Love and the Island of Caves
Love and masks in an urban area
in the time of covid-19 lockdown
We have come to this place
where we are real to each other only
Facing each other in Plato’s cave
Everyone else a masked shadow
passing. In the lilies above our bed
the flowers fade and there are only the spaces,
macabre faces in a slow dance of fear.
Most real to us are the shafts
of sunlight in the bougainvillea
mixing crimson with potato-bush blue
the chirruping choir of sparrows
and the chew-chit of the collared sunbird,
as lost as we in their new freedom.
Voices of neighbours unrhythm our morning
Laughter across the yards invade us
dislocated nouns and verbs fall about us,
diffusing. Memory and pain pour from us
as we eucharist at home.
Strangely we discover a life we once knew
The machine hums and fabric and cottons colour a table
Pens and pastels wash through paper
Meals are conjured and senses savoured
And we play.
In the streets we haste past strangers
in the dawn glow
Momentary recognitions
At dusk images of our children and theirs
arise and fade into untouching loneliness
Another day
Our friends die and eddy into the silent clouds
Touching and tasting puts the world under siege
Now it is only you my love
For this we had chosen each other
In that distant time of freshness and promise
For only our love serves and saves
In this island of caves.
Bob Commin 2020
Soul Food
Cheryl Gammon, a mathematics teacher, wife and mother reading the poem See his blood upon the Rose by Joseph Mary Plunket (1916)
Dorian Haarhoff poet and storyteller shares a story during these covid-19 days.
Pentecost Prayer
Come O Fire and Flame Of divine Love And burn away the chaff of our lives Speak to us that we may speak to others Enlighten us that we may enlighten others And set us on fire with love for one another through Jesus the Christ Amen
Graffiti Walk in Woodstock during Covid 19
On one of my morning walks during lock down in the Western Cape I came across a feast of graffiti in Woodstock and Salt River. I have always been fascinated by graffiti on walls and for the most part saw it as unlawfulness and an irritation. I found that the earliest bubble and triangular graffiti wasn’t very exciting or attractive, and seemed to degrade an area. These day I find myself taking quite a different view. The graffiti artists have come a long way and are producing some wonderful art which is transforming the dreariness of buildings and even homes. …
Reflection for Fathers’ day
Psalm 86: 15But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God,slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness. I have come not to bring peace on earth but a sword. Matt 10:34 Today in our worship we focus on Fathers, we give thanks for them and we hold them before God in our prayers.This has not been a good week on one level for us in the Western Cape and in our country as a whole – the numbers contracting the Corona virus continue to grow and we have been hearing news since the lifting of the ban on alcohol …
I Play to Win I Play to Play
Play to Win, Play to Play I gave a talk to the College of which I was the Chaplain a few years ago, on the role of sport in my life. I have always been a ball player, and loved balls of all shapes and sizes from very early in my life. I seemed to have wasted so much time in my life throwing a ball against a wall, catching or bowling or batting or kicking a ball. I learned to play hockey in the streets of Woodstock when I was very young. My elder brother and my sisters played …
One comment on “Pentecost Moments”