Structure

It struck the strict man, he could not strike
The stricken child, not since the stroke.
Instead he loves her left hand to stroke
And say the strike has spoiled the land.

To the girl in the reflection

Dan Bøțan danutzuzu, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

To the girl in the reflection
I know it's wrong to stare
While I gaze in your direction,
Just pretend that I'm not there.
I imagine your affection
Ending my dejection
As I chase my predilection
For spending my journey back home
With the girl in the reflection.

Gardening

The allotment meant a lot to Lancelot Lane,
But his greenhouse was just a pain.
How he dug the tool of his trade, his garden spade,
Give him a hoe and how he'd laugh.
His lawn so fine he cut each day with iron blade,
but wished like Cain, he'd had more staff.

Lyric for my latest lay

As he lay down the law, how he lied.
Behind a layer of lies this leering,
learned layman led us on in pride.
He was no lawyer, just a liar!

Hear us O Shepherd

Hear us, O Shepherd,
Hear your own.
Come now, awaken
Your great might.
Hear us, O Lord God,
From your throne.
Shine forth and dispel
This dark night.

The widow's cruse

Harun https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-travelling-on-a-passenger-ship-19019590/

Distant Shores Media/Sweet Publishing, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>,
via Wikimedia Commons

The widow's cruse was real good news,

A providence from God,

A vivid signal of his care

Of which to be aware.

The Widows cruise is real bad news,

It's not designed for God

It's meant to be a fun affair

But drives us to despair.

Preaching

I stand here bold, alone,
My voice is heard.
Between earth and God's throne,
I preach God's word.

Lonely, not lost, I stand,
With all in sight,
People on my left, and
God on my right.

How dare I stand so tall
Between such fears?
Alone, I rise or fall,
Know joy or tears.

But there comes to my side
The Holy Dove,
Who purifies Christ's Bride,
And sheds forth love.

I'm no longer alone,
God's voice is heard.
We bow before God's throne,
Our hearts are stirred.

Fat Slob

He's as large as he is lonely,
He's as mean as his gut.
He tries hard to appear happy
But his life's in a rut.

He so longs to be thinner,
How he longs to be slim.
But he knows he's not a winner,
No there's nothing in him

He's just like a great big balloon
That looks about to burst.
He'll probably fall ill quite soon,
Maybe something far worse.

He tried to go on a diet,
Tried his best to lose weight
But after less than a fortnight
He said "You can't fight fate".

He stuffs himself full every day
All he thinks of is EAT!
He will keep on going that way
'Til he can't see his feet .

And that is how he's gonna stay,
His taste buds quite deranged,
For I cannot see any way
He ever will be changed.

Seventies style Marriage Lines

She's putting her foot down
About him putting his foot down
On the accelerator.

She wonders if there's grounds
In the sink full of coffee grounds
For a quickie divorce.

She gets so blue
When he gets so blue
At the office do.

He's getting his hair off
About her getting her hair off
In the bathroom sink.

He does his nut
When she does her nut
And it takes all night.

I sometimes sense I'm starting to despair

I sometimes sense I'm starting to despair
I somehow feel that people just don't care.
My conscience cries out "nothing's really fair",
It even seems as if there's no one there.

Just what should I do when I feel this way?
Tell me what to do when I just can't pray.
What can be done when you're starting to stray?
Show me how to stand in this evil day.

The answer lies in duty - no shortcut,
It must be discipline and nothing but.
The answer's hard work - other doors are shut.
There's only one exit out of this rut.

But that's the problem, I just can't go on,
This is my struggle - all I do goes wrong.
The problem is this (I've said it all along)
How can I fight when there's no vict'ry song?

Yes, the answer is duty - that is true
But the solution is, Christ, found in you.
The great need is his grace shining on through
Justified by Faith, we love what is true.

So call to God in the midst of despair,
Call to the Saviour, seek his face in prayer.
God is good and he is willing to share
All of your heartache, you're suff'ring and care.

Two short Welsh pieces

Rebecca

Rebecca, O Rebecca,
You're a riot of a girl.

Welsh Ennui

Well, we are bored
En' we?

Statistics

If half the world has money
Then the other half is poor
If half the world is funny
The other half's a bore.

If half the world's so goody
Then the other half is bad
If half the world is happy
The other half is sad.

If half the world is crazy,
Then the other half is sane.
If half the world is lazy,
The other half will train

If half the world won't care,
The other half is keen.
If half the world's a nightmare,
The other half's a dream.

It's just a way of seeing

Statistics our of place

It's not a question of being

But how you state your case.

London (If I was out at sea)

I never wanted to come to London but God called me here. It took me a long time to get my head around the idea but I did finally. I write this poem about five or seven years in.

If I was out at sea, 

On an island in the sun
D'you think that I'd be happy
Just to let London run?
No, that's no life for me,
You can keep your sun and sand.
I am happy just to be
Doing what God has planned.

I'll praise the Lord

I'll praise the Lord my great Jehovah
Praise your name till life seems over
Then praise your great name in heav'n above
For all you've done in sharing love.

That love oh how much there is to tell,
Of how it saves lost souls from hell
Of how it shows the way back to him
Then sets us free form reigning sin.

For Jesus came to earth from heaven,
Died on the cross and rose again.
Now he is seated at God's right hand
And soon he'll rule in every land.

For God is love in heaven we know
And, through his son. on earth below
For Jesus' death shows us God's good care
Care that we all must try to share.

But his death is no mere example
No, his grace is much more ample.
Yes it blots from God's view every wrong
And gives us strength to stay life-strong.

Far, far from home

Far, far from home
In this land of despair.
Far, far from home,
How I long to be there.

Clouds send news of rain coming soon
Dark, cold, wet in the afternoon
How I long for the summer skies,
How I long for the sun to rise.

Rain pours down  - see the passers by.
We see that sky; its clouds they frown.
Oh how I long, log for the Son,
How I long for his loving arms

Far, far from home
In that land of despair
Far, far from heaven,
How he longed to be there.

Sky sent news of doom coming soon
Dark, cold, wet on that afternoon.
How he longed for the summer skies,
How he longed as the Son to rise

Far, far from home
In this land of despair
Far, far from home
How I long for Jesus to come.