Creative Chorlton Unitarians Chronicles: Part 1

Springtime is the time of creativity and growth, of blossoming and blooming. During this time we have been physically separated, but the community of which I am a part, Chorlton Unitarians, has grown closer together in spirit, aided by technology. Our community is blossoming and blooming in many ways, one of which is our collective poems, which we are composing together regularly. For the most part, the themes our of collective poems echo the themes of our Sunday Zoom gatherings. Our process is that we each send our lines on the theme, unseen by anyone else, to one of our members, via WhatsApp message, who puts them together and posts them on our WhatsApp group for us all to enjoy. I am delighted to say that they have given me permission to share our creations so far with you here. I may be biased, but hope you will agree that our collective poems are astonishingly beautiful!
Blessed Be

‘Unity’
Together we will soldier on and
find that Rainbow o'er the sun
The collective sources both known and unknown
Ignite the breath to forge eternal soul
Shared love and wisdom upholds our Calm
In turn which Leaves our fears unarmed
When hope hangs frail as a gossamer thread
Strength is found from the thoughts of our friends
Breathing gently, each fragment touches the next and sighs
I am home

'Earth'
All the earth's loves, big and small
The cat snuggles at my feet
As the wind whispers it's secret song
Leaves dappled with sunlight dance
Amidst ever reaching branches which sway
Atop pillars of strength rooted in the fertile soil
The Moon salutes our stars which shine
To guide the Nocturnes on their way
Oh Earth our womb, cradle, shelter and tomb
We come from You and to You we return
And as we grow, decay, wither and bloom
We are one and the same, this we must learn
The vibrant beauty on display
The silence between the crashing waves
We love you Earth
The Mother of our birth!

'Friendship'
What joy, to embrace others on this
meandering path of life
Igniting heart and spirit and giving of light
To share your laughter and your tears
A friend is there throughout these years
A brilliantly beautiful bond
Friendship flows like water
A vital element nourishing your life
But never demanding its form
A knowing, a past, anticipation, a future
Brought together with dreams, laughter, woe
An unwrapped gift
Full of comfort and a safe place to grow

'Creativity'
Creative are the skills we bring
At Chorlton Church in everything
We set ourselves to make or do
As banners books and poems too!
When my pen begins to flow
I leave my thoughts and let them go
The Welsh hills are calling me
To listen to my song
Swords into ploughshares
The comfort of quilts
Creativity, the key to my soul
Gives me energy, so I suddenly feel my heart beating
Combined conscious collaboration
How to get something from nothing
For the artist and physicist alike
Both their wellspring and their frustration
Creativity Nativity
Through pain, struggle, birthing
The mystery is revealed
A spark ignites the senses and
like a bud unfurling its petals
The mind awakens to its fullest bloom
Slowly but surely She sighs
Whispers on the Wind
Sparks imagination
Fire in the belly
Into the flow
Shaping clay
Forming You
Breathe

'Humour'
I’m laughing my socks off...
The stripey ones!
Giggle, chortle, snigger, smirk
Chuckle, titter, cackle, howl
Where poetry is yin
Humour must be the yang
Where the words left the concrete
And they danced and sang
I love Laughing so much that you cry and your stomach feels weak
As beautiful tears tenderly trickle down your cheeks
Nothing perplexes me more than Time and Space
On the other hand
nothing perplexes me less
as I never bother to think about them!
God laughed so much when I told her my plans that she fell off her chair and bruised her bum!

‘Wonder'
From the majestic beauty of a mountain range, as far as the eye can see
To a minute particle, an atom, that makes up all that be
People wonder at the Stars, the Seas, the Mountains, but never think to wonder at their own souls
The scientists know
This world's beauty they can't grasp
Like a graceful forest deer
Enchanting enough to chase
But too elusive to catch
A bright elusive butterfly dances
Through the dark rooms of my mind
We ponder the wonders of this world searching far and wide
Take a moment to just breathe and feel the glorious power we hold inside!

'Patience'
Slow down take a moment and breathe
Feel the flow as things unravel as they should
Lifelong learning
finds the you in you
If it's for you, it'll not pass you by, so be patient while you wait
A watched bud
Never does bloom
Until we meet again
Let's give thanks for Zoom
With waiting comes reward
Corn from seed sown
Honey from the bee
Wine from the vine
Fruit born from tree
A harvest of beautiful bounty
Engines revving, on your mark, get set...WAIT, STOP
But I'm ready!.. please start again

'Lockdown'
Shutters are down all about town
We're in Lockdown
Joggers multiply as the days go by
We're in Lockdown
Schools out, stay home we shout
We're in Lockdown
Jeans are feeling tight...that ain't right
We're in Lockdown
You’ve stolen my freedom and reduced me
Under house arrest
A parallel universe exists
Lockdown, look down, look back with nostalgia, for the life we used to lead, and took for granted, will it ever return? Will we ever resume our unlocked lives?
Lockdown, schmockdown,
Never was there such a load of Crockdown!
masked and plastic gloves
No hugs
Essentials only
Isolated and lonely
What a load of..
All the same what a load off
A Much needed rest
Feeling blessed
Suddenly, there is time
space to dream and to listen
to silence myself
Through all the troubles
A lesson to learn

'Love'
The liminal space where there are no boundaries and we have to stand naked and exposed
Love transforms us
Makes us whole
The Love that I call God opens her arms for me to enter
So we open our arms to each other
To love and be loved
Many say love is mighty
But it's also in the small
Remove your heart's obstacles
And you may well see it all
In for a penny, in for a pound,
It's love that makes the world go round!
Send my love to the flowers
With sunshine and showers
Love's tendrils reaching out to the furthest shores
Like the ripples from a pebble cast in the widest ocean
Lost in the beauty in your eyes
Found in the beauty of your soul
A lingering look
A sideways smile
A tender touch
A whispered word
I savour the plump fruits of love
And hoard them in my heart
To describe the indescribable
to solve the unsolvable and
to know the unknowable...
that is Love