Queen Charlotte Sound: On Retreat. A Trilogy.

The Rev. John Fairbrother

3 July 2012

At Punga Cove

Bees in beech,
blackened trunks
diffuse gentle light,
raking steep sides
of mountains resting
in dark water,
along
narrow reaches.
 
Bay to bay opening to sea and
linking land.
 
The quiet of sounds
calling nature's name,
evoking silence to meet
my mind
quieting
my heart to hear
the calm of life,
along
narrow reaches.
 
Bay to bay opening to sea and
linking land.
 
 
A Lament for hope
The hills fall into sounds,
my heart sinks
with sorrow;
Leaves descending
in water's dark depth.
 
Anxiety depletes
withering hope.
                Silent sound
absent God;
earnestly, longingly, certainly
called.
 
For fish
fallen leaves
becoming   food;
sorrow feeding
unspoken depth.
 
The Trees
These priests stand together,
each in need of the other;
rooted in earth
to freely move
in air
 
Grace the means of life
rises within to inform
heaven and earth
of their need.
 
These priests
rooted in earth
to freely move
in air
 
© John Fairbrother.
Vaughan Park, June 2012.
 
These poems are a reflection on memory of a five day retreat taken in the mid 1990's, while serving at that time in Wellington City as a Vicar along with various other diocesan roles.
 
John, an Anglican priest, has been director of Vaughan Park since 2003.