Poetry – TREM Marks Gate

Get Up!

This is not a poem.
Life is tough.
Get up.
When the enemy knocks you off your feet, get some sand in your hands and throw it in his eyes.
Then get up.
If he’s holding you down on the ground somewhere, grab him by the leg and bite him with all your strength.
Then get up.
The enemy doesn’t fight fair; well, neither do you.
Kick him in the groin.
Then get up.
You?
You are never out of the fight, and the fight is never out of you.
Get up.

Negotiate.
No matter the situation; negotiate.
When the landlord says he will throw your property on the street.
Negotiate.
When he throws your property on the street.
Negotiate; with him or with someone else.
When your bills are overdue.
Negotiate and renegotiate.
You can always negotiate.
Never close your mouth in the face of adversity.
When you are going after that contract.
Negotiate, or fight.
You are never out of the fight.
You are never out of the negotiation.
Negotiate or fight.
Then get up.

Life is tough.
Refuse to give up.
When faith seems futile, refuse to give up.
When the word hasnt manifested yet; stubbornly refuse to give up.
When depression tries to become your room mate.
Refuse it.
When life is hard to live.
Refuse to die.
When adversity comes.
Refuse to be intimidated.
When you are refused.
Refuse to be refused.
Refuse, negotiate, or fight.
And then get up.

Get up!!

By Chakadizulu

Glorify His Name

birds sing…

to glorify your Name

the sun shines

to glorify your Name

the wind blows

to glorify your Name

the flower dances

to glorify your Name

the rain falls

to glorify your Name

the dark’s quietness

glorifies your Name

the sunlight brightens the earth

to glorify your Name

your children obey your words

to glorify your Name

I glorify your Name

forever

and

ever

Juliana Awala

The Birthday Gift

I dreamt I was invited to heaven for the birthday party of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I thought of all the kinds of gifts I could buy for my Lord.

The more shops I visited, the more confused I became.

I thought of buying him a pair of shoes, but what kind of shoes will I buy for him who uses the earth as his footstool?

I thought of buying him a three piece suit, but what kind of three piece suit will I buy for him whose robe train fills the temple?

I thought of baking him a nice cake; what kind of cake will I bake for him who fed the Israelites in the wilderness with manna from heaven?

I thought of buying him a bottle of nice wine, but tell me, what kind of wine will I buy for him who turned water into wine?

I thought of buying him a telephone; what kind of telephone will I buy for him who listens to everyone even at the same time?

I thought of buying him an aeroplane; what kind of aeroplane will I buy for the one who is omnipresent – he is everywhere at the same time?

I thought of building him a very big house, but what kind of house will I build for him that already said to us: ‘In my Father’s house there are many mansions, I will go there and prepare a place for you’?

I thought of giving him money, but how much will I give to him who said ‘silver and gold I have, in blessing I will bless you, I will give you everything?

I thought of organising a group of orchestras to sing for him, but what kind of group will be able to sing for him who already has the heavenly host of Angels that sing for him.

I finally thought and realized that the only gift I can give to my Lord, is my PRAISE.

Chidera Jonathan, 12 years old contributed this poem from TREM Clapton, United Kingdom.

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Men Called Him Prodigal…

What have men called you?

What they call you is insignificant

What matters is what God has called you

For He alone has the right to define you

Men called the son prodigal

Because he took his inheritance and squandered it

But God still called him a son

And a son he remained, was celebrated with the fatted calf

Men called him blind Bartimeaus

Yes blind he was, but blind was not his name

When he met Jesus the story changed

And he that was called blind, left seeing

What will I say of the woman caught in adultery

Defined by men by her sin

But grace reached out to her and redefined her

She left His presence empowered to sin no more

What about Hannah

A woman so loved yet barren

Even the Priest considered her a drunk

But received her petition and left a joyful mother

What about Elizabeth

She that was called barren encountered grace

And she became the mother

Of the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist

What about the tax collector – Zaccheaus

Who men had written off to hell

But encountered Jesus and not only hosted Him

Had salvation come into his house

Think about what men have called you

Realize and be convinced that no one can define you

But He who made you for a purpose

Discover His definition of you and walk in it

For therein lies the victory

Oluwayomi Uteh

Who am I?

Who am I is the question I ask myself
As I walk down the streets of the world.
The answer is unknown to me
As my personality changes day to day.

All appearances deceive, they tell me
Yet mine seems not to
Perhaps it’s because mine
changes with each person I meet.

You say I am trustworthy
So why do I not trust myself?
You claim that I know the path to life
So why do I feel as lost as Dorothy?

Who am I? Who am I?
The mirror questions me
And I cannot answer it because
I am nothing beyond the eye.

In bed,
I twist and turn
My sheets in a jumble
The monsters in my head rumble.

The nightmares possess me
The demons
Whisper all around me
Who is this person to be?

I lay in bed, scared
As my deepest fear threatens to become real
That it may be possible that all I am is nothing
That I am like water, changing shape with every object I am put in.

I helped others
To find their humanity
But mine is lost to the wind.
How is that possible?

Am I a mirror who shows people themselves?
Am I the people pleaser who becomes anything to please people?
Who am I? What am I?
These questions…

By Oyinkan

One Moment

One moment, we are a race who sees beauty in everything
The next, we have devolved into a race that sees beauty only in the vanity of appearance

One moment, we speak philosophically
The next, we mock our own wise words

One moment, we weep over the empty voids that are supposed to be filled with emotions
The next, we celebrate the emptiness of the void

One moment, we are so willing to fall in love
The next moment, we fear to leave the safety of the loveless heart

One moment, we cling to humanity
The next, we gleefully tramp on it

The moment we once again begin to see the perfection in imperfection
The moment compassion begins to flow again in our blood

The moment the mockery stops and the loving starts
That is the moment we regain our humanity and lose the insanity

By Oyinkan

Thankful for Grace…

Thankful for
Grace Always
Grace to Embrace
Grace to Praise
Grace to Raise
Grace to say “YES”
…All of my Days
Grace to take my Place
Grace for the next Phase
Grace to Chase
Grace for the Race
Grace to seek HIS Face
Grace to know HIS Ways
Grace to Erase
…And leave no Trace
Grace to fix my Gaze
Grace to Amaze
Grace to conquer the Maze
…For it’s in me to Blaze
Grace to set the Pace
Grace to be an ACE!

Poem by Yvonne Ebbi
(Published with permission)