Best Lent Poems
~ MY LOVE SHE'D LENT ~
I followed her where'er she went
Lured onward by her fragrant scent
She clasped his hand, a handsome gent
How could she know my love she'd lent
I died one thousand deaths inside
Choked back my tears with wounded pride
How long such anguish could I bear
My heart asunder to let tear
The hour had come to make my move
My love for her I had to prove
Unsteady I, and quite unsure
Just how to break the news to her --
My tongue was still despite I tried
'To ask her this: 'Please be my bride.'
~ Iambic Tetrameter ~
December 30, 2019
I kneel down in solitude,
in an empty room all alone,
I try my best to communicate with God.
So difficult to focus inward,
more so to focus outwards to my Lord,
trying to accomplish my journey
of joy, discovery and growth.
Doubts linger in my memories:
have I a true and just heart?
My Father who art in heaven,
teach me to appreciate your gift,
a gift of faith, even if it's weak.
Give me strength that it might grow,
help me understand its value,
for I am blind even if I have sight.
Let your forgiving grace
envelop my hardened heart,
make it malleable to appreciate
your merciful stance.
Let that important gift of faith
guide me in my ways in life,
for without it I am not justified.
Out of the depths, I cry to you, O Lord;
hear my voice. Let your ears
be attentive to my cry for mercy. (Psalm 130)
Sacrifice
Deny self
Prayer, Penance, Almsgiving
Become one with Christ
Lent
The
whale shark
carcass sinks-
the crabs end their
fast.
I entered my little girl's room
To kiss her and tuck her into bed,
She replied, not just yet mommy
And this is what she said.
I have to talk to the pretty lady
Who comes to visit me each night,
She says she will take me with her
So I have to look just right.
She sat down at her vanity
And began to brush her hair of gold,
She then gets out all her jewelry
And puts on all she can hold.
She kneels by her bedside
With her little hands clasp tight,
Where are you pretty lady
I want you to meet my mommy tonight.
My mommy doesn't know I am leaving
Yet a lot of nights I hear her cry ,
I wanted it to be a secret
Could it be she already knows why.
As I listen to her my eyes grow misty
So I just let the teardrops fall,
I know the time is nearing
But God let me keep her just a little while.
I hold my precious daughter to my breast
Such a sweet and darling little thing,
Oh God what will I do without her
That is when I hear an angel sing.
As the singing grows louder
There surrounded by a golden light,
Was the most beautiful angel
It was the such a glorious sight.
She took my little girl from me and lifted her
Enfolding her within her wide spread wings,
Just as the sky burst open
A multitude of angels sings.
Do not be so sad says the beautiful angel
For God has prepared for her an eternal home,
You see he only lent her to you for awhile
Then she rose and they were gone.
Christians have their Lent,
40 days of atonement,
sacrificing something of enjoyment.
When those 40 days of atonement comes to an end,
if you have not indulged once your sacrifice of enjoyment,
all of your past sins get forgiven.
Yom Kippur, now that's a deal I could sink my teeth in.
One day of atonement and all your past sins are wiped clean.
"Some gentiles can be such putzs," some Jews must hail,
"Even for sin those schmucks will still pay retail."
A day of prayer and fasting
To show the Lord our love is everlasting
We promise to sacrifice a luxury or a pleasure during Lent
It is forty days well spent
We will not partake in what we sacrifice until Eastertide
Hold on, we are in for a ride
From burning palm branches from the previous Palm Sunday
We repent and pray
With a cross on our forehead
As the Bible has aforesaid
Used as an external sign of repentance
And our hope for heaven admittance
Now comes the true test
Are you ready for the rest?
This is not a time to sacrifice something easy
For that would be meaningless and sleazy
Lent is meant to show God we repent our sins
For this is where forgiveness begins
If you are a smoker, give up smoking
Be thought provoking
If your pleasure is alcohol
Make sure you get a round before last call
Fasting is commonplace on various days of Lent
And should not be bent
For it symbolizes Jesus’ fasting in the wild before spreading His gospel
This includes many religions but one is not Pentecostal
Roman Catholics also abstain from meat
Vegetarians will surely not cheat
Do not get ashes from an urn
Remember that you are dust, and unto dust you shall return
What will I give up
This year for Lent
To honour my Saviour
Heaven sent
For mine has been
A life of ease
With little conflict
Or disease
Despite these blessings
I’m still prone to sin
And my devotion’s
Paper thin
Due to my pride
I’m greatly flawed
I rely on myself
Instead of God
And so this heart
Is hard to reach
Instead of learning
I try to teach
So I give up my pride
This year for Lent
Letting my heart open
To the One God sent
Stillness a choice
aware of the breeze
Praying God reveals
The things He sees
My desire grows
For He comforts my soul
Without our union
I can never be whole.
Lent is teaching me to re-order my loves.
In the stillness of morning, with the early birdsong, I realise that in the absence of that which I gravitate to, the absence of the thing that brings physical comfort, there is a deeper desire, a deeper love that wants to surface in my attentions. Beyond the aching of the familiar; there is a deeper longing that I can only truly meet in these present moments.
However cheeky that sounds, that was the jolliest Lent of all times. All 31 times. Why not getting that? Wait a minute then, I'll rewrite that. That was the jolliest three months of all times. All 124 times.
Girls Gone Wild
Careful, you may just have a child
Drugs and alcohol plague the alleyway
Stay away as there is a price to pay
Is the meaning of Mardi Gras to go buck wild
Let’s look and see if it’s been defiled
It started as a custom of using all the fats in the house
I wonder if any crumbs were left for a mouse
This was custom as it was the last night to eat rich and fatty foods
I bet this left people in good moods
As it was a ritual to fast and sacrifice a pleasure
In hopes of good health and a great treasure
Mardi Gras is a celebration of life before the somber holiday where we correct our faults and control any desires
In hopes of keeping Satan away with his temptations and fires
Green for faith, purple for justice, and gold for power
This is no time to turn sour
For we all need strength to resist his temptations
And carry ourselves peacefully like the United Nations
In 1887, wow that was long ago
Two French Catholic brothers brought Lent over from a chateau
By 1889, women already exposed their breasts
To the rest
Men in tuxedos and women in lace
Masquerade balls, parades, and costumes were common place
In the late 20th century, commercialization caused more women to show their tatas arousing the men
However it is censored on CNN
This encouraged more people to flood the streets
While Bourbon Street residents charge for lawn seats
This sad state of affairs
Is the heart of making millionaires!
I have given up for lent
Pate de fois gras
Lobster thermadore
And Beluga caviar
Well in a way
I’ve never had them ever
But I won’t have them
Between now and Easter
Lent
What does it mean?
To take the desert stance
Then walk this path
Of greatest resistance
To tangle your heart
With the rocks and the snakes
To lie your head down
Where the deceiver wakes
What is the point?
Of self-denial
To clear out the bitterness
Of the dark tempter's vial
To empty our hearts
When life's hard enough
And leave behind all of that
Comfortable stuff
Why would it reset?
My fluttering heart
If I take my self out
Setting ego apart..
Perhaps it's a call
To empty the space
So the cluttering stuff
Is put back in it's place
If I speak to the emptiness
And invite in the weakness
Facing up to desires
Crowding out Holy meekness
So Lent is the time.
A Divine invitation
To reconnect wholly
With High inspiration
The physical joys
And their transient pleasure
Replaced, not in part
But in full Holy measure
This is heavenly mystery;
A desire to bless
In our weakest position
Of the dry wilderness
So, embrace the unfriendly
Welcome the stranger
Feed up the hungry
As if gifts to the manger
For all we can do
When push comes to shove
In the emptying out
Is refilling with love.
Jinjagoliath
Ash Wednesday
16th February 2021
Ashes in the faces of Africans
some blowing from hands
Lent is here with us as sure deal
Food is playing hide and seek
water lives underground
dustbins are empty
nocturnal animals share the fast
This is Lent without priests
no holy mass to be celebrated
no church-goers to be active
but all are in Lent times
Keep your fingers crossed
someone is to die on Holy Friday
he may not be Son of God
Messiah he may not be
A Jew he is not to be
but a man born among us
not the prince of peace
anointed by popular acclamation
blessed by the underworld
rejected by the skies
He will die on Cross of Gold
and will not rise on the third day
So the waiting continues
in Africa
Lent
Malasada* Day was merrily spent
Shrove Tuesday, Mardi Gras - many names are given
To this final day before the season of Lent
When around the world Christians are shriven.
Now, "Dust thou art, unto dust thou shalt return"
Are words that are solemnly spoken
As with prayer and fasting people inwardly turn
Ashes on their head as a mindful token.
It seems this message can be taken to heart
No matter one's religion or philosophy
Self reform and reflection are a vital part
Of creating a healthy society.
So, during this Lent let us choose to fast
From divisiveness and animosity
We can foster a cohesiveness that will last
And nurture our beloved democracy.
Molly Moore
* Malasada is a Portuguese doughnut without a hole.
The Portuguese came to Hawaii in the 19th century to work
on the sugar plantations and have remained to contribute
to the rich cultural tapestry of our islands.
Molly Moore