Prodigal

Broken. He came home, broken. Bits of bike under truck wheels on a dark night. On the road. Broken. He came home.

Not another word spoken. Where god tears great gaps….puff daddy raps but the wound is still open. He came home broken.

He came home to father or rather he lay in waiting. The morgue lights fading. Pain in the uncovering rage in the discovering. Fathers arms open.

Another token.

The prodigal had a better ride. Fathers arms open wide. Ring n ting party's over. Rolling in clover. Who knows what road he took on that dark night. Oily tarmac shouts back. Broken.

Diesel and dust is a must. Don't let your blade rust keep it sharp for that killing thrust. Cos the anger inside is twisting your guts. Where in hell can you find an answer. What road did he take.

Was it fate or grace. Get outta my face. Where god tears great gaps he should be ashamed to revisit that place. Where he left his own son, broken.

On the road to god knows where..,

Childhood

I had a childhood strong and fair
Not a care,
Golden hair.
Summers were long and warm
With laughter and adventure,
You were there.

Then came independence
And with it, choice
A loud voice
Silent yearnings strangled by curious cravings
Precious flowers picked and discarded
Unpardonable sins
Left un-reprimanded.

Subtly suffering asserted itself
Days turned on their head
Self image dead
No rest in bed

I had a childhood strong and fair
Not a care
Golden hair,
I turn now to look
But you're not there.

Joe Morriss
2005

A Mother's touch

Beneath the morning grey she bends
Within her clasped hands coloured flowers
Whilst as the mourning grave she tends
And whiles away a lonely hour.

Her son, the grown man
No longer sees
What looking up she sees of him,
As sun falls through the autumn leaves
And the homely Robin sings his hymn.

A violet bunch of varied stems
Heather, Vetch and Tare
her aged fingers parting them
And placing each with care.

Each year remembered
This stony bed
A fragrant beauty feels
As life long ended rests its head
Where a mother's touch has healed.


Joe Morriss
October 5th 2014

Day Close

Day Close

Turn and face the sunset if you dare.

Don’t look for play of light in air

Or one day’s death to usher in another yet more fair.

Turn and see truth

Truth in all majesty

Unencumbered in strength

Strong over daily oppression – depression

Drawing and lifting besetting frustration

As cool of the evening

Lifts heat of the sunlight

And lulls in the coming

Of darkness the healer.

Turn, see a moment

Never repeated

Fixed in the day as the time of its parting.

Fixed in all time as this day’s departing

Returning no more.

Turn, see peace

The sun and the earth and you

Bound by peace, that companionship not of this world.

Trees wane and fade

The far hills stoop into nothingness

The grass lays back

Still tremor of cypress, awed at the spectacle.

The sun,

The sun pours down his molten end

In a hazy hush at the rim of the world.

The clouds in turmoiled glory

In a silent impassioned ecstasy

Lie near my face.

Evening cool soothing the brow

Chilling the back’s sweat

Hair lifting

With the spirit of that frozen, fervent flame.

Richard Morriss (Zimbabwe)

August 1961

Loss

Lord I have suffered a loss
Teach me how to live with that loss

Don't turn it into gain
Don't explain it away
Don't find a purpose in it
Don't tell me to get over it
Don't just be silent

Just tell me how to live
In the face of death

It's too late to say "Goodbye"
Too deep for formal farewells
Too personal for theory
And too painful to conceptualize

I can't let go!
I want to include him even though he's dead
I want to see his face
Hear his voice
My life is incomplete without his touch.

Joe Morriss

Why?

My heart
Torn by a God who loves
Surely not true?
A God of love surrounding me
Surely you do?

Powerful Creator, Majestic Lord!
Then why so much pain?
If you wanted to show your love
You could have changed things
Could have intervened.

Instead of rushing to my aid when it's all over,
Too late.
But is that it
The end?

Do you allow death
As freely as you allow life?
And those who are left
Must learn to survive.

Joe Morriss

Jan 2004

Doubting Thomas

Hey Thomas,
Come and join us!
But why are you like that?
We've seen him
Its amazing
He really has come back!
Don't you believe? Doubting Thomas.

Oh Yeah, I believe.
I believe in what I can see;
And I saw him die and I saw him bleed!
You've all seen a ghost, or shared the same dream,
But I just see pain, where love should have been.

Like I said, I believe in what I can see,
And these are the things that make up my reality:

Expanding population, third world debt
Exploitation, high rise isolation
Domestic strife, child labour and prostitution.
Concrete, Cars, litter and pollution
fat politicians and war the only solution.
Neglect, abuse and drug use
Unemployment, kids living off refuse.

These are the wounds that the world has to feel
So unless I can see them, I wont believe that he's real.

Yes Thomas
You're right
I suffered the cross
And just like you felt the pain and the loss
See the marks of rebellion still open and raw
Come touch them and know me
Be doubting no more

My Lord and my God!
You really have come
The world without hope left me cold and so numb

Yes faithful Thomas
You were right to be sad
But now that you've seen me 
Believe and be glad!

Joe Morriss

Easter 2012

Lazarus

Taken from the story of Lazarus in The Bible, Gospel of John, Chapter 11

If you'd have been here Lord

If you'd have been here...

Why did you take so long?

I wanted to believe Lord

I wanted to believe...

But now it's too late and he's gone!

But if you'd have been here Lord

If you'd have been here...

There wouldn't be no need to die

We used to be strong Lord

We used to be strong...

But now we just lay down and cry.

But why do weep Lord?

Why do you weep?

Do you want us to show you the way?

Come share in our tears Lord, yes

Share in our tears

We'll show you the place where he lays.

In quietness and trust

Our Lord rested his head

While the grief and the mourning went on;

Then the one we had lost

Came back from the dead,

With only a word from his tongue!

We just couldn't see Lord,

We just couldn't see...

When our hearts were just so full of grief.

But you've opened our eyes Lord,

You've opened our eyes...

And in the glory of God,

We believe!

Joe Morriss

2nd June 2014