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by Peter Brassington Copyright
Peter Brassington, 1997
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Contents
afterword - who I am, why I write this stuff
and what do do if you like any of it.
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Unrequited Love |
| The
Fraud Who am I? asked the actor of a myriad different roles Confident and strong I play the hero and the crowd cheers I feel the thrill of performing as they enter into my illusion. Offstage and alone I know it wasn't real Play acting mere pretending. I stand before my shattered mirror A thousand faces stare right back Introspectively I play the fraud I play it well and I applaud. |
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Money Isn't Everything
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Money isn't everything
Money can't buy you love |
| 2B
or not 2B They tried to convince me that I was a pencil. But I am not so easily lead. |
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| Distant
Hope It was the best of times. it was the worst of times. The exams would soon be over. The exams would soon begin. Fears made me fear being alone. Fears made me draw further within. The Lord is my strength and shield. I need strengthening and shielding. |
I build walls to keep out pain. |
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Solitary Confinement
Alone and afraid, |
| I
know, but... I know I'm depressed and I even know why which helps me a bit, but I still want to die. Or maybe "to die'' is putting it strong, but I don't want to live. Is that really so wrong? I don't want to live as I'm feeling now. |
I know God can help. |
| Perfect Fear Casts out Love
Fear -- the great isolator Self preservation means building a wall Shutting out the needs and concerns of all but you. Depression -- fear without adrenaline Safe behind the wall that lets in no danger ... and no light. Nothing can harm you Nothing can enter No danger of falling from the bottom of the pit. Isolated. Alone. Safe from all ... but yourself. |
| Reader Response I don't believe in the Easter Beagle and Charlie Brown's not real but characters in comic strips at times match how I feel and God can speak through anything through songs or dreams or pictures but we don't always hear him right not even through the scriptures the Bible is the word of God and every word is true and yet I find what speaks to me speaks differently to you in a world of fragmentation we see through dark and shattered glass if objective truth has finally died then what will come to pass? Objective truth has died, Objective truth is risen, Objective truth will come again. |
| Have
Faith No need to cry No need to grieve You'll wear a smile If you believe. And if you ever lose that grin We'll know that you've slipped into sin. Jesus wept. With frowns your brow will never crease. The Christian soul has inner peace. If you display a hint of stress We'll know your prayer life is a mess. Gethsemane. |
They key to health is here revealed "By his stripes we all are healed'' Christian in a wheel chair? It's a lack of faith that keeps you there. On a cross and in a tomb I cry at times. I won't pretend. But I know I'll get there in the end. Swap living streams of showy fountains? I'll keep my mustard seed and real mountains. Help thou my unbelief. |
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The Party
I don't get drunk at parties |
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More than words can say
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| Faith I know I lack your courage. I'm doubtful and afraid. Do stones still hurt for martyrs? Does torture still bring pain? And if they every broke me Lord Would I know your love again? I've seen your face in others Despite all they've been through. I've also seen some suffer And turn their backs on you. |
| Cheap
Salvation Youth worker wanted. No salary. No accommodation. No budget. No thanks. Youth worker wanted to evangelise our town. We looked for folk inside our church but they all turned it down |
We believe evangelism requires love, love implies commitment, commitment involves sacrifice. We are looking for people with a heart for the lost with commitment to the mission of the church, Who are prepared to give of themselves sacrificially. Unfortunately youth workers are looking for this too. |
| Love,
and Death, and Daffodils Love, and death, and daffodils, God, and war, and distant hills. Painted by the poets skills. Words can hurt, but silence kills So speak of joy or speak of ills For empty hearts the poet fills With joy, and hope, and thrills and spills And love, and death, and daffodils. |
Love,
and Death, and Daffodils It's chocolate eggs for children, for mums a daffodil, and a carpenter from Nazareth dying on a hill. Greater love than chocolate; Greater love than flowers; Love that hung upon a cross when all the guilt was ours. Love and death and daffodils? Yet when the dying's done the empty cross and empty tomb proclaim the life to come. |
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Bone Marrow |
It is better to give than
to receive
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| Great Material for a Poem Was he in love? Or was he in love with the idea of being in love? He was certainly, deeply and madly in like. He admired her. He felt strongly for her but he didn't know how to label the feeling. He was afraid of losing her but equally afraid of getting her Part of him was afraid of what he might stir in her emotions Most of him was afraid of what she might stir in his. He'd probably think about her all day, if he wasn't so busy introspecting on his own emotion for her. "At least my emotional turmoil should prompt me towards writing'' He thought. But he couldn't concentrate on it because of her. |
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Eyes
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| Power in Repetition Power in repetition There's power in repetition Power in saying the same thing Saying the same thing not once Not once, but twice or more... There's power in saying what you have to say and saying it again and then saying it again Power in driving home a point With the power of repetition Power ...is easily abused. |
| Active faith If you have faith If you believe in God If you trust his word you will expect to see mountains move God willing If you have faith if you are committed to God If you ask for strength, fellow workers, and a spade, You will see mountains move. God willing |
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Frank's First Love
in memory of Frank Ridgewell |
| Happy Daffodils To write a happy poem that must be the aim but happy poems (at least by me) all turn out rather tame. I could sit and ponder daffodils and dwell on them for hours yellow things with leaves of green I'm not really into flowers. |
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The rules of grace |
exerted as much as I did today, |
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A Picture
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who I
am - probably not worth writing too much of a biography until I hear that
there are people reading this stuff. I became Christian while working at Butlins
in Minehead, spent a year working with the Oasis
trust, acted for a year on a BMS
roadshow, spent three years at London
Bible College, and have done several other things and met lots of other
people.
I now work as UK webservant for Wycliffe
Bible Translators. The Wycliffe site contains no poems, has no details
about me, and is definitely worth visiting.
why I write this stuff - it seemed like a good idea at the time. I wrote about 300 poems between 1995 and 2000. I identified some as not worth printing and put the some of the others into a couple of small books which sold a couple of hundred copies. People seem to enjoy this stuff but not many people buy poetry books so I've now put onto the web.
what do do if you like any of it - Tell people! You are welcome to recomend this site to anyone who will still call you a friend after you've sent them here. Copy the poems - I'd use the word copyright but I'm more interested in you copying them right. You may copy any of the poems either in print or on your own website providing you also include my name and link to or print this website adress. The only other condition is that you you tell me that you are doing so.
email
me - peter_brassington@wycliffe.org
- once I've been contacted by 50 people I'll add a further collection
of poems. Send me a note and tell me how you heard about this site and I'll
send you a PDF version of the next collection.
I promise not to send you any junk mail and ask that you don't send any to
me.
coming
soon
Chocolate
Church
No Flowers by request
The Icthus Bowl
