Probably 2 Meme

Probably Meme

Life Verse?

Fire Meme

Resurrection Meme

Halloween Meme

Sagan Meme

Purgatory Meme

Absurd Meme

Calvin's Wager Meme

Dog V Dog Meme

Know Thyself - er - Know Others - er - Fantasize Everything

In ancient times knowing yourself was the best way to make sense of the world. Then enlightened society thought that knowing others was more important - and so people stopped knowing themselves and studied the world and others. 

Nowadays most people neither know themselves nor others - instead they know in fine detail their fantasies about themselves and their fantasies about others. Is it then any wonder that they take to the streets when the real world disagrees with their fantasy? That they require safe spaces and people to see them as victims? 

We need to get back to knowing ourselves and, when we do this well enough, we will find out that we are not gods, and that in fact we are in desperate need of a saviour. That while we are greatly valued, we are far less important than we previously supposed. As for others? Whether we know them or not, we must love them - why? Because as bad as we are, God sent his Son to die for us and save us - and He really does know us - warts and all. Truly - know thyself and then turn to God.

IT HAS A BOMB IN IT

It does and what’s more,

who knows where it’s from...

 Amongst the green grass rolls

of the coal rich hill

where in Shamrock flowers

the bees never still

and dew glistens on

every furry back

and plants are like palms

over every track...

A beetle...

under a crow’s shadow

scuttled to hide

along a yellow flex

into a round smooth hole,

not dug by nature;

not spider, worm nor mole.

A hole among many

in the hillside

and...

BANG!

It had a bomb in it.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

10/03/97

Got This Meme

THE LESSER

These are the words written in anger;

  The expression of unanswered need,

    The drawing in and cutting out;

      The scream of ink a greed.

These are the times of close isolation;

  A madness of misunderstanding,

    A call to arms to search in my barrel

      And hoist out a heart too demanding.

Once and never again, the point was lost -

   A gambling of cannon shot,

     Tore out the thread.

       Things burned too hot;

     Quickened and destructive,

   Or quiet and building;

To which evil should I be yielding?

Copyright © Jason Horsler

06/10/96

Say What Meme

GAVROCHE SPINNING

   The dancing music of temple blood,

The tempo of broken kicked leaves,

Elliptical thought unslowed,

Hands barely making his sleeves.

His hair flung out and fists in orbit,

He spins around an apex in the sky.

A million miles away in his centre,

The blur of the world in his eye.

   But from out the maddening spiral

Appears he the power of day.

Beneath his feet turns the world obedient.

That such vastness should recognise play,

And adjust from the laws without chance,

To this princling’s excellent dance.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

12/09/96

Giant Meme

THE FIX

Bed -

the afternoon grave -

had me trapped.

Too much a hold to be called weight;

a desire too much a drug

kept me late.

My decoder off -

a world wind of sense

cut and pasted and gone.

Before the last dregs of sanity,

my spirit

could sense wrong,

and so accepted

the alchemy of meat

and the varying tides

of chaotic thought.

               Too blissful.

                                                                Too addicted.

                               Uncertainly aware I am caught.

                                                               I know

                                                    my mouth drips.

                                                I remember

                                        the world calls

                                             but who wants to escape

                   the death-peaceful walls.      

My ear near my watch,

the  blast of each  second a  certainty.

My  minds  eye

opened  by  a  far  flung  thought,

saw  eternity.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

10/09/96 - how deep is the afternoon nap?

Hitchslap Meme

BOTANY

The flower when picked is too often depetalled

  To find the fickle luck end of lust,

    But some go so far as to rend unto element -

      To cut ovules and anthers, and count pollen dust.

The educated are shy to even touch the bloom,

  But cup it from behind to admire with eye.

    They study the whole: the parts, the scent

      And it gives to these without having to die.

But worse than the killer and far from the noble gazer

  Are those that never seek the glorious flower.

    The poem in creation, ignored and passed

      When the fool thinks seen the beauty of the hour ...

Smell the roses.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

04/06/96

Balance Meme

Peter's Foot Meme

Wine Meme

THE SIGNAL

An August wind so strong, my mind thought the stars would sway

to and fro with every fresh burst and sigh,

blew a ghostly mood across the land

from the mountains, like a final breath

as winter lies down to die,

or a life giving air supply

to the spring spark eagerly glowing

to ignite into burning summer;

or ’haps clear horses leading

the brooding grey chariots

of electric arrows and a thundering war-drummer.

It burns my lungs and flushes my eyes,

entrancing me to one who discovers the truly magical:

a spell from horizon to horizon,

bewitching the still dead into a waiting,

a brimming yearning, for the signal.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

21/08/94 - In South Africa,  August is the windy month before Spring.

Feed Meme

NIGHT ON A BARE MOUNTAIN

               i.

   What a heavenly sun

   And a glorious day -

A dream ending fast.

   Struck we stood,

   On baking rocks,

Wishing the glory’d last,

   But as the darking sun

   Sinks in gold,

The air deceives and spoils.

   The shadow creeps,

   With electric wind

And the lonely mountain boils.

               ii.

   In the stars it was writ

   That we would be caught

On a torn black-washed night -

   Dark as the verses

   Sung from hell

And punctuated by light.

   The four winds hounding

   And bounding the rocks

That hiss at the wet and cold.

   The ritual trees

   Bow to the dark,

Leaves lost and souls sold.

   Too steep to run

   With no place to hide

And time stands watching our pain.

   The satanic air roars

   As the clouds spit out

Unseely  daggers  of  rain.

   No end in sight,

   No patch of calm,

The unseen storm spins on.

   A night so long,

   So violent and dark,

The memory  of day is gone.

               iii.

   To a hellish pitch

   A demon wind vomited 

ice  in  my  heart.

   To an elemental peak

   The storm threw out

To tear the mountain apart;

   And died in its trying,

                                  to a whisper.

We watched the new lighting skies -

   The eternal east,

   Her promise of calm

And the still sun in our eyes.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

28/06/94 - This poem is based on the classical music piece of the same name by Mussorgsky and J.R.R. Tolkien’s ‘The Hobbit’.

Satisfaction Meme

Real Problem Meme

THE MEADOW

In the meadow

there were flowers,

varied  as  clouds

and colours of the bow,

sprinkled  like  stars

when God went aplanting,

there  as  planted

when He went to sow.

In the meadow

there was wind,

blowing the thistle

and spreading its seeds,

falling  like  rain

when God made the sea.

There  as  planted

to grow like a weed.

In the meadow

 there  were  flowers

and  when  the   would  whistle,

the  only  seeds  to  rise  were  the  children  of  the  thistle.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

1993

TAKE ME TO THE HILLS

Take me to the hills,

to the burning steep mounds,

to the highest one first,

where the strongest wind sounds,

and leave me in the cold

to my awesome quest;

let me start in the hills

when I’m at my best.

Let me totter on the brink

and find the down-hill,

when the quest is young

and youthful my will.

For then I shall work

my way to the seas.

To start with the hard

makes ending an ease.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

1993

COUNT ANOPHELES

It is dark and silent

The night is ink and deep

Then that tuneless violin

Scuttles my sweet sleep

Up in arms! Light the roof!

Pillow fixed in hand

Whispered curses under breath

‘thy soul to hell be damned!’

With salted eye I search

For that which is un-dead

That which drinks my living blood

And hangs above my bed

Then I see its shadow

Swift passing by my ear

I parry with my pillow

‘dear count your end is near.’

But with a blink it’s gone

I search and search in vain

And as I close my eyes to sleep ...

The violin whines again.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

1993

THE BOX

It came wrapped in paper and string,

Six sided dull and brown,

No sender’s name nor address,

No tell tale weight nor rattling sound.

Sealing wax with no seal -

Your average tied brown box.

No shuffling of straw, no pings of glass,

No warning ticks or tocks.

Just a box.

What angel feathers or sunshine gold,

What treasures lie inside?

Forgotten poems and ancient tales,

The last of the kwagga’s hide,

Or devil’s claws and bottled beasts,

Witches curséd locks;

Poisoned wine or a ticking mine,

An infectious plaguing pox,

In the box?

Should I be wise and let alone

Or fall to Pandora’s fate?

The seal looks ripe and the string slender -

The contents shall not wait.

But its a thing and I am alive,

I must look after myself,

So decision rests for the future

And the box lies on the shelf.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

07/93

The Song About Everything (Lyrics and chords)

(after the galaxy song of eric idle

[Spoken]

[F] Whenever some one says there is no God

Or that at bottom there is nothing but pitiless [Bb] indifference.”

Yet you can’t help but wonder [F] because of wonder

If another explanation for everything would make more [Bb] sense …

[Sung]

[F] Just re - [Bb] member that the universe and everything that is

could not have come from something that is [F] not

Nothing gives you nothing and nothing isn’t anything

and everything that is is quite a [Bb] lot.

To say that one day nothing decided to become

In a [G7] flash of light everything we [Cm] see

Is [Bb] quite absurd but I [G7] know I’ve heard

 people [C7] say that they be – [F] lieve this fanta [Bb] sy[F]

We [Bb] know the big bang happenned - the science is quite clear

but it doesn’t much give us a valid [F] cause

not to mention all the detail and ratios bound up

in the constants and universal [Bb] laws

like gravity if it were just a smidge – a tiny bit

too [G7] weak or even worse a little [Cm] strong

then [Bb] hyrdogen forever or black [G7] holes everwhere

would  [C7] stop me from [F] singing you this [Bd] song[F]

So -[Bb] who kicked off the universe and set it straight and narrow

Please don’t say nothing any - [F] more

Someone powerful and good – wise beyond all measure

You can call him Jesus, God or even [Bb] Lord

Outside time and space – transcendent and almighty

It is [G7] written that he said: let there [Cm] be…

Then [Bb] light became apparent – and everything [G7] else was next my friend

And I be [C7] lieve that that in [F]cludes you and [Bb] me

THE DIGGER

   Dripping with sweat and hunching his back,

digging six foot down and long as deep,

   the digger does his day’s drawn work

and toils in the soil that one might sleep.

   His arduous job seems a waste to him.

Hours  to  dig  what  minutes  can  fill

   and the customer smiles not - yet anyway,

lying unhelpful, unwatching and still.

   Heaving  the  sand  and  ageing,

angry  at  wasted  days  dug  by,

   ponderously burying the sorrows of others;

many graves will he leave at his time to die.

   The burial is important to the dearly beloved,

   but to him its a hole to be dug and recovered.

Copyright © Jason Horsler

20/10/93 - Studying Shakespeare at school helped me fall in love with the sonnet form of poetry.

BECAUSE

Because the law states:  “No because

   may start a sentence in grammar” -

I shall use it often if only to give

   the English more cause for clamour.

Because my license is valid for daily use

   I start with ‘because’ so to speak

and everyone breaks the law colloquially

   so writing it down makes me not unique.

Because language is a bird of freedom which,

   when caged in laws and restriction, dies.

Because you fastidious scholars

   tie bells to our talons and blinker our eyes,

and teach the young your diamond laws,

   I shall certain start with because.

09/09/93

BONSAI

The reading of old poems

Reminds me of my tuning

When I was just a sapling,

For wiring and for pruning.

In humus of experience

And sunlight inspiration;

Clipping excess buds,

Enhancing a creation.

Filling out a form,

Finding a strong pot,

Damping dehydration,

Drying out root rot.

And I, like stunting a tree,

Will not stop shaping me.

26/07/93 - The growing of bonsai was a childhood hobby of mine. I wrote this poem after looking at the many poems I had written and rejected before it.

ODE TO A MOONLIT NIGHT.

If I could rise and fly

above  a moonlit night,

I would see our quiet kingdom

bathed  in milky light,

shone from the single eye

of the pregnant opal queen

whose soft and haunted sight

adores the  land serene;

and brings to me: poetry,

to fill my thirsty soul,

for we are born unfinished

and writing makes us whole.

The sun is no alchemist,

he shows no gilded scene

but Cynthia is the artist

giving all a silver sheen.

At night all of the simples

are turned to royal jewels:

dew diamond crusted grass

and mother of pearl pools,

shadows  made  of  onyx

and pearl-stringed spider thread.

I sit and write and will not walk

for fear of crushing tread.

From a nearby thicket wafts

a lonely night bird’s song

whose soft sad voice was made for night

and  with this  night belongs.

The ripples on a shimmering stream

play  a  broken  beat

married to a sourceless patter

perhaps  of  fairy  feet.

A band of hopping minstrels

provide the gossamer strings

and in the trees, his beard caught,

the South Wind moans and sings.

The night is simple silver,

no  glaring  colours  harm

the peace that leads the world to sleep

beneath  majestic  charm.

A thousand sounds, a thousand sights

and none too harsh for dreams;

but the night is growing old,

as ageless as it seems.

Now a greying in the east

warns off the ancient moon.

Glad that it comes once a day,

I grieve not evening’s doom.

03/02/93 - Written on a golf course at about 4:00 am.

THE MOON AND THE SUN

In the wisps of the sunlight,

as it leaves of the air,

the golden daisy,

the eastern stare,

 the chargers of night

gallantly pursue

the prize of the west -

the eater of dew.

But soon the dark army

must pitch up its tent.

Silver fires flicker

in the eyes of the spent.

The chase before night

again proved futile

and soon they must see

Diana’s sad smile

at the thought of great victory,

of conquering her prince,

who strayed at time’s dawn

and ran ever since.

Oh his brilliant face,

waxed and all bright,

and since his departure

her world’s been of night.

But all is no matter

for another day arrives

and Diane will reach

for the light she strives;

and with the palest blush,

on days when time’s amiss,

then she holds him short

for a brief eclipsing kiss.

Then - what spectra glow

in the heavens above:

a day of joy in all the woe,

of the moon and sun’s lost love.

02/02/93 (my first true poem written now 25 years ago!)

Muldoon Meme

Obligation Meme

Dear Dad

Here is a letter I have written to my father on the eve of his departure back to South Africa. He struggles with dementia but in spite of memory problems and to God's great glory he came to faith and a few weeks ago was baptised. I leave this here for him and for your encouragement should you choose to read it ...

Dear dad

PLEASE READ THIS LETTER EVERY MONTH OR SO.

Well the London adventure ends and a new one begines – though – it is really two new adventures you now are starting: the move to Cape Town and the new life you have now as a Christian. Your journey to faith has been a long and inspiring one. There are not a few younger folk at the church who have been encouraged to see someone’s dad come to faith and be baptised. What God has been and is doing in your life is a great source of joy to all the Christians who know and love you and it is the answer to much prayer. As a beginner Christian there is a lot to learn and remember – too much to include in this one brief letter. I can only point you in a few directions. So I have thought up five questions and their answers – it is my hope that you will regularly read through them and meditate on them and take action where necessary:

1) What is the Gospel?

The word gospel means the “good news”. It is the news that all Christians seek to share with the lost of this world – the news that they do not have to be lost and condemned, but that instead they can become actual children of God – as you now are. It really is the best news because ultimately it leads to perfect peaceful fulfilling eternity in paradise with God – the gospel details how this is possible. But is starts with bad news – with the problem of sin.

2) What is the problem?

The problem is that we are all sinners – we rebel against God and want to do things our way. Even our best efforts are tainted with selfishness, pride, greed, envy and self-righteousness. We are ugly inside and out and death with eternal destruction in hell haunts us and drives us to even more vain ambition to fill this small little life with idols and self agrandisement. We are all so sick. Just look around you at people. Watch them – see how they behave as if there is no tomorrow or, worse still, no eternity after they die. They turn their backs on the loving infinite Being who made them and reject his message to them (which is the Bible) and his offer of peace with them (through his Son). Trapped in their smallness they over estimate their hugeness – like certain little creatures in nature that puff themselves up to make themselves look bigger when under threat. Look at them, they all do it – and so still do I, and so still will you. Unfortiunately sin is something that stays with us to a hopefully ever lesser extent until we die – even when we are Christians. But while we may still have to deal with the problem of sin – and God the Holy Spirit comes alongside us to help us with this – we do not have to worry any longer about the ultimate consequence of sin – which is death. Why?

3) What is the double solution?

Jesus did many things for us as he lived on earth. For example he taught great truths which we must study and obey. But in reality the two greatest things he did are so huge that they overshadow all his other work. The first thing is that he died perfectly and the second is that he lived perfectly. The wages of sin is death – and not just physical death but spiritual death – the death of facing the full anger of God. All sin must and will be punished by God – if God is to be truly just. There are essentially only two types of people – those who will face God with their sin and be punished by him for all eternity, and then there are those who have had their sin already and finally punished - but in the body of Christ as he died on the cross. Jesus died the kind of death you deserve so that you don’t have to. The day you became a Christian you began to accept this incredible truth – the truth that God the Son loves you enough to die in your place. You were made right with God through no act of your own. But Jesus also lived a perfectly sinless life. And he has given you his record. His perfect obedience, his perfect prayers, perfect baptism, perfect love for others, perfect doctrine (teaching) – all given to you as a love gift so that the Father sees you as his son… think about that Dad – the God of the universe has adopted you…

4) What is the promise and our hope?

On the third day after the cross Jesus rose from the dead as the first born – the first among many who would rise to eternal life. His resurrection is a promise that all who believe in him will be resurrected. We now have the hope of everlasting joy and fellowship with eachother and with God. We will have bodies and minds and all other faculties suited for eternity – words cannot describe what comes next except that we can trust that it will be perfect. No more sorrow, sickness, tears, doubt, fear, lonliness, growing older – no more death (Revelation 21:4)! And this is all because of Jesus.

5) What should you do about it?

Since our great rescuer has rescued us we should continue to follow his instructions. Jesus said we must love one another, spend time together, look after eachother, pray for eachother, learn from eachother, even be prepared to die for eachother. This means we must congregate weekly or even more frequently. We must join a church and give up our time and other resources to bless others in the church. Since we have the promise of eternity (purchased by Christ at such a cost) what could God not ask of us and yet he asks so small a thing – so pleasurable a thing – that we should seek eachother and care. We are also commanded to obey God – and where will we go to find his will? The Bible. I advise you not to read the Bible cover to cover (at least not the first time). The New Testament will help unlock the Old Testament and the Old Testament validates the New. Jesus is the essential key to understanding the whole book and thus it makes sense to learn about him first by reading the Gospels. Here is a good reading plan to start with:

1.         John's Gospel

2.         Mark's Gospel

3.         I John

4.         II John

5.            Ephesians

6.            Galatians

7.         Luke's Gospel

8.         Acts

9.         I Peter

10.       II Peter

11.            Matthew's Gospel

12.       I Corinthians

13.       II Corinthians

14.            Romans

15.       James

16.       Genesis

17.       Exodus

18.       Judges

19.            Hebrews

20.            Colossians

21.       Titus

22.            Revelation

23.       Psalms

24.            Proverbs 

... then go on to reading all the other books not listed here.

Finally and perhaps most important of all – pray.   1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 says: Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.

   Pray to God now. Talk to him. He has spoken eloquently and extensively in His scripture. You can only just begin to uphold your side of the conversation. Be honest and humble. The Bible uses the word 'contrite' (Psalm 51:17; Isaiah 66:2). There is no need to fold your hands or be on your knees every time you pray. Victor Hugo, the writer of that very Christian of novels:  Les Miserables, wrote: 

   "Certain thoughts are prayers. There are moments when, whatever be the attitude of the body, the soul is on its knees."

   Pray to the Lord when you see a sunrise, pray when you see the dew on a spider's web. Pray when you hit a good drive on the golfcourse. Pray when you see your sister laugh.  Pray when you are facing a difficult meeting or a tough day. Pray when you get through it. Pray when you are sick and when you get well again. Pray for others, pray for the land. Pray for your friends - and your enemies too. Bless everyone and even ask other people if you can pray for them, for specific needs they have. God loves to hear from you. How else will you grow in your relationship and trust? Praying is a habit and something that takes practice. You might start using cliches and feeling really hypocritical or clumsy, we all do, but God is really good at translating human weakness (Romans 8:26). Just be honest with him and grateful. He always hears even when sometimes his answer is no. I cannot over-stress the importance of daily or even more frequent prayer. It is a good idea to pray when you wake up and when lie down to sleep. Also say grace before every meal.

   Your baptism was special – remember that. Your Chessington church loves you – remember that. Pastor Daf loves you – rememebr that. There were and will continue to be people over here in London praying for you – remember that. And remember your family – we all love you and are so comforted by the fact that before you left us, God brought you to faith.

   I don’t know if, nor even when, I will see you again. I cannot really afford to come to Capetown and I hope Cynthia’s business venture goes so well that you are able to stay funded for many years – I hope the challenge it provides to you is rewarding and stimulating, as I am sure stimulation and challenge are vital to staving off memory problems. Send my greetings and my love to all you meet who knew me and please, once you have found a church, introduce me to your new pastor. Also challenge Cynthia and Paul to come to church with you every Sunday. God may indeed be using you to that end.

   I love you dad. From the day you came to London I prayed and even occasionally fasted before God (and you know I don’t do fast!) that He would draw you to him and save you – it was a big part of my prayer that I would be able to sit next to you in church and share the Lord’s bread and wine with you – not to mention baptising my own father! What an answer to prayers you have been.

   Until we meet again, on earth or in Heaven – know that you are in my prayers.

   Fondly and lovingly yours forever in Christ

   Jason