Little Knowing, a lonely desert bird

For some reason hymns, sermons and church architecture invigorate my creativity. Yet the result usually explores a counter-narrative, such as in “Just Punishment“, a poem written this time last year which re-imagines the scene of Proverbs 7. The standard interpretation of this chapter is that the pursuit of wanton desires results in people’s downfall. The femme fatale is an adulterous woman,

Nos Liberavit

Bell-like, round and clear Hopeful and transparent as a copper bauble, it lifts the congregation. From the sanctuary the maiden’s voice soars and plunges as she elongates the siren call.   — I am not a groupie. I’d rather spend my days in a hermit’s hut on a mountainside with books, green tea and yoga

Let them eat

The ordinary class does not object to plastic chairs or utilitarian rooms used for multiple utilitarian purposes: pre-school, ballet lessons, Sunday School, prayer groups, a soup kitchen, evening workshops in crafts. The ordinary class bends over catered tray-lasagne seeping into paper plates balanced on knees and an insulation of paper serviettes. The ordinary class is