ASHBURNHAM

A blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope. He is like a tree by the waterside that thrusts its roots to the stream: when the heat comes it feels no alarm, its foliage stays green; it has no worries in a year of drought, and never ceases to bear fruit. ‘The heart is more devious than any other thing, perverse too: who can pierce its secrets? I, the Lord, search to the heart, I probe the loins, To give each man what his conduct and his actions deserve.’ (Jeremiah 17:8-10)

A bench beneath
A cedar tree

Beside a lake
Of waterlilies
Radiant swans

Birds, dragonflies
And ants that bite

Something is carried
On the cool breeze
That blows there

SOMEONE

A Person
Not a thing

A Question
That contains the Promise
Of a Gift to come

And I like Abraham
At the hottest part of day

Bow down in adoration
Of the One

Who asks
Giver of the Gift

Where is your heart?
God wants to know

My heart is in my loins
Where it belongs

That unruly place of passion
Seat of Wisdom

Seeking to be wholly
Configured to Christ
Word made flesh

Perfected in Love