Poetry
Unpublished
Rising
he lay in the earth
speaking to the soil
holding the root, soft
like a lover’s hand
mycelium wove
his shroud, it bandaged
his side, his back, eyes
that had seen too much
skin that remembered
scourge and spit and shame
and always the night
when friends turned false, fled
left the field to death
to frightened children
with hammers and nails
who knew not what they—
he tends to the shades
teaches them who had
lost their voice to sing
takes them up to where
blackthorn breathes, puts out
flowers before leaves
as if impatient
for the coming spring
From Come, Holy Gift (Canterbury, 2022)
Beltane Spirit
Fire
Fire in the heart
of the dark earth
Fire in the distant winter stars
Fire in the soul wide open
to the falling flame of spirit
on the brushwood
of the heart’s
fire
Come, Holy Gift
What kind of gift is this?
Who can hold the wild wind,
running through the fingers,
shivering the water’s skin?
She is the womb of the dawn,
the arc of the arrow’s flight.
She is perfect stillness, ever moving,
the wing that holds the sky.
She is there when the Word takes flesh
when he rises from the water.
She is the one who remembers,
the revealer of things to come.
She is the unspoken prayer
when words fumble and fail.
She is fire and fierce defender,
song of the one in the many.
What kind of gift is this:
leading us to the desert,
falling like flame on the altar
caught in the sails of prayer?
Come Holy Gift
A new collection of prayer poems for the Christian year.
'I welcome this rich contribution to the growing revival of poetry for the Christian Calendar. Steven Shakespeare’s deft and mellifluous poetry is in touch not only with the riches of Christian scripture and liturgy but also with the earlier creation spirituality of these islands…. This will be an excellent resource for any church whose liturgy follows the pattern of the Christian year.' Malcolm Guite, poet, writer and songwriter
‘Poetic imagination’ is at the heart of classic Anglicanism. That classic, catholic stream is in need of renewal and refreshment. Steven Shakespeare’s work proves that we drink always at 'fresh springs'. Poetry and prayer are close relations. The poems in this collection demonstrate a sure hand in navigating the territory of the soul. Like the biblical psalms they have a rich complexity that will benefit from long reflection. The place of Mary as mother of Jesus and first believer will be attractive to many in reading these poems. They demonstrate that healthy piety, spirit of devotion and fundamental inclusiveness which has sustained catholic Anglicans for generations. Steven joins the great priest-poets of the Anglican tradition. This book is essential reading. Richard Peers, founding Superior of the Sodality of Mary and Sub Dean of Christ Church, Oxford
Steven Shakespeare captures how poetry trembles on the threshold between presence and absence, opening the door to a prayerful participation in mystery. This is a profound and wonderful book, offering rich resources to accompany the year’s worship and to deepen meditation, especially on the mysteries of the Rosary. It is for anyone who seeks to grow in the holy gift of grace. I heartily commend it. Frances Ward, writer, former Dean of St Edmundsbury
The prayer poems of Come Holy Gift call us to get ‘out of our heads and … into the flesh of our praying’, putting our roots down deep into the rhythms of the liturgical year, the mysteries of incarnation and passion, and the Spirit-stirred undercurrents of creation itself. These are words that teach us to breathe. Al Barrett, co-author of Being Interrupted: Re-imagining the Church’s Mission from the Outside, In