spes clara

Strength for today, bright hope for tomorrow . . .

poetry

  • In Praise of Solid Folk – a poem by C. S. Lewis

    Thank God that there are solid folk Who water flowers and roll the lawn, And sit and sew and talk and smoke, And snore all through the summer dawn. Who pass untroubled nights and days Full-fed and sleepily content, Rejoicing in each other’s praise, Respectable and innocent. Who feel the things that all men feel, Continue reading

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  • A Hymn – a poem by G. K. Chesterton

    O God of earth and altar,Bow down and hear our cry,Our earthly rulers falter,Our people drift and die;The walls of gold entomb us,The swords of scorn divide,Take not thy thunder from us,But take away our pride. From all that terror teaches,From lies of tongue and pen,From all the easy speechesThat comfort cruel men,From sale and Continue reading

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  • Easter Wings – a poem

    Lord, who createdst man in wealth and store,       Though foolishly he lost the same,             Decaying more and more,                   Till he became                         Most poore:                         With thee                   O let me rise             As larks, harmoniously,       And sing this day thy victories: Then shall the fall further the flight in me. My tender age in sorrow did beginne       And Continue reading

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  • When all is Foggy – a poem

    Peering into the mists of gray That shroud the surface of the bay, Nothing I see except a veil Of fog surrounding every sail. Then suddenly against a cape A vast and silent form takes shape, A great ship lies against the shore Where nothing has appeared before. Who sees a truth must often gaze Continue reading

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  • Paradise Lost – John Milton

    Here shalt thou sit incarnate, here shalt reignBoth God and man, Son both of God and Man,Anointed universal King. All powerI give thee; reign for ever, and assumeThy merits; under thee, as head supreme,Thrones, Princedoms, Powers, Dominions, I reduce:All knees to thee shall bow, of them that bide⁠In Heaven, on Earth, or under Earth in Continue reading

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  • The Swans – a poem

    Here’s a poem I wrote at a particularly dark time in my life. It’s about hopes and dreams failing. I’m a pretty terrible poet, but it is what it is. Dying swans lay strewn across the shore Their battered wings, a portent of powerless beauty Long necks bow in bloodied resignation No more will they Continue reading

  • Uncreation – a poem

    Hi. Here is a little poem I wrote that summarizes Genesis chapters 1-3. Eternal decree Darkness, deep Spirit’s sweep Chaos flees Galaxies cleave Land, sea Firmament be Creatures breath Image bearer Man, wife Tree, life Serpent slither Tasty thought Pleasant fruit Power pursuit Death caught Too late Sweaty brow Hardship now Seed await Continue reading

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  • OZYMANDIAS

    “I met a traveller from an antique land who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand, half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown, and wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command, Tell that its sculptor well those passions read which yet survive, stamped on Continue reading

  • The Second Coming

    Turning and turning in the widening gyre    The falcon cannot hear the falconer; Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world, The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere    The ceremony of innocence is drowned; The best lack all conviction, while the worst    Are full of passionate intensity. Surely some Continue reading

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  • A poem I wrote about September 11.

    Very early, on a sunny September morning in 2001, I was working for Coca-Cola as a sales representative. I remember hearing on the radio about some terrorist attacks in America– especially on the World Trade Center. I recall pulling into a McDonalds for some breakfast and on the TV screens inside there was footage of Continue reading

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