Edward Bawden mural, Blackwell’s, Oxford

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Blackwell's, Edward Bawden, mural, Oxford

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The Forgiveness Window

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betrayer, crucifixion, discernment, Dorset Museum, forgiveness, glass engraving, Judas, Laurence Whistler, Moreton Church, salvation, thirteenth disciple, thirty pieces silver

More or less, a re-blog, but an apt one.

 

A contribution to the debate as to the ultimate salvation of the

betrayer.

Laurence Whistler created an engraved pane for

Moreton Church, Dorset, UK, in addition to other replacements

for glass destroyed in wartime.

It was rejected and was stored at Dorchester Museum for years,

until after Whistler’s death.  Now it is in position, in spite of its

challenging depiction.

(Judas tree)

Whistler himself had written to The Independent in 1994, from Watlington

in Oxfordshire, after experiencing the rejection of his offer of this 13th pane.

It would only have been visible from the exterior of the church.  It showed

Judas being pulled into Heaven by the rope around his neck.  Some people

are as resistant as that to salvation, I suppose.  Anyway, he commented

that three minutes of agonising strangulation was not to be compared to

the extended suffering of crucifixion.

 

THE FORGIVENESS WINDOW

 

This was to have been a thirteenth blind pane,

seen only from the outside of the church:

replacement for its bombshell-slivered glass.

Judas, the betrayer, hangs from a tree.

His grasp relaxes and thirty pieces

of silver metamorphose into a

c

a

t

a

r

a

c

t

of flowers.

Discernment can come from outside the Church.

Inside some, coin-lidded, opt for cataracts.

Most see through glass darkly; few face to face.

There are several images of the pane which you can access

through Google etc.  Until I visit again and take my own photo,

I cannot reproduce them as they have copyright on them.

Neighbourliness Sestina

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AA, antidote, Audi, Chinos, do-gooding, Hazmat, neighbourliness, nerve agent, rogue state, Samaritan, sestina

The lawyer asked Him: Who is my neighbour?

He said, I’ll offer moral assistance.

Nowadays you’re out at work and ignore

those who live opposite, or alongside.

One day you spot someone in a bad state,

lying in their drive, but you’re in a rush.

 

Lawyer:

I’m late to pick the kids up, so must rush.

It’s bound to be dealt with by a neighbour,

so I’ll spring into my Audi estate.

That nosy woman will give assistance –

the one who draws her curtains to one side.

A chance for do-gooding, she won’t ignore.

 

I should ring up the police, but just ignore

those dodgy callers, who seemed in a rush

and annoyed me by parking on my side:

too many visitors for one neighbour!

They doubtless gave him hefty assistance

with his mortgage.  (He comes from a rogue state.)

 

Him:

You’ve claimed you’re public-spirited, but state

your character through your actions; ignore

the twitching corpse in his drive.  Assistance!

Who helped to dig you out when in a rush?

Lawyer:

It was the man from the AA.  Neighbour?

Getting involved can just be suicide.

 

And, if I go over and kneel beside

this loser; feel his pulse, what kind of state

will my Chinos end up in?  This ‘neighbour’

could contaminate me; I should ignore

his plight. A family man’s in no rush

to inhale nerve agents.  Police assistance –

 

or, perhaps paramedic assistance…

they’ll have Hazmats and antidotes beside.

Where angels fear to tread they’re known to rush.

Samaritans don’t live on this estate!

Him:

So, walk on by is what you’ll do; ignore

the parlous condition of your neighbour?

 

Lawyer:

Rush to his side?  No, not for one’s neighbour.

To ignore the perils of assistance

is for citizens of another state.

Go Another Round

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Chi-Tien, choka, Drunken Buddha, ego, Enlightenment, Ian Fairweather, reincarnation, TarraWara, Yarra Valley

(Tarrawara Estate.  Creative Commons attribution edwin.11)

 

When I was in the Yarra Valley, Victoria, a couple of years ago, I

was fortunate enough to see Ian Fairweather’s series ‘The Drunken

Buddha‘ at Tarrawarra, in the art gallery attached to the famous vineyard.

It takes me some time to process things I have seen, so I was delighted to

begin to read the original literary work, in translation, last week.

Here is a choka I wrote as a poetic response to chapter 1:

 

Life’s a paradox.

Yes, it is good to seek peace,

but engagement yields

understanding through conflict.

There are nuances

between life and death and each

marks vital process,

on the way to extinction

of Ego. Volunteer!

Go another round

on Reincarnation’s wheel,

though you have ‘arrived.’

Do it for your fellow men.

Help them to Enlightenment.

 

Christmas Collage

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Baby Jesus, Christmas cards, collage, Holy Family, Robert Rauschenberg

Saw a programme on Robert Rauschenberg and decided to do something with my old Xmas cards!

Elementary Morality Poem

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Elementary Morality, Fifties childhood, Hellfire preaching, Lucozade, pea souper, Queneau, quennet, Redemption Hymnal

…a form outlined by Queneau.  A ‘quennet’ to his followers.

It starts with 3 sets of  noun phrases on one line, followed by a

single one on the second line.

Repeat 3 times. (6 lines)

Then 7 lines of 1 – 5 syllables,

followed by

a final 2 line sequence of  3 noun phrases on one line

and a final one on the last line.  These must incorporate words from

the first set, but in new combination.

 

For example:

 

Fifties Childhood

 

dense pea-soupers  dripping condensation  wheezing chest

Lucozade film

cold stethoscope  smoky pipe  nosy neighbour

hacking cough

headscarfed curlers  Redemption Hymnal  pigswill bucket

Hellfire preaching

trapped rabbit

netted

bludgeoned to death

a screaming child

kind old man

saved cabbages

bloodied corpse

dense preaching  smoky Hellfire  cold Redemption

dripping bucket

 

 

 

On Pursuit of Riches

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pursuit riches, St Paul, tranquillity

Wealth – satisfaction

of all our needs and desires?

But, if your wishes

go beyond your wherewithal,

you are a pauper

and a slave to your own lusts.

Saint Paul said that godliness

with contentment is great gain.

To have control over self

is the one true aim;

is a lifetime’s endeavour.

It will bring great peace.

With acceptance of one’s lot

comes tranquillity of soul.

Low Expectation

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Confucius, Gangkwai, low expectation

Trusting there’s justice

causes disappointment, when

even Confucius

was not honoured in his day.

Gangkwai was moral,

yet his life was not easy.

Servants desert you

and friends are often fickle.

Today men don’t keep their word.

Low expectation

means sometimes you’ll be surprised –

pleasantly, one hopes.

If you are open-minded,

you’ll navigate through Life well.

St Frideswide of Oxford

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Christ Church, Oxford, pencil drawing, St Frideswide

 

From a roof boss in Christ Church- pencil drawing

 

On 14th May, 2017 I published a poem about her on this site.

Expulsion from Eden – after Chagall

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Adam & Eve, Chagall, Eden, watercolour