Against the rubber tongues of cows and the hoeing hands of men
Thistles spike the summer air
And crackle open under a blue-black pressure.
Then they grow grey like men.
Mown down, it is a feud. Their sons appear
Stiff with weapons, fighting back over the same ground.
Blog: Pictures-Books-Reflections
valentine
Posted on by James Woodward
Not a red rose or a satin heart.
I give you an onion.
It is a moon wrapped in brown paper.
It promises light
like the careful undressing of love.
Here.
It will blind you with tears
like a lover.
It will make your reflection
a wobbling photo of grief.
I am trying to be
love is a tree
Posted on by James Woodward
Love is not condescension, never
that, nor books, nor any pencil trace
on paper, no; nor in how we talk
about each other. Love is a tree
with branches reaching out to always
with roots that come from everywhere,
and no trunk. Have you seen it?
No. You can't. Y
Go with the Flow
Posted on by James Woodward
It was a pleasure to travel up to London last night to Downing Street for a Reception, hosted by Samantha Cameron, in support of Maggie’s and by way of launching Gemma Levine’s ‘Go with the Flow’.
It is, of course, always interesting to step inside and see something of a
Now which of these will you be today??!!
Posted on by James Woodward
Able
Accurate
Adaptable
Analytical
Articulate
Astute
Consistent
Creative
Decisive
Dedicated
Diligent
Diplomatic
Dynamic
Effective
Efficient
Energetic
Enthusiastic
Experienced
Fast
Flexible
Gregarious
Imaginative
innovative
Inventi
Who understands Death?
Posted on by James Woodward
Following a conversation yesterday about the narratives of death and particularly our own relationship to death I turned to that extraordinary narrative by Gillian Rose that asks us all whether we have faced our mortality
Gillian Rose LOVES WORK Page 72 & 73
With a
amazement is the thing
Posted on by James Woodward
The point is the seeing, the grace
beyond recognition, the ways
of the bird rising, unnamed, unknown,
beyond the range of language, beyond its noun.
Eyes open on growing, flying, happening,
and go on opening. Manifold, the world
dawns on unrecognizing, realizing eyes.
A
AGAINST SELF-IMPROVEMENT
Posted on by James Woodward
"Life for us has become an endless affair of trying to
improve ourselves: achieving more and doing more, learning more,
always needing to know more things. The process of learning and
being taught has simply become a matter of being fed facts and
information-- receivi
white flower
Posted on by James Woodward
He said, I am with you always.
That means, when you look for God
That God is the looking itself,
Yes, and the thought of looking
And the you that thinks the thought
Always, already, all of it;
There is no outside.
A white flower grows in the silence
WHAT SHOULD I FEAR?
Posted on by James Woodward
Let the immeasurable come.
Let the unknowable touch the buckle of my spine.
Let the wind turn in the trees,
and the mystery hidden in the dirt
swing through the air.
How could I look at anything in this world
and tremble, and grip my hands
delight
Posted on by James Woodward
All the others translate: the painter sketches
A visible world to love or reject;
Rummaging into his living, the poet fetches
The images out that hurt and connect.
From Life to Art by painstaking adaption
Relying on us to cover the rift;
Only your notes are pure contr
St George
Posted on by James Woodward
The Prayer to Saint George directly refers to the courage it took for the saint to confess his Christianity before opposing authority:
Almighty God, who gave to your servant George boldness to Confess the Name of our Savior Jesus Christ before the rulers of this world, and cour
Letting Go of our Control?
Posted on by James Woodward
‘Control’ in this context has two distinct meanings, both equally crucial.
In the first place, ‘control’, as you would expect, means priority and ability to manage, not to force, the compliance of others, to determine what others think or do.
In the second, more elu
radiant
Posted on by James Woodward
this blessing
God's love
calls us
to that elsewhere world
which only lovers
eyes alight, eyes aflame
can see at all.
only those who have
self surrendered:
once, they were flecks of fire;
now, they are
the radiant sun.
Rumi
Easter
Posted on by James Woodward
Rise, heart, thy lord is risen. Sing his praise
Without delays,
Who takes thee by the hand, that thou likewise
With him may'st rise:
That, as his death calcinиd thee to dust,
His life may make thee gold, and, much more, just.
Awake, my lute, and struggle for thy part
With al
Holy Saturday
Posted on by James Woodward
When Death Comes
When death comes
like the hungry bear in autumn;
when death comes and takes all the bright coins from his purse
to buy me, and snap the purse shut;
when death comes
like the measle-pox;
when death comes
like an iceberg between
Good Friday
Posted on by James Woodward
This is it. The is what we have always feared –
The moment of surrender, the helpless moment
When there is nothing to do but to let go…
“Into Thy hands” – into another’s hand
No matter whose; the enemy’s hand, death’s hand,
God’s…The moment not to be ev
Maundy Thursday
Posted on by James Woodward
Lord, in your love you wash our feet
soiled as we tramp lifes well worn street
As from the clamour we retreat
concious of failure and defeat
wash from our feet the dirt of sin
scars from the past which lurk within
humbly we heed your discipline
faced with temptation, help us w
Time to look inwards?
Posted on by James Woodward
NEWS OF THE INNER WORLD
"It is strange to be here. The mystery never leaves you
alone. Behind your image, below your words, above your thoughts,
the silence of another world waits. A world lives within you.
No one else can bring you news of this inner world.
the beauty of the heart
Posted on by James Woodward
The beauty of the heart
is what will remain:
it brings to your lips
the water of life.
in truth, it is the water,
and the jug that holds it,
and the lips that drink.
All three become one when
your talismans are broken.
This is a oneness you won't know
by thinking abo