Rainbird

Lingering shadows still darken the windows 

As the waking world puts on its clothes

Drifting out of a dream

My expectant ear follows the seam

Of a string of notes stitched into the dawn

Like beads of dew on a fresh green lawn 

Echoes on the courtyard walls 

The residents yawn

Rising sound

And your song rings round

Now high , now low, pining

As it flies and falls. 

Perched out of sight 

You are seldom seen 

Before we hear your strain 

But we are compelled mid stirring plight 

To wait for the refrain 

The rain 

Early as the dawn broke

It came

And muted your cascading trills

As it hushed and rattled at  the pane

Every chip and chirrup filled 

The gutter and the gushing drain 

Like water you let your music spill

Until it joined the stream again. 

Then quiet ensues

The deluge past 

No more to us assail 

As day begins we hear the last 

Of rain and bird and sweet reveille. 

Joe Morriss

21st June 2020

Not what we expected

Not what we expected 

I'm sure he knew but never said

Just gently demonstrated

The blind can see, 

The hungry fed

We thought he'd come in splendour

All shining like the sun

And slay the mighty eagle

Our enemy on the run

But broken, lost and dirty things

We're mended and made whole

With a smile that only children see which lingers in the soul. 

This prophet, man , Messiah 

Our enemy becomes 

He did not dance 

He will not sing 

Regardless of our drums

The law decided who was right 

And who it was to blame

And anyone who will not succumb

Deserves eternal shame

We built our temples 

Furnished rooms

Feasts laid for a king

But when he came 

And showed his face 

We didn't see a thing.

But those who saw

And understood 

The lame, the poor, the barely good

They gave him all

And this they could 

Because they knew his name. 

Joe Morriss

June 2020

Nature's dream

The cone fell 

From the pine to the river 

as it made it's wind 

from hill and heather

It carried the seed of nature's  dream

Begining at source

Finding rest in the sea.

 Under the tree, by bridge and stream

 the springtime sun made the water gleam

Through the reedy beds its current flowed 

And along the banks the flowers growed.

Bright campion pink ,both pale and rich

Vibrant and perfect in every stitch

The cream of parsley, waving tall

With deepest green spread through it all.

A playful  breeze comes skipping by

And leaves it's blue across the sky 

The campions grew in brighter hue

And all at once the sun broke through. 

As if by chance I cannot tell

This moment that the pine cone fell.

So, will seed find shore and take it's place

To root and grow and spread apace

With tendril branches , mossy green

Where gently flows the dappled stream

And nature stirs,

From sunlit dream. 

Joe Morriss

Kislingbury bridge 

May 2020

Hope Springs Eternal

Of the pain of cutting

I cannot tell

Scattered blossom where the branch fell

So full of life, then suddenly it seemed

Buried in the earth

No longer seen

I cannot touch you now.

My hand feels the cold stone 

A reminder, of long ago

Of someone I once knew

But I see you

Soaring into the blue

Above the clouds

With every springtime hue

You live again. 

Joe Morriss

April 11th 2020

For Gerard.

Kingdom seed

The soil of my heart
Is rich with expectation
Tilled by forgiveness
Made right with the maker

The seed is sown
He falls and is received
I gratefully embrace
And carry him close

Secrets are revealed
In the inner places
Power starts to surge
And the growth begins

Bursting forth to welcome the light
His nature is strong in me - dispelling the night
He becomes my root , my stay

I am a tree
Planted by the river of life
In the garden of delights
Taste my fruit today.

Joe Morriss
April 2020

The promise

He promised you fruit

You gave it your all

You dug in deep and hit bedrock soil

For the second or maybe third time

The harder the storms the deeper the roots

So what became of all your toil?

Bury me

By the old walnut tree

That was your creed

You lived through the years

Thrown up by that seed

But what's left to dig?

30 maybe 40 summers

Who was counting?

Eternity in the blossom

Heaven in the branches

But the devil knows how to kill

Bringing deathly chill

Uprooted

Ripped up

Every shovelful

Thrown back in your face

Come back round the paddock

Well find you that place

Dig around the stones

And bury you by the old walnut tree

If it's still there.

Joe Morriss 2016

If there's a way

Do you want to known by me

To be seen and be heard?

Do you want to be loved by me?

Just say the word.

Any little thing for you

To be followed and served.

Do you want to be king for me

Is that so absurd?

Yes I want to be close to you

To have and to hold

I want to be there for you

So rugged and bold

There's nothing I wouldn't dare to do

I just need to be told

The queen of my heart you'll be

Even as we grow old.

So if there's a time for us

Made perfect by grace

And if there's a place for us

To meet face to face

A kingdom of love and trust

Just show me the way

I'll pray God for both of us

To be there today.

Joe Morriss
May 2019