I love the ending drawing in: I love the ending drawing in the reader by addressing them directly leaving them wonder and emphasise the unfinished work. Alot of gobledy goop with some real gems planted inside - insights. Powerful ones. Enjoyed the experience of this poem. I hate AI.
I am overwhelmed and humbled: I am overwhelmed and humbled by your comments' words. Your explication of the connection between me and Romanos reminds me also to cherish and cultivate the connection I have to my contemporary Poets, especially yourself.
Western Christianity has never attempted to explain why the Starwatchers traveled to Bethlehem. But that reason has been known in Orthodoxy since Romanos published his Nativity Poem, and now I have appropriated it.
Believe forgive me for the brevity of this comment. The therapy and long walk I had today has left me rather exhausted. I mean no disrespect.
There are always going to: There are always going to readers who either scorn, misunderstand, or condemn your poems. And keep in mind that even Jesus was accused of being in league with the devil during His ministry. I guess that slaphappy stupidity comes with the territory.
And that territory, please remember, is to help explain the Cosmos to itself. No single Poet can do the complete job; all of us who are called to that vocation have to do the part assigned to us. Remember how Adam, in Eden, was called to name the animals. That task being finished, we are called, as his sons and daughters, to name and explicate the Cosmos and its many parts: and it is everything from two lovers holding hands to two stars arising from the sa,e nebula and orbiting each other. That can be explicated scientifically, but it also quietly requires---even demands---Poetry to also describe this mechanism. This is the vocation to which you have been called, and until your final poem is written, you will have work to do.
There is a fascinating: There is a fascinating connection, centuries apart, but still viable, between you and Saint Romanos The Melodist, Great Poet and your brother in the Orthodox Faith. Both of you, gifted with the same melodious eloquence, were intrigued and stricken by the same prediction by an unlikely prophet and its awe-inspiring fulfillment.
In case you are questioning my assertion that you share the same stately, reverent style of Saint Romanos, I felt compelled to read the work you referenced in the notes. Usually when you write a tribute or a poem after another poet, I will do my homework so I can better appreciate your perspective and emotions.
As I read the gorgeous Orthodox homily, I noticed a similarity in intonation, devoutness and emotive power to the plethora of poems I've had the pleasure of reading here, on your page, these past years. I've been reading poetry for at least as long as you have, so I believe I have some credibility on this subject.
Now the last line: that conclusion is like the morning sun that followed the Star. It is a gale of angelic trumpets, a flourish of song, an opening to God. No, I'm not overstating because here is the path through the brambles that would snare us all around on our way to forever. Not by sight, however dazzling, but by faith, we must be led.
So much to unpack in this highly significant tribute and I treasured every moment of it.
Thank you for commenting. : Thank you for commenting. The Early Christians are very important to me; I think that is why I incline to Orthodox Christianity, because it feels more connected to them than the Western version.
Thank you for interpreting: Thank you for interpreting that poem far beyond what I thought I had written; I am more pleased with it after reading your kind comment.
Yes, hopefully we all are: Yes, hopefully we all are appreciative of what we have here. It is great to be able to post and read so much poetry. We're all different but we find a way to co-exist.
First, it is an extreme: First, it is an extreme pleasure to have you back. One doesn't realize just what a vital pillar of support and inspiration they have until it is gone, but the deepest sorrow was knowing that you must have been suffering greatly to have been away from your poetic community. I prayed often and I continue to pray with great urgency while you still struggle.
Welcome back! And thank you for finding my latest post.
Not only did you pinpoint the soul of of my work, but you affirmed the nucleus with two expertly insightful and striking analogies, one contemporary and one Biblical. Then, with pristine understanding, you zeroed in on my purpose, my mission, and declared it accomplished. I'm overwhelmed and humbled. How can I begin to thank you?
To my dismay, readers have often misunderstood my work, even connecting it somehow to something sacrilegious, but you don't read more into my poems than was intended, look for devils around every corner or skew my words according to a narrow belief system. You simplify, illuminate and appreciate.
Just what I needed. Like "the cosmos going about its business" my gratitude knows no bounds.