poetry

Fill my lungs with your air once more
For my own will no longer sustain me
Let me feel life again
as my diaphragm expands
and a welcome presence enters
Do again what you did in the garden
Forming man in your likeness
and breathing into him
his very existence
Remake me by the spirit of the living God
So I can offer up my praise to the heavens

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Life Got Harder by Helen Sherwin

Life got harder when you left it.
It’s not that I didn’t appreciate you whilst you were here:
I did.
It’s just that I appreciated you by your presence;
I enjoyed your company, your quirks, your goodness.
But now I’m appreciating you by your absence.
Realising all that’s missing,
How life got harder when you left it,
Each day like wading knee-deep in mud.

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Dream On Dear One by Helen Sherwin

Dream on dear brother,
Hold your wishes before the Lord,
Where we failed to listen and act,
Go to the one who made it all,
Ask him what, why, how and when,
Then reply simply with a nod,
For today you are standing,
In the presence of your God.

Dream on dear father,
For in His kingdom dreams come true,
Enjoy the perfect family,
A ready-made community for you,
Laugh that cheerful laugh,
A joy no longer flawed,
For today you are standing,
In the presence of your Lord.

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Spring is that you?

Spring, is that you?
Waving your sparkling arms of sun over the boggy field of winter rain,
Have you arrived?
With yellow flowers dancing in the later light of March,
Whilst birds sing sweetly and the voices of people enjoying the outside are audible –
After months of being shut up.

Spring are you here?
Awakening life,
Hope rising as lambs bleat in faraway fields of lively green,
Spring, will you stay?
As frost threatens to crystallise the beauty you’ve begun,
And stagnate life half-formed.

Spring, breathe your sunny warmth on me
And run your bubbling streams by my side.

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Wounds by Helen Sherwin

As a soldier returned from war I am wounded.
Not by weapons nor explosions,
But your words have wounded me,
In a way only those closest to me can see.

You took the place of God,
When you used your power to pull the rug
Out from underneath my once steady feet,
And the house from over my head as well.Read More →

I See Beauty by Helen Sherwin

Look in the mirror,
What do you see?
Imperfection before perfection,
The wounds from the battle field
marking your face,
The haggard life
of a once beautiful wife,
Fading years,
Tear after tear stained eyes,
Lines –
where they shouldn’t be,
for someone so young.Read More →

You are Welcome Here by Helen Sherwin

I know you think you’re not welcome but you are,
I miss you,
Fear grips at my insides when I think about what might have happened to you,
I am waiting,
I am longing actually,
Longing for you to come into my line of sight,
At that point I will start running,
And I won’t stop running until I embrace you.

I’m here again outside the house by the gate,
Watching for you,
Waiting to see if you’ll come,
Your brother thinks I’m mad to do this each day,
That I’m torturing myself.Read More →

Please Sir by Helen Sherwin

Calm down little man,
Take a breath and sit down.
You have nothing to prove here,
Take your time –
For nothing breaks a person like rushing.

So much pushing,
Too much power.
Can’t you see the need to slow down a minute,
and just think?

These are real people,
Humans too.
Daughters, sons,
Old and young,
Everyone needs a home,
And you are closing the door on their whole world.

Without so much as a conversation,
a compromise,
a period of planning,
You are determined to throw people under the bus,
Water-boarding their sense of value,
And curtailing their freedom.

So, Please Sir –
Don’t be so arrogant as to wait for us to smile at you,
As you bark orders whilst smoothing your hair,
And willing us to massage your ego.
Because we won’t.
We can’t –
Until you respect our brothers.Read More →