With the arrogance of youth, I determined to do no less than to transform the world with Beauty. If I have succeeded in some small way, if only in one small corner of the world, amongst the men and women I love, then I shall count myself blessed, and blessed, and blessed, and the work goes on. -- William Morris

Thursday, September 14, 2006

The Spirit's Breath

It has been said that in Christ all aspects of our life, even the dark terrors we face daily, and the horror of death, find their proper place. Therefore, in a work of Christian aesthetics, even the darkness can and should be represented. Ours hopes as well as our fears find their life and fulfillment in the incarnation, from the joy of the nativity to the grotesque glory of the cross.

A poet and dear friend of mine, using the pen name of Shea Jacobs, is ever fascinated with the crucifix. This is often manifested in her poetry. It is not without surprise that we see her write with the mix of beauty and sorrow that one finds in the cross. Her love for humanity manifests itself especially in her fascination with the glorious works of art we have, as a race, created; yet, not unlike Jesus following the path to the cross, we see her write with great sorrow and despair. What has been made can be destroyed. Do we have what it takes to preserve our glorious heritage and the earth we live on? There is much to learn here, much to contemplate, and it is without further introduction I give to you her poem, this on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, Worship the Tin God: From Genesis to Revelation.



Worship the Tin God
From Genesis to Revelation

Brooding Spirit breathes
The darkness shone
Night as dark - Day as light
Crepuscular glowings
Aqueous ripples of Spirits breath,
Gihon, Pishon, Euphrates
Green planted, blue saturated
The brooding Spirit sang ! – a falsetto range
Permeating echoes
Ticking time awoken !
Genesis of man
Of all !
Teeming embryos, growing, changing
The waltz beganExploring, loving orgasmic rhythm
Seed planted
Womb fattens
Man from manEozoic finger of Buonarroti’s Adam
Pointing to his makerArising from dust to glory
Life is sweet.
Silently the slippery serpent slides
Tricking, tempting, taking, turning,
Envy, greed, jealously.
The spirit sighs.
Wait for the Lamb, He is coming!
“Love one another’
Is killed
RISES!!!
Sins of the father live on,
Killing plundering warring
Riches unshared
Land raped
Waters soiled
One invidious World Power
Scrapers burners pushers cutters
Warrers haters killers hurters
The mantle groans
The white flash – melting all to shadow
Buonarroti’s Adam, fallen – gone for all time
Oceans boiled, faeces rise to break the surface
No arc of Noah nor olive branch
No dove of peace nor saving grace
That inverse globe of deadened life
Inert, sent spiralling to the sun.
And the timekeeper stopped the clock
And the Spirit wept.

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posted by Henry Karlson @ 12:11 PM  

3 Comments:

  • At 9/14/2006 4:25 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    This work is amazing! It says more of what is happening in the world than any news commentary. It's time to act.

     

  • At 10/04/2006 6:37 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said…

    I tend to agree with the other comment in here that this poem is a great work of words but does the author really believe that this is how the final days will be for us? Are we really heading in this direction? In God's love will we expire like this? I think not and I place all my hope in the One who made all, to care for all and lead us all in the right ways even though right now it doesn't seem like that is happening.

     

  • At 10/07/2006 8:52 AM, Blogger Henry Karlson said…

    There is a moment where one can fear one thing, while hoping for another. This is why I pointed out how this poem relates to a theology of the cross: Jesus on his way to the cross knew he had to do it, but as a human he prayed for it not to be so, wept, and if you follow Balthasar, you can see why -- he had to go to the depths of hell, to the depths of despair.

     

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