A little church in Tarras, Otago, New Zealand

Tarras Church

 

I drove to Church today
and discovered it empty

 

alone on a hill

 

surrounded by autumn trees
a few sheep grazing peacefully

 

I stood on the steps
touched the walls of stone
prayed for love and forgiveness

 

longed to go in

 

saddened that on a Sunday

a Church could stand empty

 

I felt its loneliness
echo in my Soul
then gazed at the sky

 

a brilliant cobalt blue

 

and realised God was here
all around me
deep inside me

 

a Church could be unpeopled
on a Sunday
alone on a hill

 

surrounded by autumn trees
shedding their leaves like tears

 

yet never truly alone, nor lonely

for God is always near.

Take a chance ... dare to believe ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=p04TYk4j0zQ

 

Billy Joel sings ... New York State of Mind, with a young man, who dared to ask a question ... may I accompany you .... and magic happens as a result.

Let the genie free.

In my secret forest
at the bottom of my garden
I discovered a shell

It was empty

Yet when I held it
to my ear
It was full of life

The swirling ocean
rushing, roaring, crashing
to the shore

The shriek of a gull
soaring, gliding, searching
with watchful greedy eye

The whistling of the wind
whipping up the sand
salty grittiness stinging my eyes

Oh no!

I quickly dropped the shell
and all was calm again

I licked the salty tear
dislodged by the sands
of my imagination

Rubbed my red rimmed eyes
which dared to believe
I had swam in the ocean

held my face up to the breeze
swung my arms and danced
along the beach

rejoicing in my freedom

In my secret forest
at the bottom of my garden
a shell lay silent

a gift from the sea
longing for me

to pick it up once more
and let the genie free.

Cast Adrift

Cast adrift
in a tumultuous storm
of one's own making

no clouds with silver linings here
just blackened cumulonimbus
sagging from the weight
of unshed tears

it takes
one act of kindness
one shaft of light
one seed of hope

to release those tears
dissipate the clouds
and welcome back the sun.


Mandy Edwards (c) 2013


 

Blind Devotion

Blind Devotion

Along the river bank one day
I met a man and dog at play

the dog  carried in his mouth
a rubber ring
an awkward thing

but that was not the strangest sight
his faithful eyes were milky white

“How can he find the ring?” I asked
And his master softly laughed
“I make sure he knows,” he said

bent down to point his blind dog’s head
toward the way that he would throw

and with wagging tail off he sped

the ring jostled by his side
then tumbled to the ground to hide

at first the dog walked round and round
sniffed and sniffed ‘til it was found
then headed off in joyful glee
you would not know he could not see

back eventually he came
sat back down – “more … more … the same”
every muscle was a quiver
he knew his master would deliver

And I?
I cried inside as I stood there
watching this devoted pair

For love that binds a man with dog
is surely love that comes from God.

 

Mandy Gayle Edwards 2013 ©

"Be sure the light you have is not your darkness"

A lighthouse stands alone
on a rocky promontory
flashes intermittently
a ribbon of radiance
in the inky blackness of the night

 
A ship frantic in the storm
searches for sanctuary
exposed like a hapless moth
drawn towards the light
 

Ignores the warning
"Not here ... not here ... not here"
but lured by a false God
is tossed ever nearer

 

"Be sure the light you have
is not your darkness"
Let not Neptune's fury
dash all hope upon the rocks.

 

Mandy Edwards 2013 (c)

Return to Dead Man's Ridge ...

Watch out for 'Return to Dead Man's Ridge.' The first two chapters are complete! :) This one will not take so long to write, hopefully, so be quick, and download Mystery at Dead Man's Ridge, on your child's tablet or kindle, or PC ... otherwise it will be 'old news!' You can buy it from Amazon at a mere $US3.99. Why wait any longer? :)  http://amzn.to/149v0A4

Prologue.

Dear Tom.

I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I kind of miss the farm! I know you’re always going on (and on) about me being a ‘city girl’ and all, but I have to admit, life in town sucks after the mystery of Dead Man’s Ridge! I mean, how many city girls do you know, get caught up in sheep rustling and cannabis growing? My friends back here just don’t believe me!

Seriously, I hope you’re taking good care of Rascal and Billy for me. I so miss them but I guess our apartment would be a little crowded with a dog and a lamb! Mum’s doing much better. They think they’ve got all the cancer and so far there’s no sign of it coming back. Thank God. I was so scared. So was Mum I think, but she’s not admitting it. Anyhow, she says I can come back next summer; I can’t wait. She’s going to come too, I think. ‘Time to heal old wounds’, she says. I guess she means about Dad. He’s been emailing me heaps and I’m looking forward to seeing him again.

Write back if you can be bothered, little cuz, or maybe send me an e-mail ... you know, modern technology and all that. Hope you haven’t been doing any brown eyes lately! Could be a little cold riding your bike to school in the winter!

See ya. Hugs to Aunty Liz and Uncle Ted.

Love Maggie. PS, have ya seen Luke around at all?

 

Mystery at Dead Man's Ridge

amzn.to

When city girl meets country boy, there is huge potential for trouble! Maggie Mackenzie is forced to spend her Christmas holidays on a farm, in the ‘middle of nowhere’, with some relatives she has