clothed in drama
a pentecost poetic
chiastic
three stanzas long
the Spirit outpoured
in the Day of the Lord
portents predicted&
prescribed
called out
not cast out
the
ultimate reality
sealed&consumated
an atoning sacrifice
saving mercies
grace given
an expectation
engrained
in penitence& prayer
a focus fixated
cause with effect
in awareness of worship
interlocked
in perspective
the faithful restored
fresh
with abundance
of spiritual joy
affirmed
in a unique reality
of
deliverance&due reward
where acacias abound
before the Lord's overflowing
waters of life
a reasoned restoration
seasoned
in the coming of His day
in the midst of His people
inescapable
irresistible
an inheritance
to claim&
enjoy
"Temper your enthusiasm,"
She said,
"The extremes of your reactions;
You should have
A more conventional frame
On which to hang
Your unconventionality."
"Don't push people,"
She said,
"You make yourself vulnerable."
She told me not to rhapsodise,
That it would be difficult,
Impossible, perhaps,
For me to harness my dynamism.
The tone of my work,
She said,
Is often a little dubious.
She said
She thought
That there was something wrong.
That I'm hiding
Some sad
Dark secret from the world.
"Temper your enthusiasm,"
She said,
"The extremes of your reactions;
You should have
A more conventional frame
On which to hang
Your unconventionality."
("Some Sad Dark Secret" was inspired by words once spoken to me by a former tutor and mentor of mine in around 1982 or '83. And my own perhaps partly fantastical reflections on them.)
MATHS TEACHER
It’s somewhat like a card trick
A mathematical wrist-flick
All those x s and y s
Surely you must be really wise
To civilians it’s a mystery algebraic
To teachers it is knowledge prosaic
Some is modern, some is archaic
A mathematical knowledge mosaic
You rhapsodise over differentiation
Or enthuse about a simultaneous equation
Drool over the intricacies of geometry
Discuss the various angles of trigonometry
You seem to do it with ease
Seems like a great deal of wisdom
It’s like you’re speaking Chinese
But they’re not from the Middle Kingdom
Truth is it’s like riding a bike
The more you do it, the more you like.
You just gotta train your mind
Till it’s no longer a pain in the behind.
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