Biblical Poetry

Before I was saved I used to write a lot of poetry. It was a means of expressing my disappointment with reality and at the same time, it was a way for me to express a belief in something far more profound that I wasn't really aware of in a concrete way. C.S. Lewis would call that my Joy, I suppose. Anyhow, after I became a Christian I stopped writing poetry--though my love for the art never went away.

Recently I have started to write poems, but I have attempted to craft poems that reflect the biblical narrative. For the most part they have been overwhelmingly sonnets, my favorite form, and an indirect homage to the great Doctor Donne.

Anyway, here are two that belong to the beginning, as it were. I haven't written one yet on Genesis 1-2: the goodness of pre-Fall creation seems to be much harder to articulate than the Fall and everything that has followed... I suspect there is a lesson about myself buried in there.

Please do not share these without my permission.

The Fall

The crafty snake, the shrewdest one

Of all the animals God had made

Did question Eve and it was done

She ate what God forbade.

One longing glance shared by Eve,

One quickly eaten bite;

One lie was told and did deceive

As Adam and Eve gained sight--

But not of God but rather shame

As sin ruined the gift. In doubt

they hid, Adam tried to blame

Eve, and God forced them out.

They took the bait, they fell for the lie

And now in Adam all men must die.

Expelled

To “become like God” was the first sin

Committed by Adam and by Eve.

The ground was cursed with all the of men

And God forced them to leave.

the Three watched the two depart

the Three but really One--

The Son said he will do his part

And sorrow filled the Three-in-One.

“In another garden, in another place

I’ll crush the serpent’s head.

I’ll be a gift of your grace

I’ll bring life to the dead.

I’ll be the Adam he should have been

I’ll be the hope for the race of men.”