New Year

                   New Year

New Year takes the place of old

And as I awake to watch its birth

Gloriously the day unfolds

Its ethereal beauty upon earth.

The sombre greyness of the dawn

Is startled by the sun's first light

Whilst birds in chorus sweetly scorn

Its endless pursuit of the night.

This year though new will quickly wane

And yet another take its place

With blissful mornings, once again

The blessed gift of God's good grace.

Within my heart there burns a flame

With promise of a bright new dawn

For through His love I ascertain

The truth, that I'll again be born.

So at last I cast aside

The remnants of my tattered past

Triumphantly I'm satisfied

This bright new year is not my last.

RAJ . ( © SOMETIME)

How It Began

The power and the glory are not just a story

To hang on the wall as each Christmas draws near

Midst the tinsel and holly and time to be jolly

Jesus, He’s in there somewhere.

We hear street vendors yelling see trades people selling

Their incense and myrrh to the jostling crowds.

Krishna’s colourful chanters – countless counterfeit Santas,

But Jesus, He’s in there somewhere.

At this time of the year

With family and friends all around

As we share hopes and fears

Let us not forget how it began

There came monarchs and wise men

With gifts to advise men

That peace and salvation are rightfully theirs

In the joy of December

Rejoice and remember

Jesus, He’s in there somewhere.

When your loved one deserts you

And memories hurt you

The loneliest times are those spent in a crowd.

Should others deride you

Look deep inside – you

Will find Jesus in there somewhere.

Just call Him – He’s in there – somewhere.

(C) Copyright Roy Jenner - Auckland  1976

Our Monarch

As I gaze upon a butterfly

Whose wondrous beauty lies impaled

Against a background, oh so dark

Within my heart I want to cry

Yet marvel that with life curtailed

It still retains such beautiful marks

Where are the days when it was free

To move with grace from leaf to flower

Transposing life that all might live?

Compatible with bird and bee

Regardless of the fleeting hour

And then its freedom it did give

Beyond that time – before it all

Before its wings had broken free

It rested motionless and then

It cast aside its guarding shawl

And  spread its wings for all to see

The truth that it was born again.

My Lord is like a butterfly

For was He not impaled the same

As that sweet creature that you see?

(Against a background oh, so dark,)
Did He not rise? Did He not die?

Did He not suffer nails and pain

To give the gift of life to me?

He moved with grace upon this plane

From Bethlehem to Calvary

To spread His word that all might live

To show we can be born again

To save a wretched soul like me

And then His freedom he did give.

When strangers nailed him to a cross

Against that darkened scene around

They hung Him there for all to see

That through Him they’ll not suffer loss

For when they put Him in the ground

He rose again to set them free

I’ve seen the beauty of His love

Embrace two thousand torrid years

Which like a stone have rolled away

And with His guidance from above

Endured the anguish, pain and tears

I know I’m not alone today

For He still moves around this world

Transposing life that all might live

Call to Him and He’ll reply

Then feel your captive soul unfurl

Receive the life He has to give

MY LORD IS LIKE A BUTTERFLY

Best wishes to all at a special time

                       Christmas Upside Down

When I look back on Christmas and when I was young

I remember with joy how the holly was hung

High in the hallways, on mantle and sill

To honour the season of peace and good will.

The greenest of prickles  with splashes of red

Midst garlands of  mistletoe high over head

Together with tinsel and bright, coloured lights

Flickering candles and other delights

All tenderly placed at this time of the year

As joyful reminders that Christmas is here.

I still feel the bite of the wind on my nose

As I fed robin redbreast  on chill winter snows

Whilst beckoning me through the night’s early rays

The village shops’ colourful window displays.

The butcher hand plucked our plump Christmas bird

And always had time for that joke he had heard

From the milkman, the postman, the man in the drapers

Or the freckled young lad who delivered the papers.

The voices of children still carry clear

With a songful reminder that Christmas is here.

As I grow older each Christmas I find

The pleasures of Christmas-past strong in my mind.

A man made of snow appeared on our lawn

Just at the time our sweet Jesus was born.

All winter he stayed and his eyes made from coke

Stared through our window, but he never once spoke,

But his eyes seemed to say ‘this is my Christmas too.

Would you folk really mind if I share it with you?”

And as Christmas means sharing we had nothing to fear.

A friendly reminder that Jesus is here.

Every year Christmas it comes and it goes,

But it’s no longer seasoned with crisp, winter snows.

Living  ‘down-under’  -  though just as much fun

Our memories are made in the warmth of the sun.

A day on the beach with the family seems strange

To one who remembers the old kitchen range

That produced a fine turkey, so hot, crisp and brown

With succulent vegetables dotted around.

The crackers, the paper hats, streamers and cheer

Are constant reminders that Christmas is here.

How special December as memory lingers

With barbecue steak sauce stuck to my fingers.

Sausages, hot-dogs and lamb on the coals,

Kumara, pumpkin and hot sausage rolls.

Long summer evenings with snacks on the beach

Place holly and mistletoe far out of reach,

But the giving, the taking, the kindness, the mirth,

The spirit of Christmas engulfs the whole earth.

Then as we relax with our loved ones, so dear

We need no reminders that Christmas is here.

(C) Copyright Auckland NZ   November 1996  ROY JENNER