POETRY

 

Click here for a frames based viewer of the poems on Each New Day A Miracle

 

Over the past decades I have written many hundreds of poems, some are good, many are forgettable, some of those which I believe to be the best (either because they achieve what I hoped to achieve when I wrote them or because I hope that they will be of value to others) have been placed here for you.  I do not pretend to be a great poet, I am simply a man who has lived some years and has written of many of his experiences in the form of poetry.  When you read these lines you are in a very real sense reading a very personal journal.  Many of the words on these pages have sprung from the realization that I have no one upon whom I can rely other than God and are therefore uttered as cries to Him for help, as praise to Him for His wonder,  and as my reflections of and upon the universe He has made for me to enjoy. These poems are for me a form of worship, it is my prayer that in reading them you will be encouraged to worship God as well and praise Him for the life He has given you, regardless of its pain or joy.

 

1972 ~ 1975 ~ 1977 ~ 1978 ~ 1979 ~ 1980 ~ 1981 ~ 1982 ~ 1983 ~ 1984 ~ 1985 ~ 1986 ~ 1987 ~ 1988 ~ 1989 ~ 1990 ~ 1994 ~ 1995 ~ 1996 ~ 1997 ~ 1998 ~ 1999 ~ 2000 ~ 2001 ~ 2002 ~ 2003 ~ 2004 ~ 2005 ~ 2006
1972 I Took a Stroll   1975 Sun A Dream   1977 The Forgotten Is it All In Vain?   1978 Time Enough The Prayer of the Adult Child We Are MAN!?   1979 Dad Loneliness Is A Tree I Met My Neighbour by the Way Daybreak   1980 I Wander Through This Place   1981 One Death   1982 Time Goes On Questioner Master of the Storm O God You Let Me Live Autumn's Hand Once Again is Shown The Promise of Tomorrow Autumn Ride Antagonist The Artist Man on a Tight Rope I Sit Here   1983 Shelter Valley at Night Thunder Rumbles in the Distance Crosswords I Can Sing My Lord, You are Great   1984 How do I Say Thank You Riverview March Old Sol Dances in His Fields At Last! Alarm Ringing Up High Look! The Stars Caught in a Streamer Here I Am, Standing Friendship Ring Wars Raging To the Depths of Heaven I Ascended Ah, 'tis Autumn Once More Upon Reflection 401 and Shopping Malls A Year and a Week   1985 Walking Out in the First Morning Hosanna! Here I am Long and Lone I Wandered Peter Distant, the Thunder Sounds Lord, I'm Confused Today, Lord Late at Night Look Forward My Friend We are the Light Andy DeBruin The Morning Broke Through A Fall of Leaves Let Me Praise My Lord Honour Held I've Just Read a Note on Praise Screaming Through a World Standing by the Road and Tall Sing and Dance Late at Night I Knock I Must Sing Your Song At Last   1986 Craziness, You Say? His Life Entire Two Way Street Cast Yourselves Off From Me The Wages of Sin is Death On That Day! Late in the Evening You Say to Me Be Still How do I Return to Life Paraphernalia Freedom Homeward Faces Fade Before My Eyes One Weekend Words Fail Me In Memoriam ~ John Prinsen Genesis 22 v. 1 Diamonds Forever in the Sun Twisting Trail Silence Rainbows, Friends and Miracles Let Your Mouth Never Speak Upon Hearing You Sing David Beneath the Stars Shadows Flit Across the Floor Thoughts at Bedtime The Rain (part I) The Rain (part II) Reflection To a Blind Friend Staring at the Floor Relief at St. Joseph's Oratory   1987 Sitting Beside You It's Over Now Great God To a Friend To Cathy So What! The Skies Were Red The Sun Shone Bright Thank You Lord For a Time An Afternoon with Pete and Kelly I Know Not What Today is Dead We Enter Alone Evening Service, April 5, 1987 Rain Drops After Karltje '87 To a Friend at Erie Today Oh Lord!  You Have Clothed Me Quiet To Emily and to Life   1988 On Parting Genesis 4:7 How Can This Body Sing? I Saw the Tree Tonight Who Could be Compared to God? On Fighting Temptation Found August 20, 1988 A Poem for Darlene To Opa and Oma In Your Book it Says So What do I do Now? Our God Reigns On My Desk Beside Me Material Things Creator of the Rain that Thunders Down Lord, Who am I?   1989 My God!  The Grief You Felt Looking Back In Memoriam ~ A Self Portrait In Memoriam ~ A Self Portrait With God I Hate This World I Stood Aside Autumn Landed Hard Today My Awesome God (first draft) My Awesome God (final draft) Truly Jesus You Are Great! In the Beginning God You, the Beginning of God's Creation Too Much We Take for Granted   1990 To a Professor at Ontario Bible College Shelter Death! See that Man Standing There Again I Prepare to Leap	1994 I Came Face to Face with True Love God is Love!   1995 I Have Decided to Follow Jesus And God Spoke The Gallery   1996 I Feel Sometimes that I Could Fall off the Edge A Treatise on the Christian Life In a World Ever Closer to the Night An Ode to a Sunshine Girl I Saw Andromeda! Once Again I Prove My Mortality The Lost   1997 up!  Up!  UP! I Think Therefore I Am They Who Will Not See I Stand not at the Parting of the Ways One Said, Long Ago They Stride as Kings Mid-afternoon Walk To Those Who Fall I Have Loved You Yesterday D-Day The Unburdening The Stars O'erspread the Sky   1998 Sarah at the Grammies A Leap of a Different Kind Cast Upon the Care of God Facing the Cross Where Our Wonder Went We Sang "Amazing Grace" Last Night in Church Change of Mind Beyond the Walls Our Children's Blood On Occasion We Would Wish to Ask I Saw You on the Road That Day Wrapped Within a Shroud of Stars The Thunder Worshipping Earth Mocking Grace Living in the New Town Forsaken Upon Learning of the Death of an Israeli Soldier Remembrance Day 1998 How Insidious   1999 Almighty God This World Has Made Too Much On Angels We Confer How did You do it I am not of Buchan's Heroes Thirsting for Life in a Universe Devoid of Sign Leaving Earth Sunday, Evening Sermon Never a Cry The Lark Ascended   2000 The Pit Some Would see this World of Stuff Alone The Arrogance of Man Will be Brought Low Just Large Enough for Fire to Warm The Gift I Had Thought Darwin's Mind Conceived a Thought Floating Jairus Man His Greatest Attempt Writing on the Sand Helpless Before the Power of God Does the Reward Validate the Effort Lest We Forget The Name of the Lord in My Children's Songs OK, so it was a Busy Morning Today A Universe of Two   2001 Good God, What Creatures be These He Came as a Breath of Fresh Air Oh Lord!  You Have Given The Fool has Said in His Heart Dedication of the Land We Only Have the Now April 26th, 2001 The Highest Service Echoes of The Glory Blindsided God or Fraud It Happened Once A Poem on a Sunday Afternoon Not So Obscure a Place The Glory The Silence Dear Lord God These Fragile Bones September 11th, 2001 And They Shall Be One! The Longing of Home   2002 February 7th, 2002 Leahy If You Could See My Face Found in My Basement (#1) Found In My Basement (#3) Found in My Basement (#10) Wayward Explosion on Coming Home Bed-ridden, Pain-Wracked, Deserted by Hope Pride The Vanity of Man Our Shame That is not Love They Believe the Fabled Atlantis   2003 Glorious Light Shines Down Empty Parents Faith Suffers Not Embarrassment or Shame Nice Flag, Shame About the Country There is no Place, There is no Time Ignorance of Grace Do I Weigh Least at Noon We've Found the Universal Unity To: Mr. Svend Robinson Why? Empty (of the Color of Christmas) Has It Come To This?   2004 Just Say "NO!" Ah Today, One Could Dream of Summer They Would Have as Love What is Not Love To: Mr. Svend Robinson (again) Perhaps... If Us, Why Only Us? The Smallest Work of God Divorce There Is Too Much Grief The Dark And Yet Temptation Beslan How Dare We First Beagle 2 Insufficient Words Job ~ Closely Held by God Look at ME! Why Believe In Such a god? The Long Dark Night of Peter Rhebergen Darkness Descendant A Great Persecution   2005 Standing on this Little Ball Sometimes I Want To Give In Broken Body Nothing Here But Us Would We Weep There Seems to be Something Wrong A Father's Days Noble Words One Million People Weep Easy Opposable Thumbs His Light Has Come Upon Us   2006 Sometimes A Day Goes By Hypocrisy Might As Well Laugh God! Help Me! Like The Air We Die Together Trust You With My Life My Dog Lays Trap-Wise Big Deal! This Man Receiveth Sinners My Rubicon My Question Everyone Does Not Know Continuity Hezekiah's Prayer Elijah ~ Me boJ Thank You God! Why Only The 11th