Easter

Easter poem

/ bgulland72 / 1 Comment

I find myself asking, what does it mean?
The ritual celebration of this strange thing unseen
Mysterious event, in history shrouded
Somehow in popular imagination now clouded
Those beatific images, glowing and pure
Three painted crosses, pristine grave, I’m not sure
Why, for such a frail thing, Christians give thanks
In a world marred by guns, and brutality, and tanks
What good’s ‘resurrection’ in the grime and the mud
In a bomb-blighted landscape, killing fields of blood
Till we remember that Jesus, before the faint-dawning light
Fell foul as well of raw political might
He too was cornered and ground down and crushed
His goodness they tried hard to drown out and hush
And yet Easter morning made it clear, made it plain
A slow burning power that couldn’t be contained
That burst every barrier, broke through every wall
Filled hearts with joy and made timid men tall
And I trust that in war zones, and each human heart
This power still brings healing, and hope, a new start

Broadcast on BBC Radio Leeds & Premier Christian Radio

Post Easter poem

/ bgulland72 / Leave a comment

It’s not very long (unless I’ve got this wrong)
Since Easter, that marks resurrection
Which (let’s not be blind) to the scientific mind
As a theory, seems far from perfection
To hold in your head someone rose from the dead
Stretches credulity at best
Some are inclined to think we should find
Ways to put this idea to the test.
The problem right here, to be perfectly clear
Is it’s not something easily repeated
But to turn round and say that it’s bunkum, go away
Is no way for the thing to be treated
For a moment just think (it might make you blink)
We once thought (cos we’re standing still)
The idea this place, is now barrelling through space
Would have made the average punter quite ill
But when someone suggested (it was sorely contested)
That we hurtle full pelt round the sun
This novel solution sparked a revolution
In our views (that must have been fun).
In a similar way, I ask in our day
When the notion of God is derided
And pushed to the brink, maybe time to rethink
Some ideas that we long ago decided
I don’t mean to plod, but just think, if God
Like the sun is what life goes around
Then the thing that seems weird, that some bloke with a beard
Came to life, might just get off the ground.

Image by PIRO4D from Pixabay

Audio:

Easter poem

/ bgulland72 / Leave a comment

What a strange year for the world to endure
For the trauma, the loss, there’s no quick easy cure
Sadness and loneliness, trouble and grief
Enough to test anyone’s faith – and belief
Something to think on this Easter weekend
In the midst of a trial that’s not yet at an end
Something to muse on, to dig deep and ponder
This traditional season of life, hope – and wonder
Something that burns deep inside me this hour
Is a hunger, a thirst now for resurrection power
There may be a ‘road map’ to guide us through trial
But where to find hope – that lasts more than a while?
I long, yes I do, that every bruised battered heart
That struggles and thirsts, could find a drop, yes a part
A portion, a helping of this marvellous thing
That like liquid gold fills the soul, makes it sing
That doesn’t just endure for a short fleeting night
But like the sun soars through the spring morning bright

Image by Raheel Shakeel from Pixabay

Audio: