Peace, be still!

When the boat is getting swamped

and the wind and the rain
beat against our faces and drive into our eyes;
when the news bulletins are full of fear and pain,
our leaders point their fingers
and no one takes responsibility;
when women are beaten,
children deal (or don’t) with trauma
and men set their brains aside
for the sake of chemical pleasure;
when the poor are undeserving,
the wealthy are withholding
and compassion is declared a luxury
we cannot afford;
when the weak and the vulnerable go unprotected,
their oppressors go unpunished
and we are no longer outraged by injustice;
then, Jesus,
speak again those words
you spoke to your distraught disciples,
to the out-of-control elements,
and to a planet curtained with tears:
Peace, be still!

 

© Ken Rookes 2015

Everywhere I look

Do not neglect to do good
and to share what you have,
for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:16
Everywhere I look
I see words, hear a voice
that calls me to love my enemies,
to bear fruits of justice,
to live the grace,
to welcome the strangers,
to visit the prisoner,
to forgive without counting,
to have compassion on the wounded,
to care for my neighbour,
to extend generous hospitality,
to not be afraid,
to treat my fellow mortals
with dignity and respect,
to gather treasure in heaven
and not upon earth,
to guard the interests of the weak,
the vulnerable, the widow and the orphan,
to give the cup of cold water
to the one who thirsts,
to offer food to the one who hungers,
to be a servant,
to make peace,
to be the least,
to follow Jesus.

Everywhere I look.

And these blaspheming party leaders
who tell me they are Christian,
want me to vote for them
so that they may deal cruelly
with the weeping and broken ones,
in order that boats might be stopped.

© Ken Rookes 2013

False prophets

There was a time when you needed

a licence from the Commonwealth

to listen to the wireless.

No shock-jocks then,

nor the capacity for listeners

to add their own layers of opinion;

informed or otherwise,

it doesn’t seem to matter.

No unwelcome language back then, either;

the words were better disciplined,

and valued,

perhaps because they were paid for.

Today’s airwaves ruled

and shaped by common denominators

of the lowest kind.

Outrage, locally manufactured, and cheap,

is retailed at a  premium, peddled shamelessly

over an appropriately-named narrow band

of the electro-magnetic spectrum.

Advertisers smile among themselves;

outrage is good for business.

In occasional embarrassment,

they protest their corporate innocence,

but only when the blurry, self-regulated line

is crossed once too often.

The addicted audience,

(there must be one, or the vile ones

would be out of a job),

selects its favoured frequency.

Sad and fearful, they draw the polluted smoke

of self-righteous loathing

deeply into their lungs and hearts.

It’s potent mix of bile and indignation

offers no relief.

The distress accrues;

the sadness and the fear add

to the sadness and the fear.

Somewhere,

but not here. Somewhere

grace and compassion can be found.

No, not here; somewhere else.

Change the dial,

tune in to a more generous frequency.

Listen for other voices,

wise and joyous, with welcoming hearts.

Hearts that have chosen love ahead of fear;

voices that speak words of hope.

© Ken Rookes 2012