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Sarah Sansbury
My name is Sarah Sansbury. I was born in 1967 in rural Warwickshire, England. I have always loved to write. In my teenage years, my aspiration was to get my rather bad poem about a rainbow into the school magazine. Thankfully it was not chosen! I read Modern and Medieval Languages at Jesus College, Cambridge. For 20 years now I have lived in Beauvais, northern France, with my (also English) husband and 4 children. I write exclusively in English which is my native language, although I have made one or two forays into French. My other passions in life are languages, translation work, Highland cows, the sea, and lounging in French cafés sipping green tea whenever I get the chance.
ANYWAY EMMANUEL
Look at the world today
So much beauty, but so much pain
And anyway
Despite the forecast, here comes the rain.
To-do lists growing larger,
Despair growing stronger,
Don't know if I can make it another day,
And anyway
What is the good of it all?
My past always comes to call.
The sun rises and sets the same
On a wasteland that forgets my name.
So my cries fall on deaf ears,
No-one sees my fears.
And anway
The whole thing's such a mess,
The shame, the hopelessness.
No way out- nevertheless:
A baby in a manger,
Born into grief and danger,
Rejected as a stranger;
But anyway
What kind of foolish rescue plan
Is that? Holy God becoming man?
Why would He want to save me,
After all the chances He gave me?
I just don't understand.
He should have walked away.
But anyway
Emmanuel
Bursts into the broken space.
Tears, streaming down my face,
How can I accept this grace?
And anyway
If He really knew me
He would see right through me...
But anyway
He's looking straight into my eyes,
No disgust and no surprise,
Steadily, with loving gaze.
And straight away
I glimpse the light of better days.
I take His hand,
My heart ablaze.
© Sarah Sansbury 2020
"Anyway Emmanuel" was written in late 2019 on commission for a contact in the States. It is an expression of hope over despair, portrayed in the improbable, wonderful incarnation of Jesus who came into the mess and still does.
A RISING
His life
From baby to teenager to careful craftsman,
God striding across familiar earth like a stepping stone.
Miracles spinning outwards, Catherine wheel of wonder:
Kind words, powerful words, confusing words,
Pathworking all the rainbow shades.
His death
Desolation, deepest consolation,
A grief-wrung poem of all our worst and best.
Once again it's Sunday morning
And all our tombs lie open ...
That night, on the cross
I fought for you, my dearest,
Now and forever.
© Sarah Sansbury 2020
"A Rising" is my first attempt at a Haibun, written as an exercise during an online poetry workshop in May 2020. Haibun are descriptive prose pieces evoking emotion and finishing with a haiku. It was a challenge! It"s my attempt to portray the kaleidoscope of the life, death and resurrection of Christ, and a personal response to the Cross.
EASTER GARDEN
In the cool of the morning, He's calling my name,
So why am I hiding here covered with shame?
Imprisoned by secrets, betrayals and lies,
While His risen beauty dazzles my eyes.
I don't understand why He's looking for me,
When I am so far from what I should be.
Such bitter streams of denial have flowed,
I'm stumbling blindly along the wrong road.
Doesn't He know I'm not up to the mark?
A sinner like me belongs in the dark,
Inhabiting shadows of quiet dispair...
And yet
And yet
He is standing right there,
Real and bright, a stranger well-known,
And I am so tired of struggling alone. in the cool of the morning, His call is so sweet,
I drop all of my burdens
And fall at his feet.
© Sarah Sansbury 2020
"Easter Garden" was written to be read out at my church on Easter Sunday 2017. The piece sprung from my imaginings of how Mary Magdalene, and Peter, and all of us, react to encountering Jesus in unexpected places, especially when we would rather hide from him.
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