Your weekly slice of Poetry

Welcome back to another edition of Poetry Pie. This selection includes two poems that I have just recently discovered, along with another that I've reread multiple times through the years. I hope the break wasn't too long for you, and that your hunger for poetry hasn't abated. Enjoy!

Holy Sonnet 2

John Donne (1572-1631)

This sonnet captures the dilemma that Christians find themselves in: we are torn between two worlds that demand our life. God owns us doubly (by making us and saving us) and calls us to holiness, yet Satan still infects us with temptations that draw us away from God. We are stretched between Heaven and Earth, and feel as if we will tear apart under the strain. Donne makes a candid appeal to God to make his victory sure, to "rise and for thine own work fight." This is a prayer that we should make each day, a prayer that God has promised to fulfill (1 Cor. 10:13).

Libra

Patricia Rogers Crozier

I can't think of a "Love potion" without thinking of Granny in "The Beverly Hillbillies," concocting some formula to win Elly Mae a husband. This poem centers around the subject of a one-sided lover, armed with such a love spell, grappling with the idea of forcing the object of their love into returning their devotion. Written in an imaginative and vivid style, this poem won the first place prize in the International Poetry Competition, hosted by the Society of Classical Poets.

The Bridge of Sighs

Thomas Hood (1799-1845)

This somber poem describes a young woman who cast herself into a river. It elevates the beauty and dignity of a human life (especially that of a woman), expressing the dismay that we all feel at a life carelessly lost. It has a very unique musical presence, being written in the rarer dactylic foot (long-short-short: TENderly), with only two feet per line (dimeter). This foot can be difficult to rhyme with, since the lines end on two unstressed syllables (i.e. from stanza 1: "Unfortunate" - "importunate"). The author successfully completes this, giving the poem a rather sad, lamenting, and rhythmic progression.

The Lion Lamb

Abram Newcomer

While the "Lion and Lamb" imagery in the Christian world is fairly common, I loved the idea of connecting this with David, specifically when he is questioned by Saul concerning Goliath. Like Samson, David fought lions and bears to defend his sheep. Christ similarly protects us by being King, his enemies being placed under his feet. What is even more interesting is that Christ defends us from our danger by also being the lamb. His weakness and death is how we can have victory.

I hope you enjoyed these poems, and that they encourage you to crack open your own poetry books in search of similar treasures. Have a good week!