All That 'I Am' - Revisited
All That ‘I AM’ - Revisited
Let all that ‘I AM,’ yes, my pulp, seed, and cover,
from dreams long misplaced to the fears, I’m resisting
(though friends think them offal). My eye’s tears from mote
(that makes sparks when all stars hide), bound pain tied with sunbeams,
mind’s clouds that resist contemplation in rhyme
or free verse, be Yours too as Grace moves me in rapture
to share what I can from this heart (as it wonders)!
Is poetry present; does God scold or hover
when children brush colors outside lines? Does testing
enlighten? Do Shepherds love rods, are remote
lambs rewarded who sheepishly follow entrenched dreams?
The fallback is ‘ewe!’ Does all Love grow with time?
Aren’t all called to forgo milk and seek meat in Scripture?
A Shepard beats flock with His rod when it wanders?
Let pain’s brush light progress, let rhyme be companion,
let rhyme’s heart know Reason when ego spins free verse!
If lost, let Love find me. Let Mercy be mine
and my Mantra! Although I’m not worthy and fumble
some words that show promise, let rhythms emerge
to find beauty’s Your calling and music’s my purpose.
My faith says God’s real, true or false, death still answers.
Some poems for me are like peeling an onion,
can bring me to tears, tout a taste that says life’s worse
when truth’s not its author! Let Shepherd divine
path, lead me to green pastures when I take a tumble!
Let faith blunt time’s arrows when I’m on the verge
of not trusting You’re there, my oasis an opus
you help me to orchestrate; words serve as dancers!
Brian Johnston
6th of February in 2020
Poet's Notes:
John Watt, Thanks for your kind remarks below: If this form is not my creation, I can at least say I have never seen another poem like it (which may not be saying all that much!) Ha! A Stanford poetry class I took recently preached that rhyming poetry is obsolete and that free verse is all that is worth writing. I disagree with this assessment though I do praise the frequently more natural speech-like flow of free verse when it happens.
I find affectations of form and discipline in free verse to be at least as bad as a lot of rhyming and metered verse where its form detracts from a poem! But I value rhyme and meter precisely because it requires a more careful search for words which leads me to thoughts that amaze me at times. Caring about what is said and how it is said, sharing what surprises even me when it is revealed, elevates poetry! If I overwork a poem at times, I hope my poems are not just the vomit of a muse in love with its own belly button? Ha!
Many of my more recent poems experiment with rhyming at a distance, end of line rhymes that are in the middle of a sentence/thought, and thoughts that end in the middle of a line as a way to improve flow!
|