Jesus Christ and Little Children (poetry and prose)

JESUS BLESSES LITTLE CHILDREN

From the Bible: Matthew 18:13-15 (King James Version)

     Then were there brought unto him little children, that he should put his hands on them, and pray: and the disciples rebuked them.  But Jesus said,

     "Suffer little children,

     And forbid them not, to come unto me;

     For of such is the kingdom of heaven."

And he laid his hands on them, and departed thence.

JESUS LOVES THE LITTLE CHILDREN

Author Unknown

Jesus loves the little children,

All the children of the world.

Red and yellow, black and white,

They are precious in His sight --

Jesus loves the little children of the world.

Quotation from Charles Eliot Norton on reading a poem a day

READ A POEM A DAY

     Whatever your occupation may be and however crowded your hours with affairs, do not fail to secure at least a few minutes every day for refreshment of your inner life with a bit of poetry.

     CHARLES ELIOT NORTON (1827-1908)

     American author and educator

Charles Eliot Norton, 1903

"No Coward Soul Is Mine" by Emily Bronte : The Poetry Foundation

English writer Emily Bronte was born on this day in 1818. Read this poem of hers, the lines of which are, as Charlotte Bronte stated, "the last lines my sister Emily ever wrote": No Coward Soul Is Mine

Emily Bronte (1818-1848)

Celebrating 200 Years of Sharing God’s Word | Articles | News | American Bible Society

Read Celebrating 200 Years of Sharing God’s Word | Articles | News | American Bible Society: On May 11, 1816 local Bible Societies and civic leaders gathered in New York City with a united mission: to put aside political and denominational differences for the greater good of spreading the

Quotation from William Blake: How Is Nature Seen?

HOW IS NATURE SEEN?

     The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way.  Some see Nature all ridicule and deformity, and by these I shall not regulate my proportions; and some scarce see Nature at all.  But to the eyes of the man of imagination Nature is Imagination itself.  As a man is, so he sees.

     WILLIAM BLAKE (1757-1827)

     English artist, poet and mystic

William Blake in a portrait by Thomas Phillips (1807)

"Moving Mountains" by Jesus Christ : The King James Bible

According to Eric Hoffer, "Where there is the necessary technical skill to move mountains, there is no need for the faith that moves mountains." Jesus Christ would disagree with that aphorism. So do I. Here is a poem of Jesus Christ about the faith that moves mountains.


MOVING MOUNTAINS
A poem of Jesus Christ

(Mark 11:23-25, King James Version)

Whosoever shall say unto this mountain,
"Be thou removed,
And be thou cast into the sea";
And shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe
That those things which he saith shall come to pass;
He shall have whatsoever he saith.
Therefore I say unto you,
What things soever ye desire, when ye pray,
Believe that ye receive them,
And ye shall have them.
And when ye stand praying,
Forgive, if ye have aught against any;
That your Father also which is in heaven
May forgive you your trespasses.

Head of Christ by Warner Sallman, 1940

"The Box" by Kendrew Lascelles - Performed by John Denver

"The Wisdom from Above" : The King James Bible

THE WISDOM FROM ABOVE
From the Bible: James 3:13-18 (King James Version)

Who is a wise man and endued
With knowledge among you?
Let him show out of a good conversation
His works with meekness of wisdom.
But if ye have bitter envying
And strife in your hearts, glory not,
And lie not against the truth.
This wisdom descendeth not from above,
But is earthly, sensual, devilish.
For where envying and strife is,
There is confusion and every evil work.
But the wisdom that is from above
Is first pure, then peaceable,
Gentle, and easy to be entreated,
Full of mercy and good fruits,
Without partiality,
And without hypocrisy.
And the fruit of righteousness is sown
In peace of them that make peace.

"Two Evening Moons" by Federico Garcia Lorca : Poetry Magazine

Read the poem Two Evening Moons by Spanish poet and dramatist Federico Garcia Lorca (1898-1956).

(Photo by Michael Gilmer, 2016)

"Ray at 14" by Dorianne Laux : The Poetry Foundation

Read this poignant poem by Dorianne Laux about a family resemblance: Ray at 14

Dorianne Laux : The Poetry Foundation

"Grief and Sorrow: Two Quotations" from the Bible

GRIEF AND SORROW: TWO QUOTATIONS
from the Bible: Psalms 34:18 and 147:3 (King James Version)

The Lord is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart;
And saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.

He healeth the broken in heart,
And bindeth up their wounds.

Song: "Let It Be," sung by John Denver

Listen to John Denver singing Paul McCartney's song "Let It Be" (1970) on YouTube.

John Denver in 1973

"A Sun-Bath -- Nakedness" (a prose work) by Walt Whitman : Bartleby.com

Read this short prose work from Specimen Days by Walt Whitman (1819-1892): "A Sun-Bath -- Nakedness"

Nakedness in Nature

"Russian Birch" by Nathaniel Bellows : Poets.org

Read this poem about trees, a poem by Nathaniel Bellows: "Russian Birch"

Chrysanthemum: An Anthology

Poetry

"The Final Say: Opportunity and Work" by Monty Gilmer

THE FINAL SAY: OPPORTUNITY AND WORK

by Monty Gilmer

There is a tide in the affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune;
Omitted, all the voyage of their life
Is bound in shallows and in miseries.
     -- William Shakespeare (1564-1616)

Truly there is a tide in the affairs of men; but there is no gulf-stream setting forever in one direction.
     -- James Russell Lowell (1819-1891)

The Final Say

Quotations I have paired up for comparison

Poem on Friendship, from the Apocrypha

POEM ON FRIENDSHIP
From the Apocrypha: Ecclesiasticus 9:10,
Authorized (King James) Version

Forsake not an old friend;
For the new is not comparable to him:
A new friend is as new wine;
When it is old, thou shalt drink it with pleasure.

"Hiding" by Dorothy Keeley Aldis

Read a poem that is good for children, the poem "Hiding" by Dorothy Keeley Aldis.

And read a biography of Dorothy Aldis >>

"Hear and Do the Word" from the Bible

HEAR AND DO THE WORD
from the Bible: James 1:22-25 (King James Version)

But be ye doers of the word,
And not hearers only,
Deceiving your own selves.
For if any be a hearer of the word,
And not a doer,
He is like unto a man beholding
His natural face in a glass:
For he beholdeth himself,
And goeth his way,
And straightway forgetteth
What manner of man he was.
But whoso looketh
Into the perfect law of liberty,
And continueth therein,
He being not a forgetful hearer,
But a doer of the work,
This man shall be blessed in his deed.

Pray for Baton Rouge, Minneapolis and Dallas | Blog | News | American Bible Society

"Pray with Us" -- Pray for Baton Rouge, Minneapolis and Dallas | Blog | News | American Bible Society: At the end of a week that has included the deadly shootings of Alton Sterling in Baton Rouge, La., Philando Castile in Minneapolis, Minn., and five police officers in Dallas, Texas, we ask you to join us in praying through Scripture for God’s peace and healing in the wake of violence. As you [ . . . ]

Haiku on Borrowing by an Author Unknown

A Welsh proverb about borrowing says, "Have a horse of your own and you may borrow another's." Here is a haiku, "a Japanese haiku," the author and the translator of which are unknown, that is also about borrowing.


HAIKU ON BORROWING
by an Author Unknown

A practical bird,
having no tree of his own,
borrows another's.


Source: American actor Robert Urich (1946-2002), who in the role of Spenser quoted the "Japanese haiku" above in a 1988 episode of "Spenser: For Hire" on ABC Television

Robert Urich in 1973

"Leisure" by W. H. Davies (born on this day in 1871)

Read the poem "Leisure" by Welsh poet W. H. Davies (1871-1940).

William Henry Davies, Welsh poet and writer