Of a Spritual Nature:

[ShadowsCool]

~Consider The Lilies~
. . .
And upon a sun drenched field
I saw a great canopy of purple -
Precious flowers toiling in the wind,
And the great Lord spoke:

"Consider the lilies, how they grow:
They toil not, neither do they spin;
Yet I say unto you,
Even Solomon in all his glory
Was not arrayed like one of these".

And the Lord made all these by His hand,
That you may believe He is the Life.


A Certain Prophet

The sky lay clear that night,
Its stars hidden in
The brightness of heaven.

For darkness fell on man,
His eyes lay shut
For the prophecy that began.

And there was a certain prophet
Who held true to God
Though he was not always true
God showed great mercy on him
Therefore redeemed his soul.

And this certain prophet was given vision
A vision ahead
Of man on earth
Concerning the end.

And this frightened the prophet
But the Lord strengthened him
And through his pen
He began to write the prophecy.

And under a sweeping willow tree he began to see
A great beast
With horns like cones,
And two stars on his head
With the number 666 revealed on his breast,
And he was flying about the sky;
But the beast could not see the prophet
For he was held back by God.
And it was this prophet and the beast alone in a great field
And the beast kept flying,
Thus the prophet was told to see
The number on the beast hovering over thee
And it showed 99,
It was 666 upside down,
And the middle number was wiped out,
(33 years times 3)
And then the beast disappeared,
For God's angel came down
And said,
Do not be fooled
If the Messiah were to come again
He would be crucified all over.
For that of man is wicked,
And even in the churches,
They seem to pray to Him,
But their heart is far from Him.
And lest you be fooled
That the last great power
Will inhabit the earth
And then the end.

And the prophet was amazed
Asking how long the remaining days
And the angel said you have been given thee
And flew off in the clouds.
Thus the prophet spoke into the clouds,
"Oh God, heavenly God, I pray for those that they may repent,
For the days are short."
Amen.

[MorpheusSandman]

Being the atheist heathen that I am, I can't really appreciate the content of these pieces, but the aesthete and critic in me isn't much thrilled either. There are hugely religious poets like Milton, Donne, Herbert, Eliot, and Hopkins that translate their faith into poetic drama and experience. I love their poetry because I never feel as if I'm being preached and proselytized too, but rather that I'm getting to experience another human's experience of religion and what they call "God". I don't feel that in these pieces. I feel like it's more a thinly veiled prose sermon than a poetic rendering of a spiritual experience. The first piece, eg, moves so quickly from the description of the lilies to an argument that God must have created them for us. Likewise, the second piece lacks the visionary imagery of, say, a William Blake or John Milton to make such a prophesy striking to the imagination. It just feels like it's turning Revelation into chopped prose.

Sorry I couldn't be more positive, but I don't like feeling I'm being preached to when I'm reading poetry.

[ShadowsCool]

Being the atheist heathen that I am, I can't really appreciate the content of these pieces, but the aesthete and critic in me isn't much thrilled either. There are hugely religious poets like Milton, Donne, Herbert, Eliot, and Hopkins that translate their faith into poetic drama and experience. I love their poetry because I never feel as if I'm being preached and proselytized too, but rather that I'm getting to experience another human's experience of religion and what they call "God". I don't feel that in these pieces. I feel like it's more a thinly veiled prose sermon than a poetic rendering of a spiritual experience. The first piece, eg, moves so quickly from the description of the lilies to an argument that God must have created them for us. Likewise, the second piece lacks the visionary imagery of, say, a William Blake or John Milton to make such a prophesy striking to the imagination. It just feels like it's turning Revelation into chopped prose.

Sorry I couldn't be more positive, but I don't like feeling I'm being preached to when I'm reading poetry.

That's okay. They are a bit preachy and I figured I'd just put em up. They aren't really poetic at all. Just a bit preachy and self indulgent. But we all make our poo pahs. Is that a phrase? Anyhow, the masters knew what they were doing and that's why Blake and Milton did what they did. Thanks for your honest opinion. Writing about such subjects and skating the thin line is tough indeed.

Shadows

[MorpheusSandman]

Instead of worrying about the poetic/intellectual titans that are Blake and Milton, read George Herbert. In my mind, he's the greatest devotional poet of all time, and some of his poems are incredibly moving, even to someone like me who doesn't share his belief. I always tear up reading Prayer I, The Collar, and Affliction I.

[michaelsbearre]

~Consider The Lilies~
. . .
And upon a sun drenched field
I saw a great canopy of purple -
Precious flowers toiling in the wind,
And the great Lord spoke:

"Consider the lilies, how they grow:
They toil not, neither do they spin;
Yet I say unto you,
Even Solomon in all his glory
Was not arrayed like one of these".

And the Lord made all these by His hand,
That you may believe He is the Life.


A Certain Prophet

The sky lay clear that night,
Its stars hidden in
The brightness of heaven.

For darkness fell on man,
His eyes lay shut
For the prophecy that began.

And there was a certain prophet
Who held true to God
Though he was not always true
God showed great mercy on him
Therefore redeemed his soul.

And this certain prophet was given vision
A vision ahead
Of man on earth
Concerning the end.

And this frightened the prophet
But the Lord strengthened him
And through his pen
He began to write the prophecy.

And under a sweeping willow tree he began to see
A great beast
With horns like cones,
And two stars on his head
With the number 666 revealed on his breast,
And he was flying about the sky;
But the beast could not see the prophet
For he was held back by God.
And it was this prophet and the beast alone in a great field
And the beast kept flying,
Thus the prophet was told to see
The number on the beast hovering over thee
And it showed 99,
It was 666 upside down,
And the middle number was wiped out,
(33 years times 3)
And then the beast disappeared,
For God's angel came down
And said,
Do not be fooled
If the Messiah were to come again
He would be crucified all over.
For that of man is wicked,
And even in the churches,
They seem to pray to Him,
But their heart is far from Him.
And lest you be fooled
That the last great power
Will inhabit the earth
And then the end.

And the prophet was amazed
Asking how long the remaining days
And the angel said you have been given thee
And flew off in the clouds.
Thus the prophet spoke into the clouds,
"Oh God, heavenly God, I pray for those that they may repent,
For the days are short."
Amen.

This was actually a good read and enjoyed your take on a religious poem. At times, the flow as a bit inconsistent, but your lines made me think of how religion really is.

The very end "Do not be fooled
If the Messiah were to come again
He would be crucified all over.
For that of man is wicked,
And even in the churches,
They seem to pray to Him,
But their heart is far from Him.
And lest you be fooled
That the last great power
Will inhabit the earth
And then the end." really got me thinking because that's what's really going on today with religion.

[ShadowsCool]

Thanks Michael. Yeah it is a bit clumsy but I'm happy you got the meaning I was trying convey. I think I bit off my than I could chew on these. Writing spiritual poems that don't come across preaching is a challenge.