Tag Archives: poetry

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red sail boatDisturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.
Disturb us, Lord, when
With the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.
Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask you to push back the horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.
This we ask in the name of our Captain,
Who is Jesus Christ.
 I first read this 6 years ago. It's been my favourite ever since and I've even written a re-mix or two and re-post it nearly every year. It was most likely written by Francis Drake over 400 years ago (apparently the poetry buffs are still arguing about it). As we get into the stride of 2017 it seems important to pray and ponder it again.

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So You Told Me Slavery Was Over

so you told me slavery was over.
people were no longer bought and sold.
you said it was abolished by william wilberforce.

you said wicked men came and forced free people onto ships in chains.
they had no choice.
you said they were kept in degrading conditions
by those who cared more about money than humanity.

you said they were bought and sold at auction.
families torn apart in seconds.
you said they were forced to work long hours with no regard for their person.
you said escape was near impossible
they were trapped by stronger men.

it was seen as acceptable you told me,
no-one objected.

no-one really cared.

we said how could they do that?
we'd never have accepted it
we would have put it right

you said the slave trade continued until a small group of people recognised it for what it was,
disgusting
inhumane
perverse

you said they worked hard to have the slave trade abolished.
then you told me it was finally all over.

bye bye slave trade
hello freedom

but what about today?

what about women promised better lives and then sold like cattle?
what about those kept in degrading conditions
by men who care more about money than humanity?

what about children whose names are replaced by numbers?
those forced to satisfy the lust of 12 men a night?
what about those with no escape
who are trapped by stronger men?

how could you tell me it was over when it so clearly isn't?

you said it was seen as acceptable.
noone objected.
noone really cared.
not us we said
we'd have seen it for what it was,
disgusting
inhumane
perverse
how could they have been so blind?
we would have put it right
we would have been abolitionists

but what about today?
do we see it for what it is?

do we care?
or do we think it's acceptable?

will we be abolitionists?