Poem 208 – Including Judas

Oct 2, 2023Oct 2, 2023 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

My table stretches,
extends so all
can gather round
to eat.

Pictures of the Last Supper always feature a large table – it would have to be to accomodate the twelves disciples as well as Jesus! It always fascinates me that Jesus welcomed them all to share such an intimate and pivotal meal, especially Judas, who he knew was about to betray him. What is this? Foolishness? Naivety? Or simply an act of inclusive grace?
(See also the end of this post by by Nadia Bolz-Weber)
(02.10.23)

© Ben Quant 2023
Image by Leonardo da Vinci – High resolution scan by http://www.haltadefinizione.com/ in collaboration with the Italian ministry of culture. Scan details, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=3032252

Poem 206 – Empty Nest Syndrome

Sep 20, 2023 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

A shelf of shoes, unmatched and overflowing
A sock left in the laundry all alone

A pair of glasses for computer working
A charger from a previous mobile phone

Some letters sent obliviously, now stacked
Awaiting reading like that dusty book

A pile of magazines stuffed in the rack
Remember your promise to one day take a look

Now fully fledged our chick has flown the nest
And found a home that she can call her own

I wonder when she’ll come and get the rest, ’cause
We’re longing for some empty nest syndrome!

Allegedly, our daughter’s left home. Looking around, I’m not yet totally convinced!
(20.09.23)

Poem 200 – The Wedding Dance Floor

Aug 30, 2023Aug 30, 2023 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

Last night I danced all night.
Today I have no voice
and blisters on my toes
to witness my exploits.
It may have been a case of
defiant dad dancing
but do I care? Do I?
No, not at all! For those
few hours I lost myself
within the moment.

Earlier this month I had the joy of attending the wedding of a couple I know through church. It was a wonderful day for a wonderful couple. The disco was great fun too – I only hope I didn’t put others off… I wrote this at the time and have finally dusted it off and made it presentable.
(30.08.23)

Poem 198 – Silence

Aug 17, 2023 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

Sometimes, the most eloquent prayer is silence.
It says I cannot feel your pain because
I do not walk the path you tread, it’s yours.
In ignorance, I have no words to give;
those I possess will not suffice, meaning
speaking belittles your experience.
And so, like Job, I hold my hand across
my mouth to offer you the best I can.

As a church minister, I frequently find myself with people facing suffering. I’ve learnt that the best thing to say is often nothing at all. The best thing is to simply be there with them.
(17.08.23)

Poem 194 – The Importance of Space

Jul 16, 2023 / BenDQ / 2 Comments

We gathered round and peered.
The husband said, ‘It’s deep,’
I nodded in agreement.
‘It’s deep so I can fit on top.’

I backed away to give
him space for thought. A moment’s
silence, and then, amen,
the hole was filled with prayer.

Leaving, I noticed that
his arms were full of nothing,
as was his car, and home,
his sentences left…

Sometimes the nothing hurts,
but not always. Sometimes
it takes familiar shape,
its contours reassuring.

I haven’t posted a poem for a while, partly because I’ve been distracted with other things, and partly because I’ve been grappling with this one. It started off as a poem about the importance of giving others space to be, but ended up as something else. I worry it’s a little glib, I hope not, but I don’t think I can take it any further right now.
(16.07.23)

Poem 189 – Who Am I?

May 23, 2023 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

Who am I?
I am how others see and shape me, friends
and colleagues, neighbours, enemies. I shift expression, slide to meet whoever stands
before me now. I am your husband, friend
and lover, sharing lives, and tears and dreams.
You’ve had my best and worst. I wonder what
you see, you who knows me best, who am I?
I am my work, my nine to five and more;
it’s how we catalogue and frame the other.
I am the teacher’s son, the scientist’s too,
designed by nature, nurture, chicken, egg.
Does anybody know the essential me,
the one beneath these morphing layers?
I don’t.
He is not there, he doesn’t exist. I am
only because this web creates, remakes me.
I am I and you and him and we.

Who is the real me? A counterpoint to my previous poem (Poem 188 – Exposed). Those of faith might spot another allusion and contrast.
(23.05.23)

Poem 188 – Exposed

May 20, 2023May 23, 2023 / BenDQ / 1 Comment

I shed my face,
the one I placed
upon my face
this morning. Here,
with you,
it lies
discarded it’s
unnecessary.

The truth beneath
revealed, my veins,
and flesh displayed
to you. No need
to pause,
exposed,
stripped back, you stand
naked before me.

Watching the ease shared between Paul Whitehouse and Bob Mortimer in ‘Gone Fishing’ I found myself reflecting on the nature of friendship.
(20.05.23)

Poem 183 – Barn Dance

Apr 17, 2023 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

Two couples, groups of four,
arrange themselves upon
the floor to dance. Caller’s

instructions given, they walk
it through, counting their steps,
fierce thought performs on faces.

The music starts and now
they charge whooping; tonight’s
for plowing on regardless!

We were at a family barn dance this weekend. Happy Birthday Emeyle and Jade, thanks for a highly enjoyable evening!
(17.04.23)

Poem 169 – I Collect People

Feb 20, 2023 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

I collect people.
Not in an album like
a stamp collector, or
macabre jars like some
demented serial killer,
but in my memories.

Childhood friends stand by
eccentric teachers that
inspire and shape my path.
Loved relatives are filed
with heroes of the stage
and teenage heartbreakers.

Congregation members,
that walked with us awhile,
together with neighbours
who passed our window daily,
their names undiscovered.
Did they know each other?

Time to time I take
them out and dust them down,
revisit, reminisce.
These familiar faces,
both intimate and distant,
make up my life’s matrix.
I am in reference to them,
embedded and defined.
There is no island life.

A conversation at church about personalities who have been part of our family over time prompted the phrase ‘we collect people’. This stuck in my head and eventually prompted this poem.
(20.02.23)

Poem 166 – Embrace

Feb 2, 2023Feb 2, 2023 / BenDQ / Leave a comment

I circumnavigate you
Enfold, encapsulate you.
Not to subsume, consume,
Devour or dominate you,
But to be one with you.

Oh, to be one with you,
Align my life to you,
Try not to assume, presume, but
Embrace this life with you,
Breathing as one.

Peter Capaldi’s 12th Doctor said,
‘Never trust a hug. It’s just a way to hide your face.’
I disagree.
(02.02.23)

Ode for the Day

An experiment in poetic doodling

Relationships