(A poem by Mary Nevin)
(Read the words with a hard northern ‘a’)
Weighted down by leaden thoughts,
Things to do and things to sort.
The bitter taste of times gone past,
Fill my mind in an instant flash.
Painful thoughts do corrosive harm,
I need to find God’s healing balm.
(A poem by Mary Nevin)
A life brutally stripped,
Pruned jagged and raw.
Blasted by winter winds,
Drenched by freezing rain,
Shocked into premature dormancy.
_____
Now awoken by coaxing warmth.
Buds of fresh hope shoot through,
Branching in new directions.
Tender leaves unfurl;
Shimmering, dancing,
Delighting in the joys of spring.
Poem by Mike Nevin
(Written in January 2018 when I again lost the use of my legs)
It’s when we have given up
When in the depths of despair
When darkness closes in
When our legs fail, and our arms fall
That is when we discover true strength.
The strength beneath us as we fall
The strength beside us as we cry out
The strength within us we never knew.
If you feel alone.
If your tears are dry.
If your pain has overtaken all reason.
There is only one way
There is only one hope.
God never lets us go.
God never fails
God always loves
God is hope, life and joy
God is love.
Love sounds such an empty word
It’s meaning drown by repetition and trite words
Love seems such a simple notion
It’s power drained by so much use.
But love, real love, the love of God
Is a love that created the universe
A love that overcame death
That love, the love God has for you and me
That love is the only answer to the mocking cry of sickness
It answers the empty power of evil
It answers the sadness
It answers the desperate plea.
It answers pain and confusion.
God says, “I love you, I am with you, I will not forget you.”
God says, “I am here.”
Shall We Get Dressed Now? 