1419

Christmas is here; the cards all tell the story

And decorations fill the empty space

Where day by day the Christ-child and his glory

Should radiate his peace throughout the place;

But even as we sing the shepherd's tale

With angels bringing light to all the earth

The violence of man seems to prevail

And no one cares what single lives are worth.

Sing then, sing aloud for all to hear

Overcome the cries of sin and pain,

Purge away the terror and the fear

For Christ is born in Bethlehem again.

Brian Hick December 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 15.12.25

 1418

Morgentraum

A Christmas wedding; the church is all abuzz

With friends who have not been in touch for years

Relatives who hardly ever speak

And youngsters who will soon resort to tears

If they have to wait much longer for the bride

Who comes, at last, allaying maternal fears.

And then before the organ's echoes fade,

It's done, and they are married, to a cheer

From all their friends and soft knowing smiles

Of satisfaction from those who came to hear

Continuation of an ancient rite

Confirming married love from year to year.

The church is silent, only the flowers remain

As witness to love's everlasting flame.

Brian Hick December 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 2.12.25

 1417

Guardian Angel

A little speck of God

And just for me;

Not because God needs you

As an extra hand,

But my sight's so poor

I cannot see infinity

And eyes prefer to focus

On what's near,

You're at my back, unseen,

But always there

Supporting when I faint

Cheering when I droop

Exhorting when I despair

Loving where I despise;

Lifting up my heart to sense anew

The path which always leads me back to You.

Brian Hick December 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 29.11.25

 1416

Where is the Way of Joy for human-kind,

The truth that goes beyond the damning law,

The No, the blank refusal where we find

Hope dashed and Faith reduced to little more

Than Rules which serve to batter down and bind

A love forever flowing for the poor?

Cut through the red tape, let the Torah go,

Seek the Law whose truth cannot be heard;

Throw off the shackles, let the ideas flow

Beyond the cage of language where the word

Seeks to stultify what Love would grow;

Then as Babel's  disparate voices fall

The Way of Joy may fill the hearts of all.

Brian Hick December 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 26.11.25

 1415

The first week of Advent

Time to mix the pud

Order up the turkey

And everything that's good.

The second week of Advent

Have you got the tree?

How about the presents

For Dot and Aunty B?

The third week of Advent

Panic setting in

Haven't done the  Christmas cards;

Oh, where will I begin?

The fourth week of Advent

Presents round the tree

All the food is in the fridge

Time for a G&T.

Christmas Eve, it's quiet

For the children are in bed

Midnight Mass on tele

And carrot by the shed.

Christmas Day is dawning

And suddenly you're here

With Angel voices calling

To put away all fear.

Brian Hick December 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 24.11.25

 1414

Nothing now to mark the silent hours

Nothing warming hearts within the rain

Nothing reaching out across the void

Nothing here to melt away the pain

Nothing to arouse a troubled mind

Nothing changing, everything the same.

Brian Hick November 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 22.11.25

 1413

Christchurch bells toll out the quarter hours

Across the silence of the city night.

Two-fifteen, two-thirty, three o'clock,

I lie and wait, contented for the light

To cross the Liffey, climb Fishamble Street

Putting dawn's grey emptiness to flight.

Waiting is easy, waking brings back pain,

Recalling all the things I haven't done

And those I did so poorly I regret

The fact I tried, preferring to have won

At very little than fail at something which

Just puts me off before I have begun.

But the night has passed, the day is here,

Your love abides, so I've no need to fear.

Brian Hick November 2014

©copyright Sally Hick 19.11.25