A new chapter

  Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachtani? There was a time when Friday was not so good, When Jesus felt abandoned by his God Dying on a cross when all he did Was preach obedience to the Father.    The sun shone high in the Jerusalem sky Forced by soldiers to carry his cross Cruelty upon cruelty by a Roman ruler Because the Jews couldn’t kill their savior.  Betrayed by a man he knew so well Isn’t it always so? His faithful followers far away The courage of those who chose to stay.  Two days later the empty tomb His presence felt in an upper room What happened then - no one agrees Not then, not now, we don’t know how.   One thing for sure his memory grew He led a life not framed by death His teachings made more sense  Because, despite, the Friday event.  Ave verum corpus plays on the radio Tenebrae by Tomas Luis de Victoria Unsullied through the centuries  Witness to a Christian weltanschauung That world has passed but happily It keeps us nourished a...

  Ladies in hats Ladies in hats, clutching their handbags Make their way slowly right up to the altar In Clarendon Street Church, inner Dublin A weekend midday in deep middle March.  The North wind is blowing  It’s freezing the buskers  Outside Brown Thomas Store Who cup their hands in the cold.  Meanwhile inside the candles are lighting Coins dropping fast, prayers slowly rising In front of saints in side chapels Old ladies whisper their sibilant prayers.  An oasis of calm in the heart of the city When the doors close the noises  Are banished and silence Rises right up to the ceiling.  Things have changed much Since as children they made Their Communion in white dresses Eight decades ago.  But still they come back, armed with umbrellas To remember the souls who have long made their way To eternal reward, their friends and their families Leading the path to heaven above.  Tourists slip in armed with their cameras Hoping to catch a glimps...

  Alpha and Omega Beginning and end High point in the skies Lying in the depths of neutrons Where everything lives and dies.  Always just over the horizon  Within touching distance But how to embrace ether? How to leap into the unknown? Religions aim but often miss Mystics point but cannot touch The journey that we make alone On the path we made together.  Embraced at death, together forever There for all who wish and seek The dying moment - an invitation To surrender at last in the glass half-full He died with a wry smile Laughter wrinkles round his eyes Death was welcomed as a friend Peaceful, joyful at the end.  The ecstasy preserved in cosmic aspic In the abandonment of self To be adopted by the universe To follow home at last.  Alpha and Omega together forever.

  Neither male nor female Neither male nor female Jew or Christian Quaker or Pagan At the very end.  Bury me in a public graveyard Open to all and free to call Whenever you want  Or not at all.  Give me a simple Service That makes no claim on faith Except on the goodness  That frees our feet of clay.  Let the tombstone be simple In granite that may last Let the wording read  ‘Pray’ as you go past ‘That God’s will be done  On earth as it is in heaven, Let love and hope prevail Beyond the final day’.  Life has been a blessing Not won, not even earned, Just a joyous gift That we were ever born.  What lies beyond the grave Is almost surely space Except perhaps what faith Might magnify with Grace. 

  Couples of all ages Couples of all ages,   holding hands Chatting as they walk along The coastal path that skirts the sea That lifts the heart and sets us free.  The delicious hour approaches An hour before light recedes The sun is low and generous  That soothes and gently heals us.  The shadows now are longer Giants walk the land We bend our heads in reverence Walking towards the setting sun.  A cat lies on the warm wall Happy with its lonely lot Parents guiding strollers On a path that’s barely even.  Out at sea a ferry,  One of the very many Catches dying sunlight As it’s reaching harbor.  The evening heat’s a comfort Reviving ancient bones The limpid blue sky a balm The twilight brings a calm.  All that’s left is quiet Other than the waves That splash against a land That’s lonely once again. 

  Sundown The girls are serving beers And we are drinking in the rays  Grateful for the beer and sunshine As evening crowns a fun-filled day.  The waves are breaking on the shore Day and night their rhythmic roar Looking cross the sea to pleasant hills Of nearest neighbor Fuerteventura.  We have died and gone to heaven Sitting on our modest balcony Above the surf and magma stones Counting days til we return again.  Coming and going, leaving and planning To return to the fortunate isle Where elderly folk warm their bones Feeling alive for a week once more.  Inviting the best from shriveled folk To relax and expand, to laugh awhile, Rekindle old dreams, holding hands While walking along the maritime way.  A week is enough, two is too much There is a limit to pleasure What’s seldom is wonderful  We are finite creatures after all.  Thanks to the staff, we were blessed With patience, with care and broad smiles  Who served us our food and who ...