White Church

Entered in the Worldwide Whitchurch Weekend Acrostic Poetry Competition 2017

White church, which once stood high atop the hill
Holding holy vigil o’er the town
In ages past your faith stood firm until
The night your weathered walls came crashing down
Contained beneath that rubble lay untallied
Hopes and fears and prayers of those long gone
Undaunted by the task our forebears rallied
Rebuilding what was lost and moving on
Come now and see the town which bears your name
Held firm in faith and friendship once again

(c) Rich Clarkson 2017

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The Invitation

The invitation: Come and follow Christ,
walking in the footsteps of Saint Chad.
A pilgrim church, a diocese which tries
to walk the well worn ways of faith. Feet clad
with peace, armed with humility, we share
the love of Christ with all those in our care.
The steady beat of prayerful footsteps, heard
from track and towpath, high street, lane and alley,
fills this ancient landscape with the word
that God is here. From tower block to valley
floor the message goes out, seeking those
willing to wander where the Spirit blows.
Saint Chad reminds us of our true vocation:
To follow Christ, and heed his invitation.

© Rich Clarkson 2017

 

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Bible Memory Poem III (The Church)

Jesus said to his friends “you must go on without me
but I’ll give you my Spirit, tell everyone about me”
so his friends got together and shared everything
and thousands of people said “Jesus is king!”
They baptised them in water like Jesus had said
and each week remembered him in wine and bread
They prayed to God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit
and spoke about Jesus to anyone who’d hear it
As time went by many saints followed God’s call
their actions and writings encourage us all
Now all round the world Christians share, pray and sing
because Jesus, our God, is our friend and our king

(c) Rich Clarkson 2017

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Pugs

She goes to the shelter to look at the dogs
Her favourites are loveable snuggly pugs
She cuts out their pictures from old catalogues
And covers her walls with their wrinkly mugs
She takes them for walks in her click clacky clogs
And fills up their water bowls from plastic jugs
Posts pictures and stories on various blogs
She’s smitten, she’s spellbound, she’s got the pug bug

© Rich Clarkson 2017

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Snail

You can call it slow, laid back or ponderous
Lazy, plodding, hesitant or tedious
You can call it tardy, bullish or thuggish
But please don’t ever call a snail sluggish

© Rich Clarkson 2017

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Poetical

The preacher felt prophetical
While waxing homiletical
About the saints ascetical
He used skills exegetical
To make points hypothetical
Analogies genetical
(albeit parenthetical)
Though seemingly noetical
Were mostly just synthetical
The choir were sympathetical
To teaching catachetical
But all the rest were skeptical
Though it was quite poetical
It seemed rather heretical

(c) Rich Clarkson 2017

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Frog

There once was a frog
Who got lost in the fog
As he made his way over the road
He hopped and he hopped
But then his jaw dropped
As he saw that his boat had been towed
He’d parked on the side
Of a river so wide
And he thought that it would be ok
But a grumpy old coot
Thought it would be a hoot
To carry his rowboat away

(c) Rich Clarkson 2017

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Bible Memory Poem II (The Gospels)

As a boy Jesus loved to learn all about God
Told his friends: “follow me, fish for people, not cod!”
When people in need came to him he would heal them
And teaching the crowds he’d take truths and reveal them
His miracles they were the talk of the town
And his stories could make people think, laugh and frown
“Who is this amazing man?” asked everyone
Only Peter knew how to reply: “he’s God’s son!”
“Yes I am”, Jesus said, “I’m the truth, the life, the way”
Then “our Father in Heaven” he taught them to pray
The crowds cheered, but some of them weren’t so impressed
And after the last supper they came for his arrest
They killed him and buried him but that wasn’t the end
Jesus rose from the dead so now God is our friend!

(c) Rich Clarkson 2016

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