Christian Poetry and Spoken Word Media for Churches and Faith

Love First

13.11.2021 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

If first
front and centre
I believe loudly
speak loudly
gossip loudly
behave strongly
react strongly
If first I
become more of the noise
become more protest
become more social media
more arguments
more righteous anger
more fear
more hate
but live without love
stand up without love
listen without love,
I live for nothing,
Without love
I won’t be known,
not be truly free
not be truly me
I won’t be Known
as one who walks
like Christ
with the love of Christ
connecting me
with a cord
that can’t be broken
to others who
in their differences
variety
thinking
are also God’s kingdom
here on Earth.

Look at Christ
See Jesus
the Saviour’s eyes,
live in His love,
be His love,
for by our love
love in action and truth
we will be known.

Bible Verses
1 John 3: 16-18, 1 Corinthians 13, John 13:35
Starting Thoughts:
As we react to each other across the church, nation, earth and we seem to make more noise and less sense what does Jesus say?
Poem Topic Tags: #protest, #action, #body, #church, #freedom, #identity, #kingdom, #known, #love, #media, #noise, #power
Posting Tags: #artist, #creativewriting, #edapp, #edchat, #edtech, #elearning, #GlobalEd, #god, #instawrite, #jesus, #lrnchat, #mlearning, #poems, #poetry, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #poetryisnotdead, #poetsofinstagram, #schools, #spilledink, #spokenword, #teaching, #TT, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife

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Did You Hear?

13.11.2021 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

Did you hear?
Did you listen?
In the stream
of your constant words
in the vortex
of your criticism crisis
in the negativity
of idea paralyses
in the absence
of love’s gratefulness
in the increase
of new hatefulness,
Why is the power
important?
Why do you feel
impotent?
Why do you
need so much to win?
Why has my life
let you down?
Why do the praises
I hear resound hollow?

Let me take your
minds and broken hearts
again, and again and again
I am big enough
to take it all,
Let my goodness
my love
my knowledge of you
my love for others
around you
all people in your life
shape you, grow you
create more you in you,
Let me heal a nation
through a people
holding tight
to the power of
love through the cross,
give it away
a life striving
a life surviving
Be the humanity
of the kingdom arriving
with my heart.
Be my body
be everyone
who I desire you to be
Love your true identity
in the body
in my church
in my nation
arise together
laugh with me
be free with me
be awake with me
smile with me
breathe with me
dance in the rain with me
in harmony with me
be the resting place
of love with me.

Bible Verses
Ephesians 3
Starting Thoughts:
As people divide on different sides of Covid arguments friendships and relationships are broken. How easy is it to take something and allow it to stop love between people, halt respect, give lie to the past together.
Poem Topic Tags: #big, #body, #church, #criticism, #cross, #hearing, #identity, #listening, #love, #negativity, #peace, #power, #praise, #words
Posting Tags: #artist, #creativewriting, #edapp, #edchat, #edtech, #elearning, #GlobalEd, #god, #instawrite, #jesus, #lrnchat, #mlearning, #poems, #poetry, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #poetryisnotdead, #poetsofinstagram, #schools, #spilledink, #spokenword, #teaching, #TT, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife

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Conquered by Division

12.11.2021 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

We thought we knew
our world
our life
our futures
Then airports shut
distance became
distance again
homes became
prisons and playpens
businesses shuttered
and viruses spread
in bodies and minds,
Uncertain times
with blindness of future,
reverberating noise
Fear atmospheres
and shadows shaking
thoughts and reactions,
Fight and flight
collapsing logic
strangling
the way I used to think
shuttering my humanity
closing my care,
creeping chaos,
manipulative media,
arguments and acid anxiety.

What will I choose
these echoes of
disintegration and violence
severing relationships
dividing hearts,
Or through me
Allow others to see
our God’s gentleness
our God’s kingdom
our God’s love?

Will I let go
think on, meditate on
have eyes for
Jesus,
See God
Give God the fear
the struggles
and choose life
choose grace
choose restoration
choose God’s peace
and give the peace of God?

Starting Thoughts:
While watching a video about bullying in a school I picked up my phone and started writing.
Poem Topic Tags: #virus, #arguments, #covid19, #distance, #division, #fear, #gentleness, #love, #peace, #relationships
Posting Tags: #artist, #creativewriting, #edapp, #edchat, #edtech, #elearning, #GlobalEd, #god, #instawrite, #jesus, #lrnchat, #mlearning, #poems, #poetry, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #poetryisnotdead, #poetsofinstagram, #schools, #spilledink, #spokenword, #teaching, #TT, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife

New Covenant

01.03.2020 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word |Seeker Written by: W Grieve

A Changed life
A new covenant
a promised Hope
prophetic promises
they seem so far away,
Lost in mysteries
Lost in the past
Lost in other cultures
Lost in curses from generations
Lost in business
Lost in guilt and regret
Lost in identity confusion
Lost to the grip of death
What can I do? Nothing!

But then Jesus called
The glorious Word spoke
Called Us - called me by name...
to know Him
invited into his goodness
through believing and receiving
and now we are
Simply, wonderfully
Hidden in Christ, the Messiah
one with Christ
from the beginning,
in his searing death
In his pure righteousness
in his powerful resurrection
in his abundant grace
in his regal freedom
In his deep, deep love
in his divine power
in his eternal life.

And now we reign
as kings, queens in life
here and now
chosen sons and daughters
with the sunshine of heaven
Embedded, flowing from our hearts
Believed in by God
I am who he says I am
We are who
He says we are.

Starting Thoughts: History revolves around a split in time between the old and the new covenant where Jesus died and rose and with the plan from eternity restored us all to God, not through what we do but through what God says we are in the love, forgiveness, grace and resurrection of Christ.
Poem Topic Tags: #covenants, #cross, #daughters, #eternity, #hidden, #hope, #identity, #jesus, #lost, #love, #promises, #resurrection, #sons, #word, #works
Posting Tags: #artist, #christian, #creativewriting, #god, #instawrite, #poems, #poetry, #poetsofinstagram, #poetryisnotdead, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #spilledink, #spokenword, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife, #writerscommunity, #writerscorner, #writersofinstagram,

The new covenant promises of God Spoken Word Poetry

Gone Fishing

09.02.2020 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

Lost in my
shoreside work
Repeating another repair
on the net,
Busy work
Repeating the knots,
Repeating the questions,
Repeating the routine
of my life to now,
I turn
look up
Disturbed by
Hearing the steps of God
- of my saviour
He has come!
Flowing with His footsteps
scattering small stones
that skitter down
from the upper bank,
towards me,
Towards us.

My eyes squint against
the glare dancing
from fractures of the lake’s waves,
And I see Him
Not that different
Not especially tall
Not especially handsome
Not dressed better
but yet - different,
And when He speaks
just a short sentence
an unexpected
yet expected call,
My heart stops
My life stops,
My soul jumps,
“Come follow me,
and I will make you fisher's
of people”
I’m caught.

And that is it,
reality bites
and I’m gone fishing.

Starting Thoughts: A simple call to a life of disruption, power and purpose. Jesus called the disciples as they fished by the Sea of Galilee to follow him proclaiming he would make them 'fishers of men'
Poem Topic Tags: #call, #called, #disciples, #evangelism, #faith, #galilee, #fishers, #fishing, #nets
Posting Tags: #artist, #christian, #creativewriting, #god, #instawrite, #poems, #poetry, #poetsofinstagram, #poetryisnotdead, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #spilledink, #spokenword, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife, #writerscommunity, #writerscorner, #writersofinstagram,

Spkenword poetry the call to follow Jesus

Purpose

19.01.2020 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

Could there be
a reality not known
that when known
leads you with purpose
into the unknown?

Starting Thoughts: Could there be something beyond the reality we see, or we think we see?
Bible Verses: Isaiah 48:6, Psalm 67:2, 1 Chronicles 17:19, Psalm 16:11, Romans 8:28, Isaiah 42:16, Isaiah 46:10, Luke 8:17, Acts 2:28, Ephesians 1:9.
Poem Topic Tags: #adventure, #destiny, #journey, #life, #meaning, #purpose, #reality, #steps, #thinking, #unknown,
Posting Tags: #artist, #christian, #creativewriting, #god, #instawrite, #poems, #poetry, #poetsofinstagram, #poetryisnotdead, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #spilledink, #spokenword, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife, #writerscommunity, #writerscorner, #writersofinstagram,

Divine Spark

07.01.2020 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

The deep insanity
the path of humanity
twisting bad
fragile
manifestly touching
and being touched by evil,
massing malevolence.

In the face
of reality, this world
Can I - anyone, call themselves a believer?
for if we truly believed
would we not act
always
for good…
and yet the default
seems the appalling inaction
the chained indifference,
it seems the resident evil
is to not just say I believe
instead, to pretend
what I believe.

But in the face
of my darkness
I can still choose…
in the truth of my humanness
in a misty clearing awareness
Choose to breathe
to blow on crimson embers
of the divine spark,
Choose to face the threat
of the drowning sea
Choose to face fears and failures
Choose to hear deep
to deep the love of Christ
Choose to proclaim the power
of the Christ who demons obey
Choose to know a closer presence
with a truly remarkable wonder…
the One
Living God.

Oh, the wonderful Christ
who lived this all
died and rose
victorious for us all,

It is Him I choose
to encounter,
I choose the King
to live in His kingdom
to let Him reign
in all parts of my life.

Starting Thoughts:
In the face of what we see and hear in our world, with how we treat each other and the pain that happens randomly or deliberately - can we choose God?
Poem Topic Tags: #choose, #demons, #evil, #hypocrites, #inaction, #indifference, #insanity, #king, #kingdom, #power, #pretense, #reality, #reign, #spark,
Posting Tags: #artist, #creativewriting, #edapp, #edchat, #edtech, #elearning, #GlobalEd, #god, #instawrite, #jesus, #lrnchat, #mlearning, #poems, #poetry, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #poetryisnotdead, #poetsofinstagram, #schools, #spilledink, #spokenword, #teaching, #TT, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife

divine_spark_poem_poetry_christian_darkness_evil_pain_choose_god

Embedded Love

07.04.2019 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

The Big Bang
The cataclysmic moment where
time, material, state started,
and with these
amazing energies
God begins relationship
With humankind
Generations
With you, us
Motivated by
love infused DNA
God models true humanity
Models change
models deep-heart talk,
Models complexity
and simplicity,
How in the dark
light is born,
how in old age, death, pain, evil
life moves on, grows, laughs, opens,
That is why God
First sent people,
prophets, leaders
the ordinary
to tell God's real story,
many kicked, beaten, killed
laughed at, scorned, excused,
and time revolved
eras and civilisations
rose and passed
threaded through with
questions of the why,
for God desires relationship
and let history run
in all its quality of decisions.

Finally,
embedded in
time’s crossroad,
God sent
the last One
the Close One
Chosen One
the personhood of God
God skinned
the Only Son
the last sent,
the one to
show true love and
be Worthy of love
the one who would stand
innocent, pure
Beyond time
to restore
to Take the judgement
of all sin,
Crucified as us
to bring Earth's
Past, present, future
through grace
into love relationship with God.

And the resurrection power
Spoke
A new commandment
that you love
one another, as yourself
As God deeply loves you,
walk in forgiveness
grace and honour
into your life
child, daughter, son of God
release the prophetic treasure
breathe words of gold
extraordinary people
telling God's story
releasing God's spirit
releasing his call.

#bigbang, #call, #christian, #cross, #dna, #history, #honour, #jesus, #poetry, #poems, #reality, #reallife, #relationship, #relationships, #spirit, #spokenword, #story,

Plays of Life

15.07.2018 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

How we play
Ignoring questions
ignoring the gaps
Turning on
Noise and screens,
For our focus -
Odds on favorite -
is Pleasure.

Power, position, possessions
The plays of life
Days of life
Chasing the cursed dream
we catch it, rich cream
temporary fulfilment,
and it dries
ashes in the mouth,
Death a taste away,
Chasing the cash crop
why would I stop?
Spinning into nothing
is what I am avoiding,
The void always
apparent beneath my feet,
Running fast enough
so the vortex
will not suck me in
for I have made myself God.

If I died tomorrow,
was it all just random...
Or will I meet Jesus?

Starting Thoughts: We chase stuff! Not quite like a dog chasing a car but we tend to focus on money, status, pleasure, sex, work and in the end I wonder what we have achieved. Christians are not immune either, when we take our focus of God and relationship with him we can be running to catch-up with our image of God.
Poem Topic Tags: #focus, #goals, #important, #materialism, #meaning, #mission, #purpose, #success, #time
Posting Tags: #artist, #christian, #creativewriting, #god, #jesus #instawrite, #poems, #poetry, #poetsofinstagram, #poetryisnotdead, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #spilledink, #spokenword, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife, #writerscommunity, #writerscorner, #writersofinstagram,

Spoken Word Poem on what we put our time into to achieve fame or success

Intimate Date

12.05.2018 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word |Seeker Written by: W Grieve

We clambered
out of parked
bubble green car,
autumn's night
painting nearly everything grey,
light spilled colour
from the Greek Restaurant,
white angular letters
above the glass doorway
the only hint of culture
on an otherwise modern
facade,
enjoying friends,
husband and wife
from a wedding party
years ago,
out to celebrate
their wedding anniversary.
Years of friendship, pain,
Love, children growing up,
He’s a little Greek
I love the Greek food
Not so sure
of her Greek tastes.

The warmth of the
wooden table room spilled out
and the Maitre d’ greeted us,
as we unraveled
from a day of work
into the moment.
We smiled
and followed to our
dark grained table.

Cool water, chatter, slightly
dog-eared menus, laughter
all cross our table,
mixing an enthusiasm
for life with
memories of the past,
conversation is fun
as we toss stories
in turn
listening intently
to each other,
we even send the waiter
away as we still
haven’t had time
to choose
our dish for the day.

Around us the restaurant
tables fill,
couples,
a long table
with a large party,
some must be Greek
we decide based
on look and colour,
but we don’t really know,
It’s slightly reassuring to
be eating Greek where
the real Greek eat
or so we choose
to believe.

Beside us
a couple who are
not there,
Since they sat down
each has been intimate
with their cellphone,
texting, Facebooking
WhatsApp chat
maybe the weather,
Could I suggest
to them,
why not start with a
conversation about weather
as that would be
more romance than
your current connection,
that would be more intimate
than your current finger poke,
ultimately
why did you come?
The waiter calls by their table
and they spend more time
talking to her
than they have
to each other
in the last ten minutes.

Why do we prefer
the shallow?
Stuck jumping
over small waves
forever timid
leaping the small
imagined tidal waves,
running away, pretending,
never tall enough, risking enough
never learning to swim,
so the thrills of riding, tubing,
plunging, being tossed
end over end
will never happen.

A life in the shallow
playing at relationships
never immersed,
superficial
so no one can love us
see us
for self is hidden
and love for others
is never learned.

skin-deep connections
deep loneliness.

Prompt
Out with friends and technology gets in the way of relationships.

Power Over

05.05.2018 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

The ballroom glitters
chandelier wealth
sumptuous tapestry
of food on corner tables,
stone hearth
open log fire
flowing warmth,
nonexclusive Earth invitation
to the dinner and dance.

powerless and powerful
crowd doorways,
and already the
powerless forced back entrance
powerful red carpet lane,
powerless trying to look
powerful pretending not to look,
powerless lining the wall

powerful dancing the macabre,
liquorice limbs
and sequin suits,
sharp shoes
and slicing shirts,
flaunted fashions
and fierce fortunes,

the music turns
sucking the theatre atmosphere
into terrifying descent
opening sewers,
plunging dark depths:
Of nonsense land,
Of heart timed
broken music
stabs and scabs
in back, mouth, eyes
Of lies and lip service
twisting truth and
weasel words
propoganda smiles
and razor rhythms
Of sweaty handshakes and
feasted friendships,
narrowed eyes
and measuring minds,

the dancing wealth
falters and strobe flickers,
vitality gripped and grasped
from the room.
for the powerful
weigh heavy,
sucking life-light
dancing drunken
leering at the
powerless wallflowers
fastened to the walls,
entertainment to be
painted over with
whitewash
covering the pain,
the death.

tiredness creeps over
the silent soul screams
of the powerless.

in a blackhole of time
a girl, sunken refugee cheeks,
lips parched, peeled
teeth not pearly white,
whispers from the wall
echoes that reverberate
cutting the crap
penetrating the perfect,
"what's happening
to their clothes?"
and in increasing opacity
costumes, vestments
threads decay,
and everyone sees truth...

the powerful…
pimples and smooth skin
perfected muscles and
sculptured curves
grey hairs and sagging flesh
cancer cells in first bloom
accidents waiting to happen,
death waiting for
their fingernails,
their hopes and
dreams,
their hidden, pushed down
concreted over
humaness.

everyone, everything stops.
facades frozen
breaths held,
reality checked,
but hope blooming...

a nervous finger
brushes a button
and elevator music trembles
into existence...

dance the macabre.

Prompt
When wealth combines with the uncaring and greedy hearts, what would happen if we truly shared? Cared?

Tags: games, power, sin, jesus, relationships

mmmm You!

29.04.2018 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

To be warm
is to have friends
and I’m warm
when you are around.

Starting Thoughts: Friendship is an amazing privilege. How we grow and nurture friendships with others is one of the most rewarding interactions we can engage in.
Poem Topic Tags: #belonging, #body, #care, #closeness, #friends, #friendship, #relationships, #warmth
Posting Tags: #artist, #christian, #creativewriting, #god, #jesus #instawrite, #poems, #poetry, #poetsofinstagram, #poetryisnotdead, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #spilledink, #spokenword, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife, #writerscommunity, #writerscorner, #writersofinstagram,

Friends make you feel warm. Spoken word poetry

Human Destiny

29.04.2018 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word |Seeker Written by: W Grieve

Freedom to be yourself
an independent person
Being me because I
decide what me is,
This is what I want.

Yet these things
I’m desiring
have already been thought
by others trying
searching, seeking
to make order of this world,
I’m actually unique but unoriginal
DNA, fingerprint different
thought pattern different
But yet I/we so follow each other
I can fight the establishment - done
I can rebel against parents, school,
meat, barbie dolls, church, law, whatever - done
So am I left with
a world of my choice
of non-original choices,
so where is my fight
the original, the invention,
the new world, adventure
my pathway
the start
beyond the stark.

Can I find
the smallest of clues,
to grow beyond
for what life holds
for me now,
yet a gateway through which
in different ways
everyone can discover
what their life can be,
without prejudice or violence,
Something
in my own world, mind, soul
Somewhere
Someone.

Starting Thoughts: Are there times sitting in a couch, running, standing and looking at an amazing view, driving your car that you just want to break out, discover what it really means to be human, live adventure and purpose? Make choices?
Poem Topic Tags: #adventure, #choice, #freedom, #humanity, #identity, #paths, #pathways, #purpose, #quest, #questions, #rebel, #searching
Posting Tags: #artist, #christian, #creativewriting, #god, #instawrite, #poems, #poetry, #poetsofinstagram, #poetryisnotdead, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #spilledink, #spokenword, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife, #writerscommunity, #writerscorner, #writersofinstagram,

Human destiny from our choices poetry Spoken word

Love Jigsaw

29.04.2018 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

Heart broken,
the nearly complete
jigsaw tumbled from in me,
crazy pieces
scattered on the ground
so many
hard undefined edges,
so many
colour emotions,
So many
memories to gather...
I pick up one, try to hold it
put it together
and another piece
slips through
my fingers,
bounces
and falls
face down.

Starting Thoughts: Does it feel like a piece of you is missing when someone you love is gone?
Poem Topic Tags: #affection, #breakup, #emotions, #friendship, #games, #intimacy, #lost, #love, #relationships
Posting Tags: #artist, #christian, #creativewriting, #god, #instawrite, #poems, #poetry, #poetsofinstagram, #poetryisnotdead, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #spilledink, #spokenword, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife, #writerscommunity, #writerscorner, #writersofinstagram,

Love

05.04.2018 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

Faulting through us
an invisible crazed line
deep
connecting us all
yet spreading,
birthed in the choice
of amazing good
terrifying evil
and “I'm mostly nice”,
sin has cracked us
separating
our soul's choices
from the love of God.

What a power to choose,
to respond,
and the judgement of
the cards falls
where we have played them.

But before sin,
before the decision
of Satan
to rebel,
before the fall
of an apple into gravity
of pride,
before the games
the celebrity gratification,
the focus on me...

forgiveness and love
were the very nature
unified purity in God,
God’s entity
His passion
His personality.

And in time
on time
outside of time
God knew,
Knew what would be done
Knew what would be given
Knew the sacrifice
Knew the pain
Knew the power required
Knew the victory,
and it happened
Christ from His heart
God felt this moment
Christ broke His heart
God suffered this moment
Christ raised by His heart
God celebrated this moment.

the final signature
God signed his cross
his x
to the searing consequences
of our decisions and defeats
of the full weight of sin,
all this because God
first loved,
This love of Jesus
has triumphed
Release, remission
and we are
engulfed by the Father’s arms,
Enclosed protected
from principalities
from powers of evil.

Living through God
Living through His love
This God
the light of truth
in our lives.

This is how
we walk in love
put on love
love God
love others
love self

Perfectly reconciled
we love our God
through genuine loving
of others.

Prompt
Love- the reckless, forever love of God that flows from His very nature.

Where I'm From

24.02.2018 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word |Seeker Written by: W Grieve

Days happy playing lone
Climbing the umbrella weeping elm
spreading over front lawn,
my ship at sea,
clambering the mast
hiding behind leaf sails,
weighing chances of breaking leg
jumping from high to ground,
Our house behind
white roughcast
home perched
on Dunedin hills.

Pine trees march
rough barked
up the long dirt drive
of the neighbour’s
mystery mansion,
hectares of
native forest exploration
tracks over fallen trees
through gullies, streams, cockabillies
and fresh-water pale lobsters,
Dad’s spade in hand
digging ferns
to transplant,
creating my dream
new forest bush
in our front garden,
sneaking sweet apples from
orchard trees gone wild
growing gamely near
the stone block mansion,
an edge of danger-
I heard once
an apple thief got hit
with a shotgun blast-
salt pellets stinging his butt,
I tell the story many times
and I cross the boundary
again for my sweet thrill treat,
On hills behind our fence
plump blackberries hanging
from tangled thorn vines,
toy bucket in hand
pick one, eat one.
lips-fingers stained purple.

Our first family
New car smell
Cortina plastic seats
Our 20 miles Ford
parked next
to chicken coup
in freshly cleaned garage.

Dad’s garden -
me blister digging across
the hill quarter acre section,
carrot soldiers
potato mounded rows,
peas and beans
exposing pod life on
on stakes of string twine,
witches copper hat brewing
sea kelp secret recipe
to fertiliser coax the big ones,
his proud saving money world
my moaning not again world.

Dark cold balcony
facing night swathed
Kaikorai valley,
lights in windows
across the void-
are others watching like me?
wrapped in blanket
snug to cold winter fingers
of starry night,
fireworks cascading across
house lights, dim grey sky,
hours gazing.

Our cellar
Dad’s world
of "one day
it will be useful",
exploring to find a treasure
moving the tired memories
to discover nothing,
but still dreaming-
one day I will be rich.

The same cellar where
the two brothers
dug into clay banks
cutting back into
the hill under the house
hand trowel scraping
yellowy clay into
slatted apple boxes
on long rope pull strings,
following a row
of rotten wood piles,
replacing these with
sturdier concrete supports
wedged under floor joists
as we hollow further into dark.
Dad too well built to fit so
weeks of tunnel boy labour
chid underground engineers,
filling-pulling, filling-pulling.

Grandparents house perched
on a steep North-East Valley street,
if you tripped and rolled
would you ever stop tumbling…
Tonka cars and Mecanno metal
my created worlds on their
rose patterned carpet
‘brmmm’ sounds
as I push loved cars
towards the refuelling station of
Grandma’s kitchen and
freshly baked peanut brownies.

My city of replaced memories
rubber wheeled
electric trolley buses,
roads spiralling out from Octagon
who cares if it means
going straight steep up the hill -
the shape was important
on the map,
cold sea harbours
and trevally fishing
hill walks and two storey
grand wooden houses,
St Kilda salt water pool
pounded by encroaching
sea wave explosions.

Dunedin -
centered on Robert Burns
seagull stained statue,
some Scottish in my heart
the child place in my dreams.

Prompt
A poem exploring where you are from, your history and younger child memories.

Inspired by Extreme Poetry resource (131+ pages of poetry tips and ideas). Click to view and gain access to great poetry forms, lessons and activities.

The Divine Finger

24.02.2018 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

The Divine finger
marked my spirit,
Only in my dreams
did I see the possibilities,
but now
I hear the call,
Across the city
across the nation
across the earth,
In this place,
A call threaded into my heart,
burning deep
Nothing is impossible,
In Him
We can do anything,
It's not over until it's over.
The race call,
run,
Stretch your faith,
Stretch your heart,
Stretch your legs
and run,
run in
and for the Son,
Glorious free,
Freed to be,
released to see
the race before you.

In challenge midst
Pulled captive to different
goals,
the healing;
he restores my spirit,
in the heat
brothers, sisters run together,
My failures
Messed up
covered in
the together,
Sisters and brothers
Trusting God in one another
friendships touching time.

The past stories,
wind behind,
Slip stranded
streaming in the running,
And we see
His fingers have stamped
the moments
signposts of life
Touches of time,
Threaded to eternity.

But now
forgetting
what is behind,
this one thing
I - we do,
single-minded,
single-hearted,
Saying "Yes"
Focused,
broken,
fallen,
changed,
prophetic
radical.

Amazing
The race,
together,
running to-with-for Jesus,
to the finish,
celebrating full
the life
race.

Prompt
How we run the race with others, how we finish the race is a measure of who we are in Christ.

Tags: race, run, church, jesus, relationships

Become a Robot

24.02.2017 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

Become a robot
follow God,
Rules, regulations
restrictions,
Become a slave
to a tyrant
an invisible nothing who shouts
pain into the world.
But if Jesus
was real,
If history has truth
If bibles, Koran record Him,
If millions of lives through time
believe a real Jesus walked the earth,
He was either the greatest lie
Or the only important fact.

The Jesus I know,
broke the rules
of the religious,
embraced differences,
The Jesus I know
showed love
deep beyond any previous experience,
The Jesus I know
Said "I am the Way, Truth, and Life"
The Jesus I know
died and rose,
to give planet earth choices,
to give you hope now,
The Jesus I know
gifts real life
radical relationship
with a Living God.
The Jesus I know
said, "Come follow me
whoever drinks the water
I give them
will never thirst,
a spring of water
bubbling eternal life.”

God saves You
Knows You
in Jesus.

Do you know my Jesus?

Prompt
A poem exploring ideas about the reality of Jesus? Did he walk Earth

Colour Culture Tapestry

16.06.2013 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

What colour in your room?
We have the understated kiwi dark
That blends with the bush
The reds, yellows and blues
of Romania,
Greens
Gold and purple
from Pakistan
Vibrant colours of Malaysia, Singapore,
Korea, Fiji
From Africa, America, Nepal, German
the brothers, sisters
have travelled
To N.Z.
The ends of the earth.
To share stories and life
Flowing threads of culture together
Scottish, Maori, Japanese, British
All joined, called by one love, one Christ
One hope,
Expressed in many voices.
Once all immigrants
to this land,
Once all immigrants
to God’s kingdom,
Now the stories, the yarns
have been woven together
in His love.
A tapestry of
The Christ of the cross
The Christ risen
The Christ who calls his people.

Prompt
Celebrate the mix of cultures that make up the wonderful tapestry of woven colour in our churches.

Yumm

18.04.2010 Filed in: Poetry |Christian |Video |Spoken Word Written by: W Grieve

To be warm
is to have friends
And I'm warm
when you are around,
Yumm…

Starting Thoughts: Friends make us feel good, feel warmer.
Poem Topic Tags: #friends, #friendship, #gold, #positivity, #relationships, #seeker, #warmth
Posting Tags: #artist, #christian, #creativewriting, #instawrite, #poems, #poetry, #poetsofinstagram, #poetryisnotdead, #poetrycommunity, #poetryinmotion, #spilledink, #spokenword, #typewriter, #videos, #wordsmith, #writing, #writinglife, #writerscommunity, #writerscorner, #writersofinstagram,

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