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| A Bell bird ruffles its feathers on a cold winter morning |
As Part of the seasons of creation this sunday is animal Sunday, but wanting to give it a Kiwi twist I've decided to focus on Birds. New Zealand is a land of Birds and so it seem appropriate to give praise for them and join them in giving praise and thanks to God... It is partly a prayer I wrote a few years ago and I have to admit parts of it come across as a bit forced and laboured. It isn't really poetry but it is written in seven line stanzas with a refrain between.
As per usual please feel free to use any part or line you like or the whole thing or non of it.
On the dense bush clad hills
Across Rich pasture land, vineyard and orchard
In the Hedge rows and specimen trees of suburbia
And the single concrete encased trees of city centres
At even the faintest hint of light they raise their voices
Our land of birds sings its dawn chorus, praise to you O God
And we join our voices to theirs to thank you Lord
From our islands of birds, we give you praise O lord
We praise you for the wonder of our seabirds
The long alone glide of Albatross over stormy Southern Ocean
The graceful flight, sudden plunge and splash of Gannet
The long journey back to clifftop homes, for roost and rest
The demanding harsh squawk of gull, tern and skua
The purposeful low tide wade of spoonbill, oyster catcher and heron
And Dotterel dance on sandy shore
From our islands of birds, we give you praise O lord
For the bush dwellers, unique to this place we thank you
The rare night time screech of kiwi, and satisfied morepork
The lonely kakapo boom, and cheeky antic of kea and kaka
The day time tunes of bell bird and tui, saddle back and robin
For fan tail flit and the beating air of Kereru swoop
The seemingly effortless circle of watchful Falcon and Hawk
Pukeho and Weka strut, and welcome surprise of Takahe in tundra,
From our islands of birds, we give you praise O lord
For the birds that have come and made their home with us
Sparrow chirp, thrush and black bird in garden perch
The coo and the pooh of urban dwelling pigeon
The dazzle of red with rosellas in the park
Magpie in misty field, geese guarding and black swan gliding
Hen cluck and rooster call, duck waddle with pond and river grace
Pets of Parakeet, budgie and Cockatoo to talk to you
From our islands of birds, we give you praise O lord
We join them to praise you for the wonder of your creation
The night sky, galaxy and star, that point us to eternity
The beauty of land and sea, flora and fauna
We join them to acknowledge your provision
That every good gift comes from your hand
You make the crops to grow and the earth to bear fruit
Gave us gift and talent to make it grow and to earn our keep
From our islands of birds, we give you praise O lord
We join them to praise you for your grace
You sent your son Jesus to be our way, our light
His death, our forgiveness, and being raised ,our new life
God, who knows even when a sparrow falls to the ground
Fill us afresh with your spirit, we pray
That we may know you more and more, tell your truth
That we may Love people, care for creation, and live for your glory
From our islands of birds, we give you praise O lord
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