'Walterton Road'

 

Caryll Houselander 

  The following poem 'Walterton Road' by Caryll Houselander, is taken from a book of her poems, entitled 'The Flowering Tree'. Printed on the title page, is a short introductory verse which encapsulates perfectly the spiritual dimension of her work.

Faithful Cross, O tree all beauteous,

Tree all peerless and divine!

Not a grove on earth can show us,

Such a flower and leaf as thine.

In the 'Foreword' to her book, the author writes:-

'These rhythms are not intended to be poems in

a new form, but simply thoughts, falling naturally

into the beat of the rhythm, which is all round us

and which becomes both audible and visible

in the seasons of the year, the procession of day

and night, and the liturgical cycle; they are arranged

so that the rhythm and stress shall be easily seen,

as well as thought, by people who are unused to

reading verse; the theme which recurs in them is

the flowering of Christ in man.'

'Walterton Road'

Twilight is full of laughter

here in Walterton Road,

where the children swarm on the steps,

and the washing hangs in rows.

How sharp the life is

That burns in the thin women,

Calling from door to door.

It has defeated the world,

but with a sting,

not with sweetness,

they are like wild nettles,

growing green in the ashes.

Yet how sweet the life is

here, in the boy and girl

in their time of maying.

But shrineless the bread

for the Sacrament,

shame on the jaundiced eyes

denying, homeless love

its oblivious kiss in the street!

Brave in the young mother,

very brave in her, life is,

she sits in the window

and twists with a laughing finger,

the baby's feather of hair,

he pulls the geranium flower,

and drops the petals down

on the boy and girl

in a crimson shower.

Does anyone ever guess

when the watch ticking over his heart,

marks his loveliest hour?

Twilight is full of laughter

and there, in a dark frame,

of a tenement window pane,

a yellow canary sings

in a yellow cage.

The rooms are crowded here,

and the walls weep,

there is no solitude,

birth meets death,

and pushes past on the stairs.

It is always washing, and cooking,

and trying to make ends meet,

and carping cares,

but life springs up like a weed,

life is a green shoot,

springing up everywhere.

What hands are here!

What hard, labouring hands,

warding off blows,

and defending,

what eyes for a vision!

What hearts for a Resurrection!

What lives there are,

sharp like spears fore-fending

foes, that threaten a spark,

which will still be burning

after the last star.

Look!

The blue purity

over the chimney pots,

listen:-

the children's laughter

scattering shadows.

Oh, brooding Spirit of God

Breath of the wind,

that blows wherever it will,

ruffling the rags of life a little,

and then

zephyr,

here in a sheltered valley

and still.

Caryll Houselander

Taken from 'The Flowering Tree' published by Sheed & Ward, London. (this edition 1973) -nihil obstat imprimatur Westminster July 1945.

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I truly enjoy Caryll Houselander's poetry which radiates her love of God and her understanding  and compassion for humanity. She had a particular empathy with children, to the extent that during the Second World War in the 1940s, she became renowned for her care of children suffering mentally from the effects of the war. In England, the most respected and eminent doctors and child psychiatrists referred children to her, on the basis that she would cure them with love! She herself died of cancer in her fifties, but in her writings, especially her poetry, she left an inspiring legacy of her faith and trust in God.

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In a somewhat radical but important change of direction, I would like to draw readers attention to the 'Grand Jury Court of Public Opinion' which has recently heard the 'Common Law' evidence against certain named protagonists of the 'Great Reset War' - currently  directed against the peoples and societies of the world. The 'Trial' with Judge, expert qualified  witnesses from around the world and from all walks of life, and Jury- comprising the people of the world, has been broadcast live-stream, on 5^th February, 12^th and 13^th February, 19^th and 20^th February, and 26^th February, each Session dealing with particular aspects of this 'War'. The Sessions are long, necessarily so  to accommodate the witnesses and evidence, but what  evil has been revealed! It is vitally important that the truth and  reality of this diabolically inspired 'One World Government' is exposed to the whole world, and the purpose of this 'Trial' is to do just that. The link to the 'Trial' is below, please find time to peruse at least some of it, you will not regret it. Also please pass it to your friends. N.B.  You may find that the link is interrupted by a 'redirect' warning from face-book, but do not be put off, ignore this warning and click to continue.  GRAND-JURY.NET ,   

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  Holy Week starts tomorrow. Let us pray for peace in the world, and the destruction  of all to do with the Great Reset. We must turn to God.  We must repent of our sins, and acknowledge the authority of God's commandments, and abide by them. 'Seek ye first the Kingdom of God and His justice,  and all things shall be added to you.'(Matt.6/33)

'Stations of the Cross'  by Caryll Houselander

The Peoples ‘Court of Public Opinion works independent of any government and any

 

Christmas - God's Love for Us All.

 

Christmas is the time when we raise our hearts and minds to God in a very special way. Christmas carols reflect and celebrate the circumstances of Christ's birth to Mary, a young virgin Jewish girl, in a stable in Bethlehem, some two thousand years ago. This was the fulfilment of prophesies going back many generations in the history of the Jewish people, and represents the advent  of Christianity, which today has an estimated 2.38 billion adherents worldwide.

Christmas is a time of joy, of which we are all badly in need, particularly in this time of pandemic and diabolical assault by the forces of evil, which publicly  endeavour to control and destroy peoples and societies throughout the world. A combination of Marxist and  Godless elitists are intent on destroying elected governments, destroying the traditional family unit, eliminating Christian morality, crushing national economies and impoverishing all people with the exception of the elite and ruling class (themselves),  controlling all financial matters, commercial and personal, so that sooner rather than later, their 'one-world' un-elected government will control all our lives, a control which will destroy freedom of speech and freedom of religion,  the latter in a new revised form , based on the worship of  'man' rather than God. This effectively will mean the worship of Satan, perhaps in the person of the anti-Christ. Such a rule, will inevitably bring  fear, misery, despair and death, to millions worldwide, but it can be prevented and is not inevitable. But we must  turn to God, and repent of our sins, and the governments of the world must do likewise.

God is the Creator of the Universe, and demands love and respect from all his peoples. He is the Master of life and death, and such evils as abortion, euthanasia, and other immoral aberrations, which directly oppose His authority and commandments, must be banned. We cannot  live good and  happy lives without God, and we must approach God and ask for His help in our deadly battle against the forces of darkness. With God we can do all things, without Him we can do nothing. Which brings me back to Christmas, a time of spiritual joy and peace to men of goodwill. A little late for Christmas greetings, but I wish all readers a happy and peaceful New Year, and to quote a religious friend of mine, "may God bless us all"!

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A Christmas Gift

A mother was watching, one Christmas night,
Nursing her babe by the candle-light.
And she lifted her eyes in the gathering gloom,
For the Christ-child stood in the lowly room.
"What shall I give to thy child?", He said,
softly caressing the sleeper's head.
"Nay", said the mother, "O Angel-guest 
Give her whatever Thou deemest best."

"But what shall I give her?" He spoke again,
"ask and thou shalt not ask in vain.
Shall I touch her brow that her eyes may shine
with beauty, that men will call divine?
Shall I touch her lips that they may flow
with songs of the best that the world may know?"
"Nay", said the mother, "these will not stay,
songs are forgotten, and hair turns grey".

"Then what shall I give her, O mother mild?
Ask what thou wilt for thy little child".
And the mother lifted her eyes above,
"Give her purity, truth and love".
And the Christ-Child turned to her, soft and mild,
"Thou has chosen the best for thy little child.
Be not afraid, though life be sore,
I will be with her for evermore".

                                Anon - from 'Parlour Poetry' (This England).

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God Abides in Men

God abides in men.

There are some men who are simple,

they are fields of corn.

We see the soil and the stubble,

more than the green spears

and the yellow stalks.

Such men have minds

like wide grey skies,

they have the grandeur

that the fool calls emptiness.

God is clothed in homespun in such lives.

He goes with them to the field and the barn,

He comes home, when the birds,

in dark orderly flocks

cross the empty twilights of time.

God abides in men.

Some men are not simple,

they live in cities

among the teeming buildings,

wrestling with forces

as strong as the sun and the rain.

Often they must forgo dream upon dream.

The glare of the electric light

blinds their eyes to the stars.

On some nights,

the stir of life, and the lights,

is a soft fire, like wine

in their blood.

Christ walks in the wilderness

in such lives.

Wrestling with Lucifer,

the fallen angel of light,

who shows him the cities of the world,

and with brilliant and illimitable audacity,

offers to Christianity lordship of the cities

on the worlds terms.

God abides in men.

There are some men,

on whom the sins of the world are laid.

They are conscripted,

stripped, measured and weighed,

taken away from home,

and sent to the flood,

the fire, the darkness,

the loneliness of death.

In such men

Christ is stripped of His garments,

the reed is put in His hand,

the soldier’s cloak on His shoulders,

the Cross on His back.

In them He is crucified.

From the lives,

and the deaths

of those men,

cities rise from the dead.

God abides in men,

because Christ has put on

the nature of man, like a garment,

and worn it to His own shape.

He has put on everyone’s life.

He has fitted Himself to the little child’s dress,

to the shepherd’s coat of sheepskin,

to the workman’s coat,

to the King’s red robes,

to the snowy loveliness of the wedding garment,

and to the drab, simple battle dress.

Christ has put on Man’s nature,

and given him back his humanness,

worn to the shape

of limitless love,

and warm from the touch

of His life.

He has given man his crown,

the thorn that is jewelled

with drops of His blood.

He has given him

the seamless garment

of his truth.

He has bound him

in the swaddling bands

of his humility.

He has fastened his hands

to the tree of life.

He has latched his feet

in crimson sandals,

that they move not

from the path of love.

God abides in man.

Caryll Houselander (1901-1954) - published by Sheed and Ward in 'The flowering Tree' - this edition 1973) (mprimature -Westminster 1945)

                                                               

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Although this is not a Christmas poem, it is about a child's love for her father, originally composed perhaps for the music-hall.   I cannot resist including it!

Give Me a Ticket to Heaven

Into a railway station crept a little child one night;
The last train was just leaving, and the bustle at its height.

The station-master standing there, looked down with wondering eyes
Upon this little maid - so frail in form, so small in size.
"Where is your father, little one? Are you alone? he cried.

With tearful eyes she look'd up in his and thus replied:

        CHORUS

        "Give me a ticket to heaven,

         That's where Dad's gone, they say,

         He'll be so lonely without me,

         Travelling all that way.

         Mother died when I was born, sir,

         And left Dad and me alone,

         So give me a ticket to heaven, please,

         Before the last train is gone."

"My Daddy worked upon the line, but when I went tonight

To take his tea, he lay there on a shutter - oh! so white.

Then to a great big building his mates carried him away;

'He's booked for Heaven, poor old Dick!" I heard one of them say.

A station this must be - I thought to find the train I'd wait;

But finding none I ran on here - I hope I'm not too late."

         

 CHORUS

        "Give me a ticket to heaven,

         That's where Dad's gone, they say,

         He'll be so lonely without me,

         Travelling all that way.

         Mother died when I was born ,sir,

         And left Dad and me alone,

         So give me a ticket to heaven, please,

         Before the last train is gone."

The station-master said, "Come, little one I'll see you right.

A ticket to your father you shall have this very night."

He took her to the hospital; they let her see her Dad.

Though injured, he had not been killed, and oh! her heart was glad.

Then turning to that kind friend who had brought her all the way,

She said, "If I lose Dad again, I'll come to you and say -

         

 CHORUS

        "Give me a ticket to heaven,

         That's where Dad's gone, they say,

         He'll be so lonely without me,

         Travelling all that way.

         Mother died when I was born ,sir,

         And left Dad and me alone,

         So give me a ticket to heaven, please,

         Before the last train is gone."

                               Anon - from 'Parlour Poetry'(This England).

The Feast of Christ the King

The Feast of Christ the King

In his encyclical 'Quas Primas' of December 11, 1925, Pope Pius XI denounced the great modern heresy of laicism, which refuses to recognise the rights of God and His Christ over persons and peoples, and organizes the lives of individuals, families and of society itself, as though God did not exist. This laicism ruins society, because in place of the love of God and one's neighbour, it substitutes pride and egoism. It begets jealousy between individuals, hatred between classes, and rivalry between nations. The world denies Christ because it ignores His royal prerogatives. The Holy Father instituted the new 'Feast of Christ the King' to be a public, social and official declaration of the royal rights of Jesus, as God the Creator, as the Word Incarnate, and as Redeemer.  The Feast of Christ the King is traditionally the last Sunday in October,

                        CHRIST  THE  KING   by  Leonardo da Vinci

Hymn.

Ruler of all from heaven's high throne,

O Christ, our King ere time began

We kneel before Thee Lord, to own

Thy empire o'er the heart of man.

While bands of shameless men recall

The homage due to Christ their Lord,

We own Thee Sov'reign Lord of all,

The King by heaven and earth ador'd.

O Prince of Peace, O Christ, subdue

Those rebel hearts, Thy peace restore;

Into thy sheep-fold lead anew

Thy scattered sheep, to stray no more.

For this upon the tree of shame

Thy body hung, with arms spread wide,

The spear revealed the heart of flame

That burned within Thy sacred side.

For this our altars here are spread

With mystic feast of bread and wine;

Still Thy redeeming blood is shed

From that sore-stricken heart of Thine.

May heads of nations fear Thy name

And spread Thy honour through their lands,

Our nations' laws, our arts proclaim

The beauty of Thy just commands.

Let kings the crown and sceptre hold

As pledge of Thy supremacy;

And Thou all lands, all tribes enfold

In one fair realm of charity.

Jesus, to Thee be honour done,

Who rulest all in equity.

With Father, Spirit, ever one,

From age to age eternally.

Amen.

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Gradual. Psalm lxxi. 8 11

He shall rule from sea to sea, and from the river to the ends of the earth.

And all kings shall adore Him, all nations shall serve Him.

Alleluia, alleluia. His power shall be an everlasting power, which shall not be taken away; and His kingdom, a kingdom that shall not decay.  Alleluia.

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Second Vespers of the day.

He shall be called the peaceful One, and His throne shall be established for ever.

His kingdom is a kingdom of all ages, and all kings shall serve and obey Him.

Behold a Man, the Orient is His name; He shall sit and rule, and shall speak peace unto the nations

The Lord is our Judge, the Lord is our Law-giver; the Lord is our King, He will save us.