Of Chalice & Sword

Resting high above the village Bamburgh

Stands a castle where knights and kings of lore

Raised their chalice high bidding praise and prayer

Victors of Camelot, King Aurthur’s liege

Sirs Lancelot, Bedevere, Galahad

Knights of gallantry in chainmail armor

Swordsmen of bloodied hand, battle weary

Expounding tales of medieval quest

By the power of the sword Excalibur

Its double-edge raised to a blackened sky

Felling all challenge with swift disregard

The kingdom and its governance upheld

On mounted steed through enchanted forest

Legendary quest for the Holy Grail

Weighs heavy upon battle-scarred warriors

Beyond sandy shores of Northumberland

Lo centuries pass upon Chalice Hill

Where a gardens of tranquil and splendor

Encircles a well head of sculpted inlay

Bearing image of Vesica Pisces

On distant acreage stands “Circle of Stones”

The Stonehenge of Wiltshire by Merlin’s hand

Memorial to kings’ men and war lords

Fallen silent in battle by the sword

copyright 2009 Don MacIver, All Rights Reserved

Allow Me This

But few moments span a lifetime

A fissure sinks unmeasured depths

Solar flares rage from distant sun

As tail of the lion, daunting

Chilled air of morn, mellon drop dew

In glistened meander falling

Speckled doe in placid forage

Draws water’s cleanse, a pristine brook

Mine eyes reflect the shimmering

Ears touched by reclusive silence

Allow me this gift of wanton

Extravagance, not forsaken

Eyes closed, feel heartbeat quickening

Mind’s parabolic mandolin

Symphonic cadence, elegance

Allow me this time, this moment

Be this my forever bounty

Upon prayer I cast forth my will

Lay trust and favor at my feet

Allow me few moments to live

copyright 2009 Don MacIver; All Rights Reserved

State Of Being

To embrace the seemingly out of reach

What eludes our cognizant state of being

Fervent intentions, ever kindly grace

Your words, always offered in constancy

Gentle your touch that transcends from the heart

An unspoken gift, telling glance and smile

Endure my unsavory utterance

Insipid rantings and misplaced anger

Intolerance wagered without regard

For life and its givings I cannot change

Your eyes glazed over in disappointment

Disheartened, yet in silence you digress

In my favour, you gesture willingly

Friend without condition, will always be

My strength, my endurance, my state of being

copyright 2009 Don MacIver,  All Rights Reserved

Lost Memories; Prose

How can a lifetime of memories just fade away
Lost in fissures of time in its continuum
Sound and mind bites fleetingly lived
And captured for a lifetime yet drifting with abandon
To a place, existential, yet somehow so removed
Tears fall in sadness of what used to be
Eyes dry in redness for a longing passed away
Confused you sit in silence, your gaze transfixed
On a point beyond this window sill, searching
For something to grasp, greater realities
Born of pre-existence, experience reassured
In calmness, mom, your laughter bids
The fondest recollections
Yet in your darkest hour of need
So drained, so lost in a vortex of things
Your body wrought with tireless desires
Yet struggles to rise to this estrangement
Then you were gone, to Heaven I believe
A kinder, gentler place, lo with angels
Where pureness and joy mark your waking moments
And carry you through precious thoughts and ideals
And even when your visions are seemingly unclear
May you always remember each memory still
And dad, as you sit by your window sill
Gazing longingly for your lover, companion
You too suffer loss of a similar kind
God, please let him linger, give him this time
To chase after those moments that used to be
A better time, better place…in his memory

Copyright 2009 Don MacIver; All Rights Reserved

What If God Was…

What if God was…your eyes, your ears

Sensing your danger, hear your cries

Would time stand still as peril nears

Saved harmless from our own demise

What if God was…an entity

Vaster than all the universe

Divine intervention, destiny

Trusting His word, in faith immersed

What if God was…our guiding light

Our wanton saviour by His hand

In Him we trust this painful night

Resonant prayer by his command

What if God was…our hymnal song

Life and its treasures, night and day

Understanding what’s right and wrong

Saved from ourselves and come what may

What if God was…reality

Forgiveness, His extended hand

All that we have was meant to be

His deliverance our healing

What if God was…a newborn child

His power our gift for eternity

His blessings nurture, firm denial

Giving strength, life and liberty

What if God was…

Copyright 2009 Don MacIver, All Rights Reserved

Psalm 23; Faith Alone…

Psalm 23 (King James Version)

Psalm 23

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3 He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou         art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head     with oil; my cup runneth over.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the     house of the LORD for ever.

———————————————

I do not in any fashion pretend to know or fully understand biblical readings, nor do I profess any particular faith or specific religious orientation. This writing is strictly and simply put a personal exploration and not intended as an imposition or solicitation of the reader.

During my childhood years I “faithfully” attended church with my family. I would sit in the pew, silent, motionless, mostly observing…the minister’s words, the congregation sitting in quiet attentiveness, some with earnest and meditative thought processes obviously milling through their mind. I never quite felt a true sense of belonging in or to the church yet there were moments, bible passage readings or hymns that clearly left some kind of indelible impression that have stayed with me so many years after not returning to church.

Once such impression came from Psalm 23. It has remarkable clarity, powerfully moving words, a message that I ‘believe’ has somehow guided me in my daily life and hopefully has been reflected in my actions. Perhaps it is this that will become my legacy. It is said that when one does something with pattern and consistency it becomes true habit and without conscious effort nor intention. Perhaps…I should read this writing more often…

My footsteps bear of consequence

A distant path behind me trails

But for these words of eloquence

My forebearance my legacy

Copyright 2009 Don MacIver, All Rights Reserved

Crystal Dreams

A downy-soft lane of crystaline dreams

Stretching eternal, limbs of purity

Cavernous blanket o’er laneway subdued

A horsedrawn carriage with urgency passed

In boldest of silence save sparrow’s flight

Air cleansed by its falling ever gently

Virgin flakes layer upon frozen ground

Buried leaves leaven in earthen decay

Footprints lay nestled in a silent trail

Steps without purpose, aimless wanderings

At peace in the splendor of nature’s tale

Embracing crystal dreams, a rhapsody

Effusive outflow escapes without voice

A wordless rendition, faint whisperings

Echoing thoughts meander passively

Adrift as frost-bitten imaginings

Copyright 2008 Don MacIver

By Water’s Edge

Gentle the mid-day’s winds caress

Transparent massage upon face

Eyes cast outward, seas cascading

As upturned waves cresting white

Silence permeates endless thought

Ghostly heartbeat’s echo intense

Naked toes stroking weathered floors

Fingertips trace salt-laden sill

Searching for answers ever lost

Swept away, unforgiving tide

Staring long into darkened depths

Of an ocean despairingly

Wondering what will tomorrow

Bring forward from failed yesterdays

By water’s edge so long I wait…

Copyright 2008 Don MacIver

You Went Away

Throughout our lives we expend great energy establishing and maintaining friendships. Our relationship with friends blossoms from a seedling, maturing to a point of intimate fondness reserved for a select few. We nurture that relationship as something so sacred, so close to our hearts that seemingly nothing can stand in the way of that friendship. Sadly something happens along this journey and the relationship changes…the flower withers and dies or that intimate friendship suddenly disappears, sometimes for no apparent reason.

How do we let such precious relationships slip through our grasp? Now all that’s left is the pain.

You Went Away

All that we had I thought was a lifetime
The days and nights spent, the laughter and tears
So many moments, so many memories
All of a sudden you just walked away

How can I change what must have been broken
So wrong that forever you went away

Time and distance has gotten between us
Irrevocably close, now torn apart
The warm embraces, unspoken glances
Kept all that we had forever in place

What did I say that brought separation
So wrong that forever you went away

All of the miles that we walked in silence
The paths that we chose so easy to climb
Words always came to us without effort
The memories linger of better times

Can something so good slip through our fingers
So wrong that forever you went away

All I feel is regret for whatever
Suddenly severed the bond that we had
Am I mistaken, was it your doing
How can something so right turn out so wrong

Just one more chance is all that I’m asking
Make up for the pain that sent you away…

How can I change what must have been broken
So wrong that forever you went away

Copyright 2008 Don MacIver

Lest We Forget

Since the early beginnings of recorded history and beyond there has been conflict between peoples. That conflict has turned violent, whether between individuals, tribes, factions, organizations, and the military. Whether for personal, religious or political reasons the results are often tragic. We subscribe to ideologies that at times become an obsession, fixating on what we deem to be correct, moral, just or rational. We are no longer a peaceful, patient people. Instead we let force navigate our existence, our fate. We loath banal indifference preferring a call to action, the consequences be damned. We take life as a means to an end begrudgingly, resignedly.

But what of the lives that are lost and the devastation left for surviving loved ones to deal with? We cannot and must not ever forget about the consequence…

Death by precision justifies
Killing field’s slaughter, consequence
Limbs strewn in bloody disarray
The stench of war suffocating
Tears stain a soldier’s uniform
Streaks of anguish shed in vain
Abated fear haunts silent graves
Where the fallen rest, prayer’s refrain
A nation mourns the deathly toll
Mounting daily through unresolve
Row upon row of caskets draped
With flags of homeland awaiting
Courage, conviction marked their way
With honor dispatched, homeward bound
While loved ones gather far away
Distraught, they grieve their painful loss
Lest we forget the brave who served
Pause to reflect their selfless acts
Preserve our freedom and protect
Our way of life, to live in peace

Copyright 2008 Don MacIver