Faith Related Poetry
By Paul Curtis


A PASSING SOUL

Unflinching faith is much admired
To pass with dignity is what’s desired
Slipping quietly away in to the light
And with passed loved ones, reunite
Let slip the earthly bonds, external
And embrace the love of god eternal

FOR ANNA

The babe angelically reposed
Cherubic and smartly clothed
Apparent parental joy and pride
God parents standing side by side
As all around the font arrayed
With love and harmony displayed
And when the spoken words allow
The holy waters cross her brow
Then after the ritual is satisfied
Anna, in Christ’s family is baptised

RCS V RHS

A surgeon was in deep discussion with a horticulturist
On whether or not the immortal soul does actually exist
The medic began “I have been a surgeon for many a year
And after many operations I would like to make it clear
After having cut every consievable part of a human being
I can say without doubt that I don’t remember ever seeing
Or finding anything that you could possibly ever compare
To an immortal soul within the human body anywhere”
The horticulturist then responded to him in this form
Saying “If I were to cut into a flower bulb, tuber or corm
I would not be able to see any sign of a flower anywhere
But we both know a beautiful flower dwells within there”

BANG

Bang!
Isn’t that how it all began?
Scientists tell us so
Like the gospels
Darwin’s disciples preach it
Talking of the creation myth
And the big bang theory
As if a theory has more weight
Than a myth
God didn’t create the universe
They say
But science with its big bang
I find it hard to believe
It cannot be so
Science cannot create a world
Or a universe
They can only end it
With a big bang
Science will ultimately destroy
What they play with life like a toy
They try to play god
With their own creations
Science gave us gun powder
Nuclear weaponry
Choking carbon monoxide
Acid rain
Holes in the ozone layer
I believe in the creation
And the creator
God created us all
With all our faults and frailties
And god gave us great abilities
But he also gave us reason
And the common good sense when not to use them
Just because we can do something
Doesn’t mean that we should
I believe god created a world to love
But if it all began
With that big bang
And nothing existed
Before that moment
Who lit the match?
Who pressed the button?
Who flicked the switch?
That caused the explosion
The bang
The ignition of life
In all its forms
Perhaps we are an experiment
In some cosmic crucible
Or the universe is contained
Within a dirty goldfish bowl
Whose water could imminently be refreshed?
It doesn’t really matter
How it started
Either by the creation myth
Or the big bang theory
The argument is like the universe
A question of balance
Good and bad
Great and small
Searing heat and freezing cold

High and low
There has to be an opposite
To give credence to either
All I know of the universe
The world
This life
Is its very special
Very precious
And finite
Which begs another question?
How will it end?
Will it be with a
Bang!

LET HIM IN

Let god within your heart
Fill the void of darkness
Filled with love and joy
Let his love envelope
Your being
Let him bring light
Where dark once dwelt
Let him bring love
Where hate once ruled
Let him bring happiness
Where sadness held dominion
I AM

I am the gentle warmth
Of a soft spring day
I am the sunlight
Glinting on the morning dew
I am the summer breeze
In a field of ripened corn
I am the aromatic air
Of a summer night
I am the autumn wind
Stripping bare the trees
I am the howling wind
In the teeth of a gale
I am the biting sting
Of icy rain and sleet
I am the silence
In the softly falling snow
I am silent
And invisible in the mists
I am the storm and tempest
I am the peace and quiet
I am the green man
I am the green goddess
I am the mother
I am the father

IF NOT

If not the lord
Then what?
Raiki?
Yoga?
Or feng shui
Worshiping the elements
The sun and the moon
A return to chaos
Pagan times
Before the fisher of men
Cast his net

If not our lord
Then who?
What idol?
What fad or fashion
Plastic surgeons
The new gods
De-toxing
And colonic irrigation
Or wannabee’s
Worshiping celebrity
At the alter of fame

If not the Christ
Then what?
Loss of faith
Loss of belief
But they don’t stop believing
Because they have a need
A desperate need
To believe in something
So they believe
In everything and anything
Except the risen Christ

DARWINS DESIGN

There is, today, a fierce debate
Well in America at any rate
Darwinism is again causing friction
Some claim his work to be a fiction
And his “Origin of the Species”
Is likened to a pile of fetid faeces
Fossil evidence has caused the strife
Showing Random explosions of life
Evolution was not a gradual change
Thoughts we now must rearrange
Its not at all as Charles Darwin said
But Intelligent Design instead

DEAR LORD PROTECT

Dear lord protect
The soldiers on the line
And grapes upon the vine
The policemen on the beat
The homeless on the street
The elderly and the frail
The Transgressors in the jail
The young and the vulnerable
The well off and comfortable
Fire fighters at their station
Carers with their dedication
The judiciary and the medics
The believers and the sceptics
Those in planes and boats and cars
The planets and the stars
Crops growing in the soil
Those hard about their toil
The river, the lake and the dam
The lion the wolf and the lamb
The animals on the farm
Protect them Lord from harm

KING OF LOVE

The king of kings lord in heaven above
Holds the power in His kingdom of love
Not love of power but the power of love

HOLDING OUT FOR A HERO

A hero, a myth a legend
An idea? A tale or fable
With a grain of truth
And come the time
He will be there
At the right time
To rescue us all
What hero?
A name gently whispered on the breeze
Or shouted on the wind
Arthur? Robin? Horatio?
Heroes all
Our real hero, neither myth or legend
Not an idea or tale or fable
But is the truth
And come the time
He will be there
At the right time
To rescue us from ourselves
A name gently whispered in reverence
And shouted in rejoicing
A name embedded in our souls
Our lord god

HE IS

He is the earth
The wind and the fire
He is the sun
That rises in the east
And sets in the west
He is the tree in bud
And the mare in foal
He is the rain that gently falls
He is the birdsong
And the cockcrow
He is the staff of life
He is the Son of God
The prince of peace

THERE

You are there
When I face adversity
And in times of conflict
When I encounter trajedy or loss
You are there
When I experience joy
And at times of happiness
When I feel pride and count my blessings
You were there
When my children entered the world
And at their baptisms
When they married and when loved ones passed
You are always there
Dear lord

PRAYER

I pray to my god
When my heart is full
And when it is empty
When I just need to speak
And when I need an answer
When I have joy to share
And when at my lowest
I pray to my god
Who always listens?

IN THE COMPANY OF ANGELS

If I am the first to go
I will wait for you in the place
Where the crowns of Angels glow

If I go first because I lost the fight
I will be waiting with the Father
Where the tunnel opens into light

If I am the first one there
I will await you in lush meadows
Where heady perfume fills the air

If I go first and leave you lonely
We will meet again in paradise
In our loved ones company

If I am the first to go, allay your fears
I will be waiting in the place
Where there are no more tears

If I go before you and we must part
I will wait for you in heaven
Where sweet music soothes the heart

If I am first to go we will meet again
In a far better place than this
Where God has banished pain

If I go first through the eternal door
You will find me with the angels
Where suffering is no more

If I am first to go by days or years
You will find me waiting there
Far beyond this vale of tears

AN UNDERSTANDING GOD

God didn’t say
You must circumcise your children
God didn’t say
You can have ten wives
God didn’t say
You mustn’t use a condom
God didn’t say
You must pray five times a day
God didn’t say
My priests cant marry
God didn’t say
Woman must be covered at all times
God didn’t say
You cannot divorce
God didn’t say
Divorcees cannot remarry in church
God didn’t say
You must remove your shoes in my house
God didn’t say
You must kill the infidel
God didn’t say
There is only one church
God didn’t say
You must ritually wash your feet
Man said these things
These rules were made by men

A GOOD CHRISTIAN

Dorothy spinster of this parish
With her sister taught Sunday school
For over fifty years
Both good Methodists and good Christians
Their lives dedicated to the church
To ensure the future of their church
Dorothy left a large bequest to the church
The church sought to honor a good woman
And dedicated in her name
A room within the church
For ever to be named after her

GOD AND SCIENCE

I believe in God
I believe him to be the creator
The creator of heaven and earth
Of the stars and the planets
I believe him to be the creator of the universe
The scientific community
Talk of the big bang
Which sparked off the creation of the universe
They call God a myth
And his creation a myth
Science of course call it the big bang theory
Theory being science speak for a guess
Or put another way a belief
They can no more prove their belief
Than I can prove the existence of God
For all there contempt for belief systems
They are locked in one of their own making
I have faith in the creation
But if there was a big bang
Then God pressed the button

GOD ONLY

Yes I believe in God
I believe in God the father of all
I believe in the Ten Commandments
God handed to Moses
A better set of rules to live your life by
Does not exist
I’m not comfortable calling myself a Christian however
I was baptized a Christian
And raised as one
And I attend a Christian church
But I'm not a true Christian
I don’t turn the other cheek

ONE MAN AND HIS DOG

A man and his dog were walking along a lane.
Both enjoying the scenery and the terrain,
When suddenly a thought pooped into his
And he realized that he was actually dead.
He vaguely remembered his passing away
And that his dog had been dead many a day
He wondered then where the road was leading
In the distance along the way they were proceeding
He viewed a high white wall along the road side
It looked like fine marble and was many miles wide
It followed the lane up to the top of a long hill
He noticed a tall arch with a golden infill
That glowed in the sunlight bright and bold
When he got closer he could see it was gold
He thought it must lead to a great estate
Inside the golden arch was a magnificent gate
The gate was covered it the most lavish swirls
Made up of what appeared to mother-of-pearl
And the driveway that led up towards its splendour
Was lavishly paved with solid gold paviours
He and the dog walked quickly toward the gate
As he got closer, he saw a man through the grate
When he got closer he called out, "Excuse me”
And as he reached the gate he asked “where are we?"
The man smiled and answered "This is Heaven, sir,”
"Really that’s fantastic could I get a drink of water?"
"Of course Come in I'll get some iced water for you"
The gate began to open "Can my dog come in, too?"
"I'm sorry but we don't allow pets." The man said
“I won’t come in then we’ll try elsewhere instead”
He and his dog went back to the road and walked on
The road went up hill and was very very long
They came to a dirt road leading through a farm gate
This looked like it had never been closed of late
There were no fences surrounding the property
He saw a man reading a book leaning against a tree
"Excuse me!" he called "Do you have any water?"
"Of course come on in there's a pump over there,"
Gesturing to his dog he said "How about my friend?"
"There should be a bowl by the pump for your friend"
They went in and there was an old hand pump
With a bowl beside it for his four legged chum
The traveler filled the water bowl for the dog
And took a long drink himself as he sat on a log
They drank their fill and walked back to the man
Who was standing by the gate where they began
The traveler asked”What do you call this place?"
"This is Heaven," he answered a smile on his face
"Well, that's confusing," the traveler said to the man
"Another man down the road said that was Heaven"
"Do you mean the place with the golden street,
The pearly gates and everywhere perfectly neat?”
“Yes that’s the very place” replied the traveler
“No that was hell and the man was not saint peter"
"Doesn't it make you really angry” the traveler said
When they use your name and people go there instead?"
"No, we're just happy they screen out the dross
Who’d leave their best friends and not feel the loss"

WHO IS THERE

Who is there?
In my darkest hours
When pain wracks my body
When dark thoughts plague me
Who is it who sustains me?

Who is there?
At times of anguish
When I feel so alone
When I feel all hope is gone
Who lifts me and guides me

Who is there?
In the depths of my despair
When I see no end
When I seek release
Who is it?
Who will take my pain

He is there
When the pain ends
When darkness is banished
In the light of love
My lord god will keep me

FAITH

Faith is such a simple concept
It’s so simple
It’s just about belief
It’s so completely uncomplicated
You just have to believe
No strings attached
Just unconditionally believe
And if you do the world is your oyster
All your doubts and fears subside
When you accept his existence
His, hers its
The creator, the deity
The master puppeteer
Don’t analyse it
Don’t try to define it
To deconstruct it
Don’t worry about the Who the what or the why
Its doesn’t matter
Don’t worry about who the creator is
It doesn’t matter what race
What gender, what creed or what colour
Just accept it, embrace it
You still won’t be able to see it
But you’ll know its there
It’s totally invisible to your senses
Yet it connects with you at the core
With your essence, your soul
You can’t see it yet its wonders are all around
You can’t hear it
Yet its sound fills the world
You can’t taste it
But it’s the spice of all life
You can’t smell it
But its exotic and heady fragrance is on every breath of wind
And you can’t touch it
But it can be felt when it touches you