POETRY

MY NAME IS RAHAB: I LIVE ON THE CITY WALL

My name is Rahab
I live on the city wall
I know everybody
And I’m well known.

My name is Rahab
I have an unusual profession
I didn’t really want to do it
But somehow I am in it.

My name is Rahab
I’ve messed up my life I know
I deserve a second chance you know
Will you offer me a chance for change?

My name is Rahab
I have learnt my lessons in life
I want a change of profession

Will you help me take off the label?

“I GO”

I go, I go away.
I go away from here,
I go away from here to a far off land.

A land where love conquers hate,
A land where compassion overcomes satire,
A land where goodness drives away rejection.

I go where people can see beyond,
See beyond my frailties and follies,
See beyond my limits and mistakes.

Where a brother will soil his hands,
Soil his hands to wash off the mud,
Wash off the mud on me
And see the treasure that is within.

"When the Music Fades”

When the sound of music
Fades slowly into the distance
When the lights dim and black out
And the voices of laughter cease
What will be left?
What will be left?

When the once brilliant face
Dims with wrinkle and age
When the once budding chest
Flattens itself down hill
What will be left?
What will be left?

When the horse and chariot
Cease to stop a your door step
When the one who professed once to love
Will no longer take pleasure in you
What will be left?
What will be left?

When the perfume and dress
That once pricked your heart with pleasure
When all those pleasures life once offered
No longer bring you that delight
What will be left?
What will be left?

Come to the Master, lover of your soul
Lay down the emptiness, heaviness and all
He knows exactly how you feel
And wants your empty soul to fill.

“I Thank You Lord”

I thank you Lord for being alive
I am thankful for lessons learnt
I am thankful for battles won
I am thankful for traps escaped
I thank you for the faith to go on
When I carefully consider it all
I see your invisible hand at work
That wrought many a miracle
To bring me this far.

I will not weep for battles lost
Or whine for wounds incurred
I will sing praises to my God
Because He did see me through.
Though weather-beaten and woe-stricken
I look to the future full of hope
For He who has promised
Faithful is He
To bring me home save to Him.

“When We First Met”
It was a dark day from the start
I walked down the winding street
Little knew I where I was headed
All I know, I needed a change.

It was a long and painful journey
Weary and worn and weak I was
Thirsting and hungering from my long, long search
For peace and joy and who knows what.

It was a great encounter
A man I once heard could help my lot
Though I thought him cruel and crooked
Like many a man I’ve met in my life.

They say He is a lowly Carpenter
But I find Him too gentle of touch to be
They say He came from little Nazareth
But I think Him too great there to belong

For all I know, He wiped my tears away
And washed me clean of all my slime
He made me think I ought to live
To make His mercies known to all

“Out of the Blue”
Fresh was the morning,
Great was the day,
Who could tell
What lay beyond the blue?

I knocked at the door,
I met with a smile,
Who could tell
What lay behind the veil?

I walked out the door,
Blind to all the world,
Who could tell me
What the future held?

Then I saw my Master’s Cross.
Then I heard Him say, ‘It is finished’.
And now I live to tell my story
Jesus heals and heals indeed.

NOT ME BUT YOU JESUS
It is not about me having name or fame,
It is not about me escaping shame or pain,
It is about you Jesus, who died to reign.

A LIVING TESTIMONY
I am a testimony
A testimony that God can save from the mud
A testimony that God can soil his hands to save a child
A testimony that the blood of Jesus can wash all filth.

I am a testimony
A testimony that a rejected stone can become the chief corner stone
A testimony that God sees not as man sees
A testimony that from the mud, we can bring out gold.

I am a testimony
A testimony that God confounds the wise
A testimony that soiled garments can regain their splendour
A testimony that you can dream big, even at the bottom of the pit

My past is buried
My future won’t tarry

I am who God says I am
I am what I am by the Grace of God

THE GENTLEMAN WHO DIDN’T CARE ABOUT MAKE-UP
A gentleman so fair and fun
Asked me out for a date and more
Just the kind of man I’ve longed for
Praying and hoping and wishing he came.

But then I began to think and consider
What will he say about this scar?
What about the bruises I still carry?
I look really awful and out of shape.

I searched around for some to help
Shopped and hoped he liked my look
I made-up, I cut down and wore some masked too
I entered his presence thinking ‘I did my best.’

My Lover looked at me in the face
Not with admiration but full compassion
Then He shed a tear that took me aback
He saw my confusion and then spoke out.

“My sweet, sweet little girl,
I know just what you’ve been up against
You need not hide the scars or bruises
They cannot destroy that beauty I put in you
I love you just as you are.
Never try to earn my love another day
I love you, I love you, I love you
My sweet, sweet little girl.