The Humble Hymn Book Poem by john coldwell

The Humble Hymn Book

Rating: 5.0


The Humble Hymn Book

I am the humble Hymn book,
You may have heard of me before.
You’d see me on the seat in front,
Or maybe on the floor.
But now I’m mostly not in Church,
No more beneath your feet.
Because, you see, the times have changed,
And now I’m obsolete

I can’t seem to project myself,
In colours on the wall,
That clash with background graphics,
And words that are too small.
I don’t know how to show a verse,
Out of order or upside down.
Or jump between the choruses,
Like some demented clown.

(Perhaps that’s what they want these days,
And clearly I’m not ‘with it’.
But it isn’t what they used to call,
The moving of the Spirit)

I have no bulb or fuse to blow,
Just at the worship’s height.
I’m not troubled by a power cut,
Except perhaps at night
I wish I had some software,
To confuse a hapless aide.
Or cables draped across the floor,
To trip up some old maid.

One time, any humble soul,
Could give out a book like me.
But now it needs a graduate,
To handle the technology.
My contents are an open book
An ever flowing stream
Not limited by the dictates
Of a pre programmed worship team

(When thieves break into Church you know,
No value they see in me,
As well as the collection
They take the laptop and PC.)

Do I have a future then?
My prospects may seem hopeless
Who cares this low tech book contains
A treasure trove of witness?
I’ll sit here in this cupboard dark
With the years of gathering dust
But I’ll be ready, at your call
When your novelties are bust

COMMENTS OF THE POEM
Rhoda Restrick 01 November 2009

Hi, John, We found your poems. We really love this one (it says it all so well) and look forward to reading the others.

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Patti Masterman 07 July 2009

Another classic. You really excel at this type of verse (one of my favorite kinds) .

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