Friday, April 10, 2009

revolution

all of time

hangs in place

Dark skies spin

a holy fire

of nativity.


all of life

bows its head

A lamb turns

on the spit

of divinity.


all the earth

holds its breath

Grace ignites

a flame

of revolution.


25 comments:

  1. Beautiful and uplifting. Thank you Karen
    Linda

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  2. You worked it out! It's beautiful. I really like the lower-case lines in each stanza - gives great power to the ones that follow. Really well done, Karen.

    Kat

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  3. Astronomical tribute for Good Friday. Powerful and evocative poem. "A lamb turns on the spit of divinity" - so many layers in that line; gruesome, disheartening, yet full of hope and spiritual nourishment. Have a blessed weekend!

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  4. "The lamb slain from the foundation of the world."

    "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it produces much grain."

    That eternal plan greater than our dreams - far exceeding our comprehension - yet it includes us.

    Thanks for the beautiful words on this Good Friday.

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  5. This is very powerful!!! Happy Easter!!!

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  6. Love the second stanza. Beautiful imagery. Happy Easter lovely lady,

    Selchie.)

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  7. Linda - Thank you for your comments. I hope you have a wonderful Easter. :-)

    Kat - This was so difficult for me. I began with something very different, but it all boiled down to this. Happy Easter, Kat.

    Jana - Thank you for your comment (love the "astronomical"). What a burden this divinity must have been. The pain of Friday gives way to the glory of Easter Sunday. I hope yours is blessed, too.

    K - When I really think about it, "I scarce can take it in." Blessings to you and yours. XOXO

    Bros- Thank you for being a faithful reader and great encouragement to me. Happy Easter to you!

    Selchie - Blessings, my poetic friend. Thank you for your comments.

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  8. You know, this is really divine! I enjoyed this- Have a Blessed Easter-

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  9. A life unfolding in three profound acts. And with such potency and precision.

    I love that it's Grace that starts the revolution. The fire renewed, the circle completing itself. Very powerful profession of faith, humility, and love, Karen.

    I hope you and your family enjoy a very happy Easter.

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  10. Regina - Welcome, and thank you for your kind words. I've just looked quickly at your site, and it is beautiful! I'll be back to take a closer look when the weekend is over. Happy, blessed Easter to you, too.

    Sarah - Happy Easter! The life of this one man truly did revolutionize human history. Grace -- something totally undeserved, unearned, given freely, I think summarizes our condition. I hope you and your family enjoy this spring weekend. The storms of Good Friday have passed here in WV, and the sunshine is coming! (Enjoy those egg hunts I'm sure your children will be having!) :-)

    Marty - *Nodding my head, twice.* Blessings.

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  11. Karen, I see you in these words, a faithful and loving servant, staring in awe at what has been created, breath held, receiving and reflecting grace. Astonishingly beautiful.

    Happy Easter to you and your family!

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  12. This is stunning. You've captured something huge in so few words. The birth, the death, and the rebirth.

    Happy Easter!

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  13. Were you thinking of Catherine of Siena and the lamb 'roasted by the fire of divine charity on the spit of the most holy cross'? Great imagery.

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  14. Karen, you have done it again. This is FANTASTIC and powerful! And absolutely beautiful. I can't wait to show this poem to my friends and family this weekend.

    I love how you always take a subject and add an extra dimension to it. The word "revolution" is excellent, because that's what it was. A revolution. Everything about that great act of grace was revolutionary. But what I mean by adding an extra dimension is that poems of this subject don't usually describe it as a revolution. But it was!! You are so right on.

    Every time I come over here, I think I have a new favorite poem of yours. Then you do it again. Thank you for sharing it with us. Have a beautiful Easter!

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  15. J - Nice to see you're able to carve out some time during VDays. Thank you for the sweet words of praise. I am humbled by your comments.

    Aine - Thanks for stopping by. These events are so hard to wrap the mind around and even harder to articulate. Thank you for your kind words here.

    mairi - I am not familiar with that quotation, so this is a happy coincidence, unless I've read it or heard it and it is lurking somewhere in my brain. Being a wide reader leaves me with the fear that I'll unconsciously copy someone or something. I began with the idea of a lamb being sacrificed on the altar and my thoughts morphed into this.

    I suppose it doesn't matter as long as the imagery is appropriate.

    (Sorry for the long-winded response; I should have said a simple, "No, I don't believe so.")

    Julie - Wow! I can't believe YOU want to show something I've written to your family and friends! This is a high compliment indeed!

    Thank you for finding the "extra dimension" in my poetry. I am such a fledgling that I think much of what I do is experiment with words and forms. I hope I can find my true voice somewhere amidst the efforts.

    Have a wonderful Easter day! And thanks again.

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  16. Happy Easter, Karen. Have a great day.

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  17. Thanks, Bevie. I hope your Easter day has been blessed with love, both human and divine.

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  18. Great poem. I really got a lot from that. Hope you did from Easter.

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  19. Thanks, Dave. My Easter was wonderful - family, friends, faith. Thanks be.

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  20. Wow. You really are a gifted poet, Karen.

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  21. spinning, spinning, spinning - separate but the same - a perfect trinity.

    "all of time / hangs in place" and "a flame /of revolution" really struck me - utterly staggering, that a revolution of untold magnitude is also by design - i feel the chronology of the whole of creation and the footsteps of a humble heart - and i love the image you chose - what we say we know, in truth, we can barely comprehend. (at least that's where i am at the moment - reeling - in awe.)

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  22. Jason - I feel so humbled by your statement. Thank you so. In many ways, you are responsible for my beginning to write. The first thing I let anyone read was my Ascension entry. Since then, the encouragement of this online community of writers has kept me writing. Thank you for both your comment and encouragement.

    Joaquin - You got it -- the revolving, spinning from the beginning through the revolution that has not ended, all by design. You're right, this is too great for our comprehension (we see through a glass darkly), but I think we have the ability to perceive the light.

    I am grateful that you feel this one; thank you.

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  23. "Grace ignites a flame"

    How true

    A graceful man is an essential rebel in today’s world

    Where people are busy doing all they can
    To get a fake glow of shine around them
    - Rap them with a phony razzmatazz
    Truth does shine
    Sadly
    Most of us are blind
    Grace does ignites a flame of rebel
    Thought provoking indeed.

    Lovely poem, lovely blog!
    Keep writing

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  24. still thinking - I like the name of your blog, and I will get over there as soon as I can to visit. You are so right -- phony razzmatazz and fake sunshine -- great description of the things that attract us. Fortunately, the truth does exist and we can know it if we choose.

    Thanks for visiting and for your insightful comments.

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