GoodFriday

Light and joy depart this world

In a roll of thunder

Rumbling down the corridors of time,

Drowning the din of worldly aspirations,

Demanding faith, and whispering hope

To the hearing ear

Preparing the heart and opening the eye

For the vision that will come

On Easter morn.

.

Mary-jo Donovan

Dropout

They try to hold him flat ‘till he is punched
But he will not be held
He twists and bends and folds and then he tears
So they drop him in the slot that says repairs

.
They try to stick him fast with fix-it tape
But he will not be stuck
He leaps about and proudly shows each flaw
And then they break their most respected law

.
They staple him to cardboard stiff and straight
But neither will he let himself be stapled
He rips away in one exultant leap
To freedom - on the happy discard heap

.

M. J. Donovan

Solo Performance

They said to him, “You will sing for us; and
we will fill you with good things; and honour
you in our midst.”

.
But he answered them, “I will sing for the delight
of children; or the gentle smiles of the old. I will
sing a hymn of praise; or just for the joy of singing;
but my right to life is from God and I will not sing
for my supper.

.
So they stood him in the public square; and
heaped him with ridicule, and mocked his talent;
and badgered him all the day, saying, “Now you
will sing for us; and we will forgive your insult;
and forget your rejection; and do all that we
promised.” But he answered again and again,
“I will not sing.”

.
So day and night in public they abused him:
For days and weeks and months; but he was
firm in his refusal, and he did not sing.
They dragged him away in chains to the
deepest, darkest prison; and year after year,
on a given day, they came to him with
offers and blandishments; but he only said,
“I will not sing.”

.
By every manner and means they tried him:
with thirst and hunger and sleepless nights;
with beatings and tortures and mutilations; but
they were confounded and did not prevail and
his song he denied them.

.
Their fury was unbound; their anger was
fearsome. They dragged his broken body
through the streets - so all could see. They
cut off his head and put it on a post -
for an example to the people; and they
shouted in impotent rage and hollow triumph,
“He will sing for us - or he will sing for no one.”

.
But he sang his song of joy before the
throne of God; and throughout the world,
all those who listened, heard it. And he
received his life in abundance; and
he was filled.

.
Majada (MJ Donovan)

CHOICES ?

.
A mandated process; compliance assured.
Not meant that I should see it then;
Nor did I hesitate to fall in line,
Sans thought or murmur.
Something was first; I was something else.
Eat what is left; sleep when permitted.
Days drifting by - slow motion tornado.
Laundry and bottles and spoons on the wind.
Books, pencils and mittens that crowded the sky.
Sandwiches, soup, fresh fruit and veggies;
Blurring of vision and mental fatigue.
Wind growing stronger, carrying forward,
Records, cassettes, computers and discs;
Negligent gusts obscuring potential;
Wishes, desires and hopes swirling by;
Hesitant hands reach blindly to stay them,
Wind rushing past me; a moment of truth !
Alarmed into action by imminent peril,
I leapt just in time to recover my Self.
.
And then, of course, there was mother.
.
Majad (M.J.Donovan)

Once Upon A Time

We turned our backs on the darkness.

We saw the light. We understood. We were wise.

We waved our flags and banners. From the windows of freedom.

Our ears were closed against the unbelievers,

And all our retoric was peace and love.

We unlocked our doors and went to rejoice in the sun.

We rallied with great energy.

We lifted up flowers in blameless joy.

We blinkered our innocence. Our eyes were not corrupted.

Our senses were intact. Our wisdom was sure.

We put on white stockings and pink ribbons and sang of peace.

We were the enlightened ones. Everyone knew us.

.

The day of rallies ended;

The lengthening shadows beckoned us home.

We sang one more song and danced along the way.

We were satisfied of spirit. We were glad of heart.

Until we beheld the horror which greeted our return.

Our senses reeled. We cried out in anguish.

Our beautiful house was ravaged. It's treasures were plundered.

Confusion reigned. Fear and dismay overcame us.

We scattered in search of shelter-and found none.

We looked for help-and discovered darkness-and new the truth.

We slept a troubled sleep and rose to a new wisdom.

The light and joy of our past was spent and gone.

The rocky road to our future was long and hard

.

Majada (M.J.Donovan)