udith’s PoetryPassion is the
Life of Love;
Passion is the
Heart of Suffering.
Neglect not Love,
Leaving Passion
On the ground;
Refuse not Suffering,
Allowing Passion
To wither away.
Run not from Passion,
Leaving it far behind,
Dying of thirst;
Let not Passion lie
On the dusty roadside,
Sorrowing from neglect.
Take up Love of Life
Wholeheartedly,
See Passion flame
And burn up hate.
When Suffering comes,
Take it on,
Let Passion overpower it
From within.
Passion is the
Love of Life;
Passion is the
Suffering of the Heart.
Morning Rises
Morning rises later now
As September comes;
Five o’clock no longer sees
Light of dawn appear.
Seven o’clock brings sky’s grey tinge
Yet sun stays hidden in
His chamber—curtained, ‘til he can
No longer lie abed, for shame.
Sun draws his warmth around himself
In secret; scattering only pale, cool treasures
Of light on the ground; leaving behind him
Red-gold streaks in the trees once-green.
Reflections of morning will soon lie late
On icy-white drifts of snow; while sun’s reality
Streams south with the snow birds
And northerners mourn its loss.
© Judith Lawrence September 2009
Fall Planting
I plant dried bulbs
From potted tulips
In the garden plot.
They will be spring’s first colour
Piercing winter’s sleep
With gold and red.
© Judith Lawrence September 2009
Winter’s Approach
As winter approaches
We hold hope in our hearts
With garden rituals.
We divide perennial plants
And emblazon next year’s colour
On imagination’s eyes.
© Judith Lawrence September 2009
Litany of Praise
O Lord, the giver of morning,
We praise you.
O Lord, who brings the sun to light the morning sky,
We praise you.
O Lord, who wakens birds to sing your praise,
We praise you.
O Lord, who leads the animals of the forest to eat of your bounty,
We praise you.
O Lord, who wakens us to sing your praise,
We praise you.
O Lord, who brings us safely to another day,
We praise you.
O Lord, who causes us to waken from our sleep,
We praise you.
O Lord, who opens our mouths to speak,
We praise you.
O Lord, who gives us clothes to wear,
We praise you.
O Lord, who gives us water to drink,
We praise you.
O Lord, who gives us bread to eat,
We praise you.
O Lord, who gives us hands to work,
We praise you.
O Lord, who gives us eyes to watch,
We praise you.
O Lord, in whom we so delight,
We praise you.
© Judith Lawrence, April 2009
Three are the praises I will make,
Four will I tell in the morning:
I praise God once for waking me,
I praise God twice for the night’s rest,
Thrice, I sing the joy of life,
Fourth, I thank Christ for being my guest.
Three are the praises I make to my God,
Four are the praises I speak in the dawn.
© Judith Lawrence, March 2009
We who set our hope on Christ
Live for the praise of His glory.
I will praise the Lord for waking me to this new day
With all its hope and promise.
I will praise the Lord for opening my eyes to this new day
To see the sky lighten in the east from whence comes the Son of Man.
I will praise the Lord for opening my ears to this new day
To hear the birds sing their morning praise to God.
I will praise the Lord for opening my hands to this new day
To feel the textures of creation: the grass and stone and earth.
I will praise the Lord for opening my nose to this new day
To smell the scents of nature’s bounty: the flowers and the rain.
I will praise the Lord for opening my mouth to this new day
To taste the nourishment of harvest: water, bread and berries sweet.
We who set our hope on Christ
Live for the praise of His glory,
Live to thank him for His gifts,
Live to thank him for His bounty.
© Judith Lawrence, March 2009
A turning point arrives, pivotal;
There is a drawing to some new depth,
I know not the depth—or height—of it.
I feel the pull, strong and urgent.
God leads on. I desire to follow—
Glory, glory. I go along his path—
Lit with lanterns of his love.
© Judith Lawrence, April 2009
Dandelion Clocks
Imagination soars on wings of dragonflies
To other countries, other times.
My mouth takes deep breaths
Telling hours on dandelion clocks.
I harness myself to a seed parachute
And lazy seconds drift by on air currents.
I land beside yellow violets and
White flower-promises of wild strawberries.
I sate myself with innocent moments
Of childhood home and yesteryear memories.
Then mystical chariot of winged dragonflies
Transports my satisfied soul to the now.
© Judith Lawrence May 2000
Fireflies and Stars
When I look at the fireflies,
Those reflections of heaven’s stars,
I am amazed at God’s delight as Creator,
His joy at making something so big,
And, with equal attention to detail,
Something so small.
© Judith Lawrence June 2000
Morning Moon
This morning when the sky was getting light,
The moon—cream-coloured,
Round-shaped—a disc, a ball,
Sat above the trees.
The sun was not yet above the horizon
But would soon be,
For the sun was lightening the sky
But without blue,
Not yet blue.
© Judith Lawrence, 2000
Open and Receive
Open your mind to the new,
Open your arms to the gifts,
Open your reach to the fullest,
Open your imagination to the possibilities,
Open your anima to the future.
Receive peace from love of one another,
Receive enjoyment from togetherness,
Receive triumph from the stars,
Receive empowerment from the Universe,
Above all reach out in love.
© Judith Lawrence, 2000
