Month: January 2023

Touching peoples lives like a butterfly

He did it for me, I tell no lie

He makes all feel special when he lands

Reaching out to me to touch my hand

Fluttering around a crowded space

Bringing a smile to me and everyone’s face

Then he leaves, fluttering away

To come back when it suits, another day

A room full of people have met a new friend

But will he ever flutter back again?

Maybe, maybe not, if he passes by

To call him a friend is really a lie

A room full of people over time disappointed

He came and stopped, I felt loved for a moment 

I laughed and relaxed, he stood by my side

I wanted his words, no need to hide

He upped and left as if on a whim

He meant more to me than I to him

I wish I had kept my heart locked away

To bring into view another day

But I became joined to my sanguine friend

Will the pain ever end

I need to be free, my soul ties strong

To be released is what I long

I must move on, scream and forgive

To get a new focus, my life to live

Be gone sanguine friend, flutter some other place 

Don’t need you here I must re-enter the race

When he is gone, it leaves space for the new

A fresh belonging, through and through

It’s time to live again

January 2023

John Lowton

How long have I been silent, watching, listening, observing the signs around me, holding my thoughts like treasure of great value. I’ve been patient for so long, a weary traveller waiting to cross
Our separate journeys have merged together, a point in time, a holy place, a place of expectation and reverence 
Silent pilgrims, broken and honed by the
distance covered

Across the river the snow is melting on the towering mountain peaks
Fuelling the river into a frenzy, ever flowing wider and deeper
Oh to reach that place, to feel the fresh murmurings of spring, the Spirit of God blowing over the land
Yet, separating us from the distant promise, the river flows, deeper and wider still
To reach the other side involves faith and courage, 
for none have ever reached the far bank when the river was shallow, in low flow
The only way is by faith, jumping in, out of your depth
Now is the time, the moment to cross, to be out of your depth
The melt water itself flowing due to the Spirit warming the land
For there is no crossing without faith
They run together hand in hand

John Lowton
January 2023

Can you hear me coming closer?
The sound of hooves, thundering and wild 
Windswept and unbridled, galloping unchecked, mane cascading and flowing behind 
Is it right to try and change how I was created?
Born, never to be captured, never to be trapped and boxed into some religious conformity
To serve tradition, laced up in a tight restraining girdle, hiding the risk of being different
To end my days having only explored a small confined space in my mind 
But was born to worship in a huge creative landscape, born to explore the outer edges of who who I am
Born to journey and not stand still, born to experience danger, holding on only by my finger tips
Born to display colour, black, dappled and chestnut
Every colour of the rainbow following the seasons of my life
Born to be passionate, born to live life, bands of humanity travelling together

It’s time to live again

John Lowton
December 15th 2022

Of the earth a grassroots city
No need to mock, no need to pity
Open your eyes and you will see
The land gives wealth, the earth is key
Vision outworked from within the ground 
A healthy variety can be found
Not imposed from above
But fed and watered with hope and love
Rich in history, culture, flowing
Textiles, Mills, colour, sewing
So next time you consider, open your eyes, walk tall
A broad ford to cross, inclusive to all
The city of Bradford, a place of inclusion
An ethnic wealth, a colourful fusion
You say your poor, yet you’re rich
In confidence and strength set your pitch
For such a time, the day is here
On show to all, no need to fear
The City of Culture, a deserved acclaim
Its Bradfords time to get some fame

It’s time to live again

John Lowton
January 2023

I avoided a banana skin, in the road for all to see
Yellow and black and slippery, it could have derailed me
It would have stroked my ego, scaling a lofty height
Status and importance, well within my site
But truth be said my soul cried out, to maintain a different way
Colour, life, new energy, definitely here to stay
I really don’t seek the profile, I really don’t seek fame
To continue my current trajectory, an outrageously noble game
If I climb up on a pedestal there’s only 1 way to go
Crash, bang, wallop down to earth, everyone will know
So I’m grateful for the banana skin, that it came into my life
I didn’t need the tension, I didn’t need the strife
So please bare with me, let me serve where life and glitter flow
Feeding my soul and others around, a healing seed to sow

It’s time to live again

John Lowton
January 2023

Whatever was I thinking, I dutifully fell in line
My whiteness overtook me, thinking white all the time
But the angels in my City, are brown and black and white
White European in my mind, all a standard height
White wings, pale skin, all the eyes are blue
Supernatural beings, but it isn’t only you
The angels in my city are Bollywood, punk, rough sleepers
Watching the pathways in and out, they truly are gate keepers
So if you are white with wings, take your place in line
My City is multi coloured, in variety it will shine
It’s time to live again
John Lowton
Dec 2022