A Poet & Didn’t Know It

I’m no poet. Whenever I have tried to write poetry in the past, it has come out sounding more like “Roses are red, violets are blue…” than Dickinson, Keats, Thoreau or Wordsworth. Yes, as a matter of fact, I did have to look up those names because I couldn’t remember any of them from my high school or college literature courses. The truth is, I probably couldn’t remember because poetry didn’t interest me back then. I couldn’t decipher all the allusions and allegory, all the hidden depths of meaning in what seemed like simple words to me. Why did the shining sun have to be personified to mean something more than it was a pretty day outside? Couldn’t we just be content that something rhymed? Okay, rant over. Moving on…

I found it strange yesterday when, during my time alone with the Lord, He spoke to my heart and mind in poetic form. That had never happened to me before. I have formed the habit of writing down what I sense Him saying each morning, but I paused that day, unsure what to do with what I thought He was saying. All I knew to do was what I do every day. So as He spoke, I penned. When He stopped, and I stopped, I was stunned. And as I looked back over the words on the page, I read a poem.

Now, as I’ve declared, I’m no expert when it comes to knowing good poetry from rank amateur. My literary palette is similar to my tastebuds… I don’t need great quality to feed my belly and enjoy it with family or friends. Yet I could tell this was not my work. (There were no roses or violets.) And stranger still, it spoke to me. It moved me. Beyond that, I grasped its meaning as it touched my soul.

Oddly enough, I never thought of God as a poet. I’ve always engaged Him in dialogue prose form. Not sure why it surprised me so. He is Creator. He created beauty. He created music. He created nature. He created us with creative minds… some of us creative enough to write poetry.

Still, there was more to this. I felt it went beyond me, my needs, my life situations. It seemed to be for others as well. And at His prompting, I determined I would share it. You may read it and not view it as great poetry. That’s okay. It’s probably not for you. (And don’t worry… I won’t tell God you didn’t think His poetry was awesome.) But for someone— or perhaps even more than one someone— this will breathe life into your soul. And that is why I share it today. So, whether you are poetic or not, sit back… relax… and listen to God speak these sing-song words over you in this moment…

Day is dawning
Night is fading, over.
Light is streaming, gleaming
Darkness no more, heaviness no more
Night is over, over.
Peace and joy and life abundant
Streaming, streaming
Bursting in, flowing over.
Swim and dive and float
In its beauty, in its grandeur
In abundant waves and ripples
Laughing, celebrating, swirling.
Embracing, enjoying
Mysterious, miraculous, momentous
Light, bright
New vision, new sight.
Night is gone, over
No more, no more
Light forevermore.

I suppose if you’re a poet or a poetry aficionado, you may not have been overwhelmed, but I sat back and just read it over and over. I have never penned anything even close, and so I know it wasn’t from my heart or mind. That means, then, that the creative God who loves me deeply and speaks to me daily chose to speak to me in a special way yesterday… in a way He never has before. That, my friend, is fresh, vibrant, and life-giving.

I hope this spoke to you. If it did, please be sure to let me know. I’d love to hear how it impacted you as you let it soak into your soul.