Poems of the Bridge
by
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ALL HUMAN THINGS
I have seen the world's proud structures
Tumble and slowly disappear.
And even should they outlive the centuries—
Those lofty castles and cathedrals,
Those mighty fortresses of stone and steel—
Yet the mighty and humble peoples,
Who pass through, change faces regularly.
More I grieve as tender structures fall:
The weeping woman who recently
Strode in glory a smiling bride,
The exhilarated proud young groom
Who utters oaths of desperation.
I see the tears of sobbing children,
Sparkling dew from the reaching branches.
In the spreading darkness of our age
The soul cries out oh what a waste!
Why must all human things be broken
Till populations cry out in grief?
Why must evil sort our deepest passions
And winds of time sever sweetest bonds?
To my tortures God's wisdom speaks:
All things human must be broken
And sifted to enter God's Kingdom;
But true loves by Him are restored.
"Thou shalt preserve me from trouble" Psalm 32:7
THE MINER'S LAMP
We children of belief
Are in a shaft of darkness
Without a light in it.
We need a miner's lamp
To guide us back again
To our lost innocence.
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About the Book
POEMS OF THE BRIDGE presents incidents and insights from experiences that the author found enlightening during a lifetime of service as a pastor and family man. The use of poetry allows presentation in brief form and helps reveal the amazing acts of God in everyday life. A simple factual statement would only invite attempts to explain away the unexplainable. And so they are presented as faith experiences that simply arise among believers inspired by the promises of Christ and the Scriptures.
The poems also question who this amazing martyr is who enters our confusing and modern world to bring compassion, understanding, and restore the bridge between divided couples, family members, and warring factions—even those we shall join again in a world beyond death.
So much of what is precious has been neglected in search of money, belongings, and real estate. Shall we forget forever family solidarity, love, faith, those matters most rewarding and our constant source of joy? Or shall we turn from shopping, shallow entertainment, material obsession to rediscover our true identity? Shall we take time to consider those treasures offered to us forever? The strain of the world has a way of unveiling false assumptions and presenting the need for that final bridge. Our quest for a stable world falters daily.
In an effort to achieve everything by human efforts, our age has given its respect to the clever, powerful, and worldly and put aside the lovely miracles of the God of compassion and eternal blessings. God still rewards those who continue in Christ’s faith and service.
Yet in a broader spectrum POEMS OF THE BRIDGE rejects the prevailing philosophic viewpoint of positivism advocating that neither God nor the spiritual has any effect upon the course of history, the plight of the human race, or individual persons.
About the Author
Though a Christian pastor throughout his adult life, the author of these poems does not intend to preach or seek conversion. Such is for the evangelist in his or her honored calling. The author simply celebrates the wonders of God and the spiritual presence in everyday life. Although the spiritual disappears from human experience in our modern materialistic society, the poems record that Christ is present, working His astounding miracles among His faithful servants.
The wonders of Christ fill lives with miracles and surprises. The author’s poems encourage readers to seek Christ’s aid in the most unlikely of situations, and to realize that those martyrs who in past history unselfishly gave everything to Christ still affect our lives.
The author has spent many years in study earning three seminary degrees. God’s wonders do not visit us because of our qualifications, but because of our confessed inadequacies and shared faith that God is our only help. These mysteries and wonders of God persuade us that a society that honors the faith of believers is blessed by their presence. Living with faith in Christ brings Heaven to one’s everyday experience and reveals to believers their God given identity and destiny.
The author testifies that the presence of Christ in human life confers daily blessings and lifts believers from the most tragic and sordid of circumstances. The call to praise God is not a ritual but a genuine expression of spiritual experience.