This Unwitting Cycle of Life (a poem)

Written 03/27/19

The beauty,

The brutality,

Of life

Are found in its

Symmetry.

Between

Cradle and grave

Lie the

Strength and dreams

Of men.

Nature,

That blind and ruthless

Executioner,

With each fell swoop of her blade

She reminds mortal men

That she is unwieldy,

Unyielding and absolute,

A dire certainty

Appointed at the Fall.

We are born,

We die,

We evolve,

We dwindle,

We learn,

We forget.

Our limbs,

Once strong and sinewy,

Our minds,

Once shrewd and piercing,

Become obsolete,

Our lungs,

Once heaving violently,

One day lie still.

The sun rises only to set,

The Spring blooms only to

Be buried beneath the frigid frostline,

Men arise only to fade into

The obscurity of the grave.

And as they slip from the memories

Of those who held them so dear,

Nothing but weathered headstones

Remain to commemorate their

Unwilling participation in this

Unwitting cycle of life.

Comments

The Real Presence & Paedocommunion: A Deeper Rift Between Reformed Churches

You're going back to Rome! Theological disagreements within the Reformed world, especially those of the last half century, often devolve into these sorts of accusations. As controversialists like Doug Wilson and Peter Leithart began to break away from the larger conservative Presbyterian and Reformed denominations, it became clear that the rift was deeper than semantics and systematic minutiae. Much like the Reformation four centuries before, the Table was a primary point of conflict. What does it mean? Who may partake? What do we call it? These questions, along with a few more, divided Reformed brethren as the physical elements of our religion reflected deeper conflicts. Good men began to understand that the problem wasn't just in our logos, but in our pathos and ethos, as well. Paedocommunion (hereafter PC) has been one of the hottest points of contention. PC has always been normal to me as I grew up with it. I underst...

Some Thoughts on the 2024 Election

So, we had an election earlier this week. Perhaps you heard about it. I have done my best to remain mostly silent on political issues this time around because I have found that fixating on such matters does little for my mental or spiritual health. Also, no one cares what I think. Nevertheless, here are a few thoughts on our recent election. 1) I didn't vote for Donald Trump, but I'd be lying if I said I'm not glad he won. To be clear, that says more about Kamala Harris than about Donald Trump. 2) This election seemed much cleaner--much less suspicious--than the sordid affair we had in 2020. This election didn't feature any poll workers tallying (discovering? conjuring?) votes behind closed doors in the wee hours of the night, messy mail-in voting, or voter turnout beyond plausible expectations. The 2020 election had me convinced that we would never see another peaceful, uncontested election, but, as contentious as things were this year, it seems like...

Haiku for Bethany

Such a pretty girl The fairest, the loveliest Lovelier each day Kind, caring, friendly Generous, sacrificial Gentle, powerful Her love and her touch Sparks igniting in my chest Souls entwined, yet freed Golden hair, brown eyes That bright smile that captured My gaze and my heart

Always Reforming

Search This Blog