Words of wisdom, spoken by the Son
Who surrendered himself to man...
Faithful allegiance to the face on the coin,
The owner of material things-
Surely some respect it deserves,
Even as it is eternally subject
To mankind's spiteful and selfish rebellion
Yet there is no spite
In my hate of the copper's countenance,
For the Word is not trimmed down by a letter.
The whole prevails as surely as any part.
The jingling alloys that grasp at life
Would be better melted down into iron for armor
And steel for blades
To stand against the face
When it presumes to own ALL,
And rule over souls as well.
Reviews
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For me, Adam, this is a thoughtful and probing meditation on that passage in Matthew: that delicate balance between earthly and spiritual demands on us - as the poem says, "The whole prevails as surely as any part." And one part always wants to control the other part; the secular power forever wants to control the inner lives of its people. I hear Jefferson in that thought - when he said, in a letter to Madison, that every so often it is the duty of people to rebel against overriding governmental authority.
Power does tend to corrupt, and absolute power tends to corrupt absolutely. So, I think the poem is a prophetic warning for us to be always vigilant as free citizens, always prepared to turn those coins, metaphorically, into weapons to "stand against the face / When it presumes to own ALL..." Strong stuff here, and completely reasonable. I couldn't agree more. Good poem.
Lad
Just a thought: I wonder if the 5th line might be more stylistically in keeping with the rest of this contemporary-sounding poem. Perhaps "Surely it deserves some respect" might be less stilted. Up to you.. Rewarded 8
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Very deep, thought provoking
I love this. I must admit I am a big fan of those ancient times of men like Caesar, I have years of Catholic education so the Bible is familir ground for me, and I enjoy thinking about government. You had me in a corner from line 1! =) Aside from my bias in being drawn to this poem, however, I think it is really well written. To blend these ideas together into one piece and make it seem so entirely natural takes real creativity and quite a bit of talent. I am genuinely impressed and glad I got the chance to read this mentally provocative poem. Thanks!
. Rewarded 8
Lad
February 23, 2008
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