Dec 19th – Advent Day 21
Silent night? I can’t imagine It was so: Instead The distant murmur from passing crowds; The whisper of Joseph’s anxious reassurance, And...
Dec 18th – Advent Day 20
The rain falls Like tears: Sometimes soft but unrelenting, Like the ache of a loss Long ago But never gone: Sometimes harsh and...
Dec 17th – Advent Day 19 – Mary
The pain was largely gone: Just a few echoes Like aftershocks From a cataclysm. I held him; Watching each breath; The miniscule rise and...
Dec 16th – Advent Day 18 – Mary
I thought I knew pain That night in Bethlehem: Wave upon wave Of unrelenting agony; And the cloaking loneliness As I longed For the women...
Dec 15th – Advent Day 17
“A cold coming we had of it”? Well actually The cold was the least of it. The heat was much worse: Cold you can combat, But searing...
Dec 14th – Advent Day 16
Amid the gathering darkness - Deepening steadily As the chill intensifies – The last few rays Battle for supremacy Knowing they must, For...
Dec 13th – 3rd Sunday of Advent – Anna the prophetess
I had a choice that day: Listening to the empathic wailing Of the women At my husband’s wake, Feeling the deadness In my chest: Too much...
Dec 12th – Advent Day 14
Icy despair Grips the landscape. The once refreshing White expanses Are now dreary: Endless uniformity, All hint of texture Or colour...
Dec 11th – Advent Day 13 – The Innkeeper’s wife
At first I was amused. Mystic visitors, I was told, Bringing offerings. At last, I thought, my fame had spread. Amusement though Was...
Dec 10th – Advent Day 12 – The Magi
I cannot say If it was the leaving Or the arriving Which was more unsettling. Leaving: With all its uncertainty Abandoning the familiar,...
Dec 9th – Advent Day 11
When the darkness is deepest Hope will be born When the ending seems endless Hope will be born When the world is despairing Hope will be...
Dec 8th – Advent Day 10
There is an inevitability about dawn. No matter how dark the night: Disturbed by the seeming reality Of dreams and nightmares Or the...
Dec 7th – Advent Day 9 – Joseph’s mother
They always say The mother-son bond is special. I don’t know I’ve loved every one of my children Boys and girls It felt no different. But...
Dec 6th – 2nd Sunday of Advent – Joseph
What could express This cold wind of betrayal Lacerating my soul As everything in me reels At her words? What could express All my dreams...
Dec 5th – Advent Day 7
Advent Is a time Of stark contrasts. Eager-eyed children (of any age) Await their gifts with fervent expectation: others anticipate...
Dec 4th – Advent day 6
A grey dawn emerges From the icy obscurity Of a seemingly interminable night: Delicate pink hues not strong enough To breach the dreary...
Dec 3rd – Advent Day 5 – Poem for Joseph
He stands Betrayal reflected in his unshed tears Incredulity etched across his pain-lined face. He had not seen this coming. Everything...
Mary isn't good with babies by Amy
Mary Amy Deakin - Instagram at @amydpoetry Mary had never shown interest in babies so her mum thought she was crazy when she said she...
Taking the Christ out of Christmas by Amy
They’re taking the Christ out of Christmas Amy Deakin - Instagram at @amydpoetry They’re taking the Christ out of Christmas. Removing...
A Carol for Covid
O come, O come Emmanuel Rescue your world and make all things well For us in isolation here Who groan in loneliness and fear: Rejoice,...
‘Christmas’ by John Betjeman
Read by Ruth Gouldbourne Bloomsbury Carol Celebration 2017
‘BC:AD’ by U. A. Fanthorpe
Read by Duncan Bartlett Bloomsbury Carol Celebration 2017
‘God’s Timeless Christmas Gift’ by Jason Dore
Read by Jason Dore Bloomsbury Carol Celebration 2017
A Poem for the Longest Night
Long night ahead? Nah, just a short day. It's not the hours of darkness that bother me, but the passing of the day: 'Life's little day',...