The Restoration of Creation

When the Lord first created the world

he created the world's first and best masterpiece.

When sin was introduced by mankind,

the canvas began to wear.

As time progressed it faded more and more

and the cracks became deeper and deeper.

Then our saviour came and

his death and ministry started

to restore the canvas of creation.

When he returns the restoring work

will be completed.

Then all will be made anew.

At the very least it will be as good as it was

before sin arrived.

Panther of the Night

There is something about the evening that seals the events of the day.

Something in the air, coolly caressing ones mind and body.

Something that provokes nostalgic tendencies.

Something that persuades one to indulge in fantasies and misgivings

(these becoming increasingly vivid as the night progresses).

Something that urgers, coaxes, and convinces one to

submit, forget, lose oneself amongst its untamed and secretive grasp.

These imaginings are so insistent that one simply must, must, yield.

Obey, the soft, gentle, velvet voice of the night.

Listen, to the mournful moaning of the wind.

Rest, in the warmth and fortification of the sheets and blankets,

allowing them to enfold one.

We, who do not bend our thoughts upon the night,

see it not as the dark and dangerous panther.

Even if we do consider such a beast it is as one

behind the bars of shelter as it is and may ever be.

But some see this animal face to face.

Have little protection against its tormenting talons.

They do not have the bars of four walls and such warmth as we.

For they are in the cage with the Panther, they are its prey.

They take cover within the shadows and stones,

that manifest in the formation of newspapers and underneath  shop fronts.

But these are not sufficient to survive such a predator.

Sooner rather than later the Panther prowls and strikes.

They are consumed.

Will one ever have compassion upon these victims?

Of course one will!

Now what will one gain?

Faces

What is a face?

It is a place where a range of expressions is portrayed

and by which many of their owners are betrayed.

It is avowed by the general populace that faces are worn only by those

through whose blood pulsates.

I however entertain a different belief...

For I am certain that such faces are not alone possessed by those afore mentioned.

Countenances are common amongst numerous subjects of the natural kingdom;

over which Christ rules and shall not forsake.

When one perceives those occupants of the courtroom of creation,

identifying the individual designs of their demeanours

one cannot disengage from the inspection of such shapes that form them.

The knobs in the trees, the indentations within the rock, the upturned petals of the flowers,

the ripples of the sun-lit water, and the soft curves of the clouds.

The faces of the natural world surround us day by day.

All we need to do is turn our own around and look.

Sunset

The conclusion of a day.

Its clouds signify the two manners

in which it has been spent.

The elongated, stretched clouds demonstrate to their beholder

those persons who have felt their days to be alike to such clouds.

In comparison the more condensed, small, cumulus ones

are the narrators of a day into which various things jostle to fit.

And then...

And then I observe the colours and shades of the background of these two tales.

And I am simply awestruck.

But then I see the delicate twisting of the eucalyptus trees 

upon this tranquil scene -

my breath and my words are stolen by what my vision allows me to see through my spectacles:

a spectacular scene.