Take Care
(can be sung to the tune Sally Gardens, Irish traditional, used in the Iona song Inspired by Love and Anger in Heaven Shall Not Wait (Iona Community 1987) pp.124,125, also Together in Song (HarperCollinsReligious no.674)
Pentecost 8; Luke 12:13-21
Take care! Be on your guard, friends,
against all forms of greed!
Why try to claim possessions
far more than what you need?
The rich store up abundance
to squander lavishly,
but when their life is over,
their souls will bankrupt be.
Relax, eat, drink, be merry –
sometimes, not life-time’s goal!
A life filled with indulgence
will empty out the soul.
Then when this life is over,
what treasure will be left?
If greed spends all the harvest,
what hope for those bereft?
When lifestyle makes us greedy,
we are not spirit rich.
So much of on-line buying
is just expensive kitsch.
Buy wisely for the Earth’s health
and give to those in need.
Such choices have more meaning
than any rote-said creed.
Barbara Messner 31/07/2025
Barb, poet priest 
Hi Barb,
I’d like to print Take Care in a TSSF publication. Is it ok with you?
Blessings ,
Jeannie
Jeannie Minnis tssf SA Regional Minister Ph. 0427 478 069
*”The Lord walks among the pots and pans” * Saint Teresa of Avila
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I’m happy for you to use it Jeannie, and thanks for suggesting it.
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This is a wonderful lyric, Barbara!
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Thanks Eric. I was going to cop out and post an old poem, but the muse thought otherwise!
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I wouldn’t call that a cop out. In his memoir, Stephen Sondheim said that lyric writing is very different from poetry. Poetry has a density to it that doesn’t work as well with music., he said. I keep thinking about that when I’m writing lyrics.
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Oh. I just spotted the word “old.” Yes. I’m glad the muse thought otherwise!
And I guess I’m getting old.
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Thank God for your muse. I love this, and Sally Gardens has always been one of my favorite tunes.
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It’s one of my favourite tunes too, and I love John Bell’s lyrics to it in Inspired by Love and Anger. The Iona songs and liturgies are a strong influence on my poems, with their vivid contemporary language, their challenging relevance and social justice themes, as in your work and Eric’s too.
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Yes, I recognize Iona in so much you do. I had the chance to be there for almost a week three years ago and it was so incredibly meaningful.
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