Don't let them blow away

I walked out on a blowy day
I thought as I went along my way
At how the world is so full of people
Cars and houses too.
So many different clothes and faces
So many different colours and races

And then I felt a burden come
To know the meaning of this one
What am I, one man, to do
With so many souls
Just passing through?

So there I sat upon a bench
Until I thought my heart would wrench
I asked the Father to speak to me
What is my life supposed to be?

The the wind blew
Gusting strong
And all the leaves started racing along
They scurried and skipped
And danced and tripped

My thoughts were stirred
My gaze fixed upon
As if God had just
"where I blow....men follow along"
They have no choice but to live and then die,
To blow from here to where, and why?

In a lull, the wind abated
The rushing stopped, next gust awaited
A passer-by without asking why
Just stopped and picked up a tumbled leaf...
My heart skipped a beat
I leapt from my seat! 

Again the multitude raced by
And I quickly stopped one which caught my eye
Then I stumbled after the next
Gathering, laughing
Out of breath!

On and on they aimlessly raced
But I'd saved a few from an unknown place

To stop and hold these passing leaves
Brought great joy, at last, to me
I realised exactly what God would say
"These leaves are like souls...don't let them blow away".

Joe Morriss
2005

The will to live

The Will to Live

Silently someone just learned to forgive,

While a man with a voice screamed "Die!"

My heart cries loudly "live, live, live!"

And my head turns away from the lie.

We're not all destined for fame abroad,

With stars in our hopeful eyes

But some will find their sweet reward

As the fire of this life dies.

Frustration turns its restless blade

With all its vain intent,

While in my breast the knowledge lays

Of what the master meant.

Charisma fueled by selfish pride

Is like its cousin fame

And only fools who trust in lies

Will fan the rampant flame.

But secret flows the whispering brook

Determined, to the sea.

And when my dreams like clouds have fled

My will returns to thee.

Joe Morriss

 22nd September 2014

Sunset

Silence surrounds the smouldering flame

As it sinks into a sea of burning turquoise.

Across the wide expanse it fans its rays

And on the horizon finds its poise.

A backdrop of burning blue

Scalded into coppery green

Coral clouds licked with crimson hue

Flecked with amber and golden sheen.

Jet trails sparkle and then fade into charcoal

Scoring the bold wash of pastel

While sulfurous wisps of yellow and grey

Hang superimposed then melt away.

Our ambitions and plans and excited thoughts

Hopes in the heat of the moment wrought

Like the cloud, they vanish to obscurity

Insignificant against life's bold reality.

Changing illumination renews its wonder

Causing each gilt edged feature to shine

The colours deepen into a molten splendour

While the fire intensifies as it dies.

As I wonder at this vast display

The subtle change takes my breath away

The expansive love of God's own heart

Requires reflection, not a fleeting glance.

The last light of the longest day fades

And the land withdraws into shadowy stillness

The embers smoulder and ebb away

As the first bright star rises into the velvety darkness.

The fire of life burns with youthful zeal

But passing glory soon loses its appeal

Eventually the darkness will come creeping in

But there is another light which shines within.

Still warm and graced by a gentle breeze

The dusky evening now slips by 

And the river winds its way with ease

While birds fly home across the western sky.

We all will come to that place in the west

Where at last we will find our rest

But far beyond the setting sun

Eternal day has just begun.

This earthly day has come to its close

No light in which to pass the hours

But just as the evening star arose

So shines a brighter sun than ours.

Joe Morriss

21st June 2010

Dedicated to the memory of Mr David Williams - a man with a heart for the next generation.

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

I Remember - A rural rant!

I remember when all this was fields,
You could see for miles
With not a soul in sight
The lane ended in a welcome meadow
With a pond that held all kinds of delight.

The cows roamed and chewed the cud
And the trusting Lark made her nest on the ground
And all around
Not a sound.

Save that of the distant bleating
Of sheep and quiet birds nesting
And chirping in the hedgerow.

For far, far away then was the road
The highway of man
And his planners, plotters and schemers all
First bikes then cars
Then screaming jets and choppers

Far from the quiet countryside
But ever nearer it came
With its huge crawling machines
Spitting out soil and root and turf
The men of spoil
Tearing and churning up the earth.

You didn't see the carefully hidden vole
Or delicate anemone
To the fox and the badger
No friend but and enemy.

So you built your road
And then tore along it
Caring not about the carnage to the wildlife
Your great highway to the high life
Pound signs before your eyes
Blotting out all signs of life

I remember when all this was fields
You could see from one hilltop to the next
No motorway or dual carriageway
Or hideous factory units
Waiting to be let

Now there's your road
Your stinking dusty road
Belching out fumes
And filth and tar
Dirtying hedgerows
With your brand-new cars

Gone, its all gone
The picture book walk by the brook
With blackberry, rose and birdsong
And the smell of fresh mown hay.

All we have left is houses
Ribbon development
Finger development
A finger in every damn pie
And every stinking lie
Has just led to rot and decay

I remember when all this was fields...

Joe Morriss

Harpole 24th January 2011

Winds of Change

The winds are blowing through again

Changing the season as it comes to an end

Four winds blow...

Strong North, Soothing South, Howling West, and Bitter East.

The winds are blowing through again

The undercurrent of a shifting climate

The trees stir into life from their long summer's rest

And whisper of the coming rain

Soon to stand stripped, bleak and bare,

They show a final parade of beauty and flare

Of colour and fuller reds and golds

Than any king or queen could wear.

Spring has gently sung its soothing song

And Summer blazed and breathed its hot breath

All day long, and parched the green earth.

While Winter waited.

Now Autumn blows and blows, and the leaves fall.

The grey clouds race by in the November sky

And melancholy moods are caught up

And tossed and whirled down wet drains,

And left to straggle the bedraggled lanes.

Even so,

My heart is moved by the wind,

It's the sound of hope as something new rushes in

And even though,

In this season we will see decay,

The new earth is only a few breaths away.

Joe Morriss

4th November 2010