Poetry
I am reading a lot of poetry at the moment. I read this one today by Juan Ramon Jimenez, which I really like:
I am not I.I am this oneWalking beside me whom I do not see,Whom at times I manage to visit,And at other times I forget.The one who remains silent when I talk,The one who forgives, sweet, when I hate,The one who takes a walk when I am indoors,The one who will remain standing when I die.
What I like about it is this sense that there are two people - the physical me and the spiritual me. The spiritual me, my soul, usually has different (better) ideas than the physical me. Sometimes there is this real distance between the two - it would be great if we could engage more of the time!
Friday's Bible notes were talking about praising from the shadows, and the famous hymn by Spafford that goes:
When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,
And sorrows like sea billows roll;
Whatever my lot, Thou hast taught me to say,
It is well, it is well, with my soul.
I've always liked these words, though I reckon I probably know a different tune to them! I'd never known the story behind them though and I thought it relevant to the theme of my blogpage:
'Horacio Spafford wrote this hymn after two major traumas in his life. First the great Chicago fire of October 1871 ruined him financially. Shortly after, while crossing the Atlantic, all four of his daughters died in a collision with another ship. Spafford's wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram: 'Saved alone.' Several weeks later, as Spafford's own ship passed near the spot where his daughters died, he wrote these incredible words. He worshipped at the place of utter loss.'
posted by Susan @ 9:17 pm
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