God So Loved the World: A Poem of Jesus Christ

"The giver makes the gift precious." --Anonymous

GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD

A Poem of Jesus Christ

A found poem from the Bible: John 3:16-21

(Revised Standard Version)

God so loved the world that he gave his only Son,

that whoever believes in him should not perish

but have eternal life.

For God sent the Son into the world,

not to condemn the world,

but that the world might be saved through him.

He who believes in him is not condemned;

he who does not believe is condemned already,

because he has not believed in the name

of the only Son of God.

And this is the judgment,

that the light has come into the world,

and men loved darkness rather than light,

because their deeds were evil.

For every one who does evil hates the light,

and does not come to the light,

lest his deeds should be exposed.

But he who does what is true comes to the light,

that it may be clearly seen

that his deeds have been wrought in God.

Thoreau's Thanksgiving

Thoreau said his thanksgiving was perpetual.

On December 6, 1856, in a letter to his friend Harrison Blake, Henry David Thoreau wrote in part, "I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual. It is surprising how contented one can be with nothing definite. . . . My breath is sweet to me. O how I laugh when I think of my vague, indefinite riches. No run on my bank can drain it, for my wealth is not possession but enjoyment."

Happy Birthday, Petula Clark

On this day in 1932 British actress and singer Petula Clark was born in Ewell, Surrey, England. She is 90 years old.

In "Happiness (Le Bonheur)," a song on her 2017 album Living for Today, Petula Clark wrote:

Happiness

That sweet and fleeting feeling

We all need to know

Is waiting here inside us

All it takes is a smile or a song

Or the perfume of a long forgotten

Garden rose

It comes

It goes

Yes, this is happiness

Happiness is hearing Petula Clark singing. 

Brainteaser: A Riddle in Rhyme

WHAT IS IT?

from the 2023 edition of Farmers' Almanac (FarmersAlmanac.com)

Only one color, but not one size,

Stuck at the bottom, yet easily flies.

Present in sun, but not in rain,

Doing no harm and feeling no pain.

You can read the answer to this riddle here in a poem from A Child's Garden of Verses  (1885) by Robert Louis Stevenson.

A Child's Garden of Verses

Yardstick: A Triad of Puzzles

"It was all to be done in thirds." So begins Richard Brautigan's story "1/3, 1/3, 1/3."

A company that manufactures yardsticks has announced that it will not make them any longer. If you have a yardstick, you might want to use it to help you solve the triad of brainteasers below. Triad, by the way, a word meaning "a union or group of three usually closely related persons or things," can be formed from the letters of the word yardstick.

1. The sum of the digits of the number of inches in one third of a yard is 3. What three consecutive numbers add up to the number of inches in one third of a yard?
2. What three consecutive numbers add up to the number of inches in two thirds of a yard?
3. What three consecutive numbers add up to the number of inches in one yard?

The answers to these three brainteasers are below the following photo of a quotation from Joseph Brodsky:

Answers

1. The three consecutive numbers that add up to 12, the number of inches in one third of a yard, are 3, 4 and 5. Divide 12 by 3 and you get 4, the average between the three consecutive numbers. Subtract 1 from 4 for the number preceding it and add 1 to 4 for the number following it, and you have your three consecutive numbers.
2. The three consecutive numbers that add up to 24, the number of inches in two thirds of a yard, are 7, 8 and 9.
3. The three consecutive numbers that add up to 36, the number of inches in one yard (three feet), are 11, 12 and 13.

Why, God?

"In the middle of life's devastations," wrote Dr. Glenn Mollette recently, "we often look to God and ask why. If he is really so great, so good, and so loving then why would he send or allow eight or nine inches of rain to fall on the hollers of eastern Kentucky and sweep away little children? Did he go to sleep? Is he detached from what happens in the world? Is he really out there? Yet, as many grieve, they will fall upon God as he is all they have left to get them through. An old saint of God who suffered through the storms of life once said, 'I didn't realize God was all I needed until God was all I had.'"

"Our God is in sovereign control of all the events of this earth," wrote Charles R. Swindoll in 2002.

"Then how can I explain why bad things happen? How can I resolve the ringing question, 'Why, God?'

"I did not say our Father has explained Himself. . . . I said our Father has planned or permitted the events of this earth. He has no obligation to explain Himself. The Creator does not explain why to the created. It would be like a brilliant potter explaining himself to a mass of soft clay."

Then Job answered the LORD and said,

"I know that You can do all things,

And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted."

New American Standard Bible: Job 42:1 

Lightning . . .

. . . and Rain

"Earth seems to hold her breath before the expected fury," wrote Celia Thaxter. "Lightning scores the sky from zenith to horizon, and across from north to south 'a fierce, vindictive scribble of fire' writes its blinding way, and the awesome silence is broken by the cracking thunder that follows every flash."

According to The 2022 Old Farmer's Almanac Weather Calendar, "When the thunder is more continuous than the lightning, there will be great winds."

In the New King James Version of the Bible, Psalm 135:5-7 reads:

For I know that the LORD is great,

And our Lord is above all gods.

Whatever the LORD pleases He does,

In heaven and in earth,

In the seas and in all deep places.

He causes the vapors to ascend from the ends of the earth;

He makes lightning for the rain;

He brings the wind out of His treasuries.

Man Does Not Live by Bread Alone

As God has shown us by turning stones to bread,

So we all must lend a helping hand.

     --from the song "We Are the World" by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. And he fasted forty days and forty nights, and afterward he was hungry. And the tempter came and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread." But he answered, "It is written,

    'Man shall not live by bread alone,

     but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.'"

     --The Bible: Matthew 4:1-4 (Revised Standard Version)

Tremble, O earth, at the presence of the LORD,

    at the presence of the God of Jacob,

who turns the rock into a pool of water,

    the flint into a spring of water.

     --The Bible: Psalm 114:7-8 (Revised Standard Version)

Song of a Common Nightingale

"It is my experience that, when a nightingale starts singing," wrote William Henry Hudson, "the small birds near immediately become attentive, often suspending their own songs. And some fly to perch near him and listen."

To listen to an audio recording of the song of a common nightingale, click on the word nightingale in the quotation above. That audio recording is available below a photo of the bird in the Wikipedia article about the common nightingale.

 William Henry Hudson (1841-1922)

What Will Be Left

Poet Deron Eckert, who lives in Lexington, Kentucky, wrote his poem "What Will Be Left" in response to last week's "historic flooding in eastern Kentucky, an area that has already lost so much . . . " To read "What Will Be Left" and to listen to a recording of Deron Eckert reading his poem, click here.

 

A Crooked Man

An anonymous nursery rhyme reads:

There was a crooked man, and he went a crooked mile,

He found a crooked sixpence against a crooked stile;

He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse,

And they all lived together in a little crooked house.

In my own little crooked household I'm the chief crook and bottlewasher.

"Don't Let the Rain Come Down (Crooked Little Man)"

by The Serendipity Singers

Be Thou My Vision

"Be Thou My Vision" is an ancient Irish hymn that was translated by Mary E. Byrne in 1905 and versified by Eleanor H. Hull. The music is an Irish Folk melody. In the music video below Fernando Ortega sings the hymn.

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;

Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art --

Thou my best thought, by day or by night,

Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;

I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;

Thou my great Father. I Thy true son,

Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Riches I heed not, nor man's empty praise,

Thou mine inheritance, now and always;

Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,

High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,

May I reach heaven's joys, O bright heaven's Sun!

Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,

Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.

Chrysanthemum

A found poem of mine, a parody on two lines by William Shakespeare.

The author of the final eleven words in this found poem is unknown.

What's in a name? That

which we call

a chrysanthemum

by any other

name would be

easier to spell.

 

A Devil of a Puzzle

What device did Ambrose Bierce define as "An irritating toy that restores life to dead noises"? That device's name can be dialed on a telephone as 746-664-7274. What is that device's name?

To read the answer to this puzzle click here.

The Word

THE WORD

from Songs of Cheer (1910)

by John Kendrick Bangs

To-day, whatever may annoy,

The word for me is Joy, just simple Joy;

The joy of life;

The joy of children and of wife;

The joy of bright blue skies;

The joy of rain; the glad surprise

Of twinkling stars that shine at night;

The joy of winged things upon their flight;

The joy of noon-day, and the tried

True joyousness of eventide;

The joy of labor and of mirth;

The joy of air, and sea, and earth;

The countless joys that ever flow from Him

Whose vast beneficence doth dim

The lustrous light of day,

And lavish gifts divine upon our way.

Whate'er there be of Sorrow

I'll put off till To-morrow,

And when To-morrow comes, why then

'Twill be To-day and Joy again!

John Kendrick Bangs (1862-1922)

The Love of Life

From section 48 of "Song of Myself"

in the 1892 edition of Leaves of Grass

by Walt Whitman (1819-1892)

I hear and behold God in every object, yet understand God not in the least.

Nor do I understand who there can be more wonderful than myself.

Why should I wish to see God better than this day?

I see something of God each hour of the twenty-four, and each moment then,

In the faces of men and women I see God, and in my own face in the glass,

I find letters from God dropt in the street, and every one is sign'd by God's name,

And I leave them where they are, for I know that wheresoe'er I go

Others will punctually come for ever and ever.

Read "Walt Whitman's Love of Life" >>>

A Prayer for Help in Trouble

How long, O Lord, how long?

A Psalm of David

from the Bible: Psalm 13

(King James Version)

How long wilt thou forget me, O Lord? for ever?

How long wilt thou hide thy face from me?

How long shall I take counsel in my soul,

having sorrow in my heart daily?

How long shall mine enemy be exalted over me?

Consider and hear me, O Lord my God:

lighten mine eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death;

lest mine enemy say, "I have prevailed against him";

and those that trouble me rejoice when I am moved.

But I have trusted in thy mercy;

my heart shall rejoice in thy salvation.

I will sing unto the Lord,

because he hath dealt bountifully with me.

So said Rachel Mallalieu about her poem "I Tell My Son to Cover Himself in Someone Else's Blood," a poem she wrote in response to the news of the May 24, 2022, mass shooting at an elementary school in Uvalde, Texas. To read that poem, click here. 

Learning to Dance with the Limp

Quotations from the Bible and Anne Lamott . . .

"You will lose someone you can't live without, and your heart will be badly broken, and the bad news is that you never completely get over the loss of your beloved. But this is also the good news. They live forever in your broken heart that doesn't seal back up. And you come through. It's like having a broken leg that never heals perfectly -- that still hurts when the weather gets cold, but you learn to dance with the limp." So wrote Anne Lamott.

 

 

My Endorsement of Two Writers' Ideas on Writing

"The only sensible ends of literature are, first, the pleasurable toil of writing; second, the gratification of one's family and friends; and lastly, the solid cash." So wrote Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864). And not necessarily in that order. Here is a found poem of mine in which I endorse two ideas of writers Brendan Francis and Dorothy Parker on writing.

What an author likes

to write most

is his signature

on the back

of a check.

To him, the two most

beautiful

words in the English

language are:

"Check enclosed."

A Total Lunar Eclipse: The Sixth Seal

According to the 2022 edition of The Old Farmer's Almanac, "A total lunar eclipse appears on the night of the 15th-16th [of May 2022], with the entire eclipse visible from the eastern half of the U.S. and Canada and all of South America. West of the Mississippi, the Moon will rise already eclipsed, offering intriguing photography opportunities." During a total lunar eclipse the Moon will turn "completely red like blood" (see Revelation 6:12 below).

 THE SIXTH SEAL

from the Bible: Revelation 6:12-17

(Good News Translation)

And I saw the Lamb break open the sixth seal. There was a violent earthquake, and the sun became black like coarse black cloth, and the moon turned completely red like blood. The stars fell down to the earth, like unripe figs falling from the tree when a strong wind shakes it. The sky disappeared like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved from its place. Then the kings of the earth, the rulers and the military chiefs, the rich and the powerful, and all other people, slave and free, hid themselves in caves and under rocks on the mountains. They called out to the mountains and to the rocks, "Fall on us and hide us from the eyes of the one who sits on the throne and from the anger of the Lamb! The terrible day of their anger is here, and who can stand up against it!"

Revelation 6:12-17 (Good News Translation) copyright 1992 American Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

The Capable Wife: Selected Verses

The following verses (10-12, 20, 21 and 25-31) are from Proverbs 31 in the Second Edition (1992) of the Good News Bible, the Good News Translation of the Holy Bible:

How hard it is to find a capable wife! She is worth far more than jewels! Her husband puts his confidence in her, and he will never be poor. As long as she lives, she does him good and never harm.

She is generous to the poor and needy. She doesn't worry when it snows, because her family has warm clothing.

She is strong and respected and not afraid of the future. She speaks with a gentle wisdom. She is always busy and looks after her family's needs. Her children show their appreciation, and her husband praises her. He says, "Many women are good wives, but you are the best of them all." Charm is deceptive and beauty disappears, but a woman who honors the Lord should be praised. Give her credit for all she does. She deserves the respect of everyone.

Scriptures copyright 1992 American Bible Society. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

A Pair of Thoughts on War

In the second photo below is a haiku of mine ("The war in Ukraine . . . ") that I based on a quotation from a Sioux named Spotted Tail. That quotation from Spotted Tail is in the first photo below.

One Definition of a Phonograph

 From The Devil's Dictionary (1906) by Ambrose Bierce (1842-ca. 1914):

Sunflower

 Ah! Sun-flower

by William Blake

Ah Sun-flower! weary of time,

Who countest the steps of the Sun:

Seeking after that sweet golden clime

Where the travellers journey is done.

Where the Youth pined away with desire,

And the pale Virgin shrouded in snow:

Arise from their graves and aspire,

Where my Sun-flower wishes to go.

"Sunflower" by Mason Williams