Finding Solace in Poetry
Posted on Jun 23, 2014 by Trevor in Religion
Could it be that I, of all people, have acquired an appreciation for poetry? Maybe. Maybe a little. Not for impenetrable poetry perhaps, but for poetry that’s nothing but words artfully arranged and meaningful. Lately, I’ve encountered two poems that really help me feel better about life.
“Outwitted”
by Edwin Markham
He drew a circle that shut me out–
Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.
But love and I had the wit to win:
We drew a circle and took him in!
“A Skeptic’s Prayer”
by Margaret Munk
Is it true
Thou lovest best
Thy meek, unasking children?
Thou hast made us
So diverse, so various,
Yet in the image
Of a Sire
Who filled a universe
With his creative fire.
What father has supposed
His child would grow to manhood
Only hearing and affirming?
What sire could honor such a son?
How could a mind that,
Like a sponge,
Absorbs but never questions,
Doubts,
Or wonders why
Be offspring and apprentice
To a God?
It may be, Lord,
That thou canst never love me
With the calm relief
A father feels
For his obedient child—
The one who’s never any trouble.
But use me
As a bridge
To those more wayward still
Than I.
I cannot give them all the answers;
But they will not ask
The ones who think they can.
Let me speak
To thy lost sheep
As one who,
Understanding how they went astray,
Still loves the Shepherd.
