

A child of promise
A child of faith
A suffering child
To embrace
A child of freedom
A child of hope
An extravagant child
A rain lashed face
A child of life
A child of colour
A rough cut diamond
Serving others
Of the world
A trusted friend
A familiar child
Resides within
The child in you
The child in me
Embrace that child
For all to see
It’s time to live again
April 2023
I have a flame burning in me, wild and destructive, creative and passionate,
Until the day I die, though I try, it can never be extinguished.
So I embrace the flame and in doing so embrace me, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made
When I forget who I am my demons return, in the very act of forgetting, the destructiveness is free to run wild
To wish it away or hate the flame is futile
So I welcome the flame within me, burning along the edges and margins where other flames do not reach,
Forever causing me joy and pain
For my flame within is a refining fire
It’s time to live again
Yesterday I sat with a giant
I held her hand, cold like marble and white like ivory
I stroked her face, gnarled over time yet still beautiful
Even though frail and full of fears she held herself with dignity and pride
She had such presence in her frailty as she lay struggling for life’s very breath
There was an aura that made you want to capture those final hours and take it away with you
I didn’t want her to leave but leave she must
Further on and further in, dancing with angels and with friends and family who have gone before
A survivor of the horrors that war brings to families, the ghosts of her childhood have finally been laid to rest,
She was transparently honest, nothing hidden that one day maybe you would trip up over and lose your balance
No retribution to fear or complexity to manoeuvre around
That's why I loved her
Because the giant was fully known and nothing was hidden
Extraordinarily generous, light hearted and funny, kind and caring, a mother of many.
She never flaunted her beauty or wallowed in wealth
No heights of perfection we all needed to attain
Just honesty with others and simplicity with self
One day I will walk with that giant again
Love you Mum
It’s time to live again
I’ve never felt more like a child than I do right now,
Its true, the older I get the less I realise I know and what I do know no longer weighs me down
The only thought in me is what lies ahead to press on towards the goal
My excitement for the journey is tangible
My expectation out of reach, way beyond
the confines of normality
Faith explodes from within, wild pathways to tread,
Colour, life and exuberance,
My provision for the journey ahead
It’s time to live again
John Lowton
April 2023
My pool of dry tears numbingly enveloped me
An aridness of soul screamed from within
Dry and chaffed by the prolonged drought Childhood trauma had frozen my heart, my own protective armour surrounding me
If you look you can see, the first healing teardrops rolling down
There was a time when one drop would have drowned me,
Now, I find rest in the pool of tears forming on the ground beneath
Joy and heartache, delight and sadness
Each drop has a name which together bring healing
Embracing the emotion which forms a backdrop
Every shade of life alive in me
It’s time to live again
John Lowton
April 2023