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Tag: faith

  • Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief”

    Image: Gerard Manley Hopkins – Inspirational Jesuits

    Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief”

    The third in the group of sonnets widely known as “the terrible sonnets,” this one,“No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,” presents a speaker experiencing grief so intense that it feels beyond limit or measure.

    In the octave, suffering overwhelms his body and spirit and leads to urgent appeals for divine comfort. In the sestet, the speaker turns inward, describing his mind as dangerous terrain. The sonnet ends with a grim acknowledgment of mortality and the daily release offered by sleep.

    Introduction and Text of “No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief”

    Father Hopkins’ “No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief” is a sonnet that records extreme mental and spiritual suffering. Written in the traditional Petrarchan form, it moves from an octave of mounting anguish to a sestet of reflection and hard-earned recognition. 

    The speaker struggles to express grief that feels limitless and that is unrelieved by faith or prayer. Dense sound patterns and abrupt phrasing mirror the pressure of despair. Rather than offering comfort, the poem confronts pain directly, showing how the mind and soul endure when consolation seems absent.

    No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief

    No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,
    More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring.
    Comforter, where, where is your comforting?
    Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?
    My cries heave, herds-long; huddle in a main, a chief-
    Woe, wórld-sorrow; on an áge-old ánvil wínce and síng —
    Then lull, then leave off. Fury had shrieked “No ling-
    Ering! Let me be fell: force I must be brief.”
    O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall
    Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap
    May who ne’er hung there. Nor does long our small
    Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep,
    Wretch, under a comfort serves in a whirlwind: all
    Life death does end and each day dies with sleep.

    Reading

    Commentary on “No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief”

    The sonnet moves from outward cries of anguish to inward examination of mind. The octave presents grief as limitless, cumulative, and shared with the world at large. In the sestet, suffering becomes psychological, depicted as dangerous inner terrain. The poem ends without relief, settling instead on a sober recognition of death and the temporary rest found in sleep.

    Octave: “No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief”

    No worst, there is none. Pitched past pitch of grief,
    More pangs will, schooled at forepangs, wilder wring.
    Comforter, where, where is your comforting?
    Mary, mother of us, where is your relief?
    My cries heave, herds-long; huddle in a main, a chief-
    Woe, wórld-sorrow; on an áge-old ánvil wínce and síng —
    Then lull, then leave off. Fury had shrieked “No ling-
    Ering! Let me be fell: force I must be brief.”

    The octave opens with a blunt assertion, denying that suffering reaches a final point. Grief, in this view, has no bottom and no boundary. The phrase “pitched past pitch of grief” reinforces this idea by suggesting that pain has gone beyond any scale by which it might be measured. Grief is not merely intense; it has surpassed all known limits.

    In the second line, the speaker explains how pain increases rather than diminishes.  Each new pang learns from the last. Suffering becomes more violent because it has practiced its activity and method. The verb “wring” suggests twisting pressure, as if grief grips and contorts the speaker from within. Pain is physical as well as mental, as the grip tightens.

    The speaker then turns to directly address urgency and confusion. The repetition of “where” emphasizes abandonment rather than disbelief. The speaker still believes in comfort but cannot find it. 

    The following line continues the appeal. The speaker invokes maternal mercy and protection, yet relief does not come. These lines reveal a faith under strain, not a faith rejected, but one tested by silence.

    Next, the speaker describes the sheer force of personal grief. The cries are compared to herds, large and uncontrollable. Individual anguish gathers into a single overwhelming mass. By calling it “world-sorrow,” the speaker enlarges private suffering into something shared by humanity across time. The grief feels ancient, collective, and unavoidable.

    This sorrow plays out “on an age-old anvil,” an image suggesting repeated blows over centuries. The anvil implies endurance and also punishment. On it, the cries “wince and sing.” Pain produces sound, and suffering is shaped into expression. The poem itself becomes the product of this hammering, forged under pressure.

    The octave ends with the sudden emotional recoil. The intensity momentarily subsides, only to be replaced by fury that demands an end: “No lingering!” The speaker feels forced to compress suffering into brevity, not because it is resolved, but because it is unbearable. The octave closes without comfort, suspended between eruption and exhaustion.

    Sestet: “O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall”

    O the mind, mind has mountains; cliffs of fall
    Frightful, sheer, no-man-fathomed. Hold them cheap
    May who ne’er hung there. Nor does long our small
    Durance deal with that steep or deep. Here! creep,
    Wretch, under a comfort serves in a whirlwind: all
    Life death does end and each day dies with sleep.

    The sestet turns inward, shifting attention from external cries to internal experience. The mind is described as a vast landscape, filled not with beauty but with danger. These “mountains” are steep and unstable, ending in sudden drops. Mental suffering is portrayed as perilous terrain.

    The cliffs are terrifying because they are steep and impossible to measure. Those who have not faced such depths cannot understand them.  The two half lines “Hold them cheap / May who ne’er hung there” conspire to dismisses the judgments of outsiders. Only those who have been suspended over these mental precipices know their true danger.

    The speaker then acknowledges human limitation.  Endurance is described as “small,” easily overwhelmed. Prolonged suffering exceeds what a person can reasonably bear. This admission removes any suggestion of weakness or failure. The problem is not the sufferer but the scale of the suffering.

    At this point, the speaker addresses the self (sou) directly; he recognizes personal vulnerability and degradation. The command to “creep” suggests retreat rather than triumph. Survival, not victory, becomes the goal.

    The comfort that follows is limited and unstable. Any relief comes amid turbulence. There is no calm resolution, only brief shelter within chaos. Comfort exists, but it is fragile and temporary.

    The sonnet ends with a stark conclusion.  Life moves inevitably toward death. Each day rehearses that ending through sleep, which brings both rest and unconsciousness. Sleep offers a small mercy, a pause from suffering, but it also mirrors death itself.

    The sestet does not undo the despair of the octave. Instead, it reframes it. The speaker accepts the limits of endurance and the reality of mortality. The sonnet closes with clarity rather than consolation, acknowledging that while suffering may not be cured, it can, at least, be named and endured one day at a time.

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  • Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day”

    Image: Gerard Manley Hopkins – National Portrait Gallery, London

    Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day”

    The speaker Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day” is confronting spiritual desolation, interior darkness, and the sense of abandonment by God. 

    Awakening into psychological night, the speaker measures time not in hours but in years of suffering. His cries feel unheard, like letters sent to one who lives far away. In the sestet, suffering turns inward as his soul becomes both the source and the punishment of torment.

    Introduction and Text of “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day”

    This sonnet is the second installment belonging to the group of six poems often called the “terrible sonnets.”  They focus on intense inward struggle in highly compressed language, and they reveal a profound sense of spiritual trial. The speaker is describing an internal condition of darkness that persists even after waking. 

    The poem follows the traditional Petrarchan structure, but the poet displayed the poem on the page separating the octave into two quatrains and the sestet into two tercets. The octave presents the condition of suffering, followed by the sestet which deepens and internalizes that suffering. The language remains quite visceral, yet sacramental and judicial, suggesting punishment and endurance.

    I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day

    I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.
    What hours, O what black hours we have spent
    This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways you went!
    And more must, in yet longer light’s delay.

    With witness I speak this. But where I say
    Hours I mean years, mean life. And my lament
    Is cries countless, cries like dead letters sent
    To dearest him that lives alas! away.

    I am gall, I am heartburn. God’s most deep decree
    Bitter would have me taste: my taste was me;
    Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmed the curse.

    Selfyeast of spirit a dull dough sours. I see
    The lost are like this, and their scourge to be
    As I am mine, their sweating selves, but worse.

    Reading

    Commentary on “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day”

    In the octave, the speaker presents spiritual suffering as prolonged night and unanswered prayer, while the sestet reveals suffering as internalized judgment.

    Octave: “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.”

    I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.
    What hours, O what black hours we have spent
    This night! what sights you, heart, saw; ways you went!
    And more must, in yet longer light’s delay.

    With witness I speak this. But where I say
    Hours I mean years, mean life. And my lament
    Is cries countless, cries like dead letters sent
    To dearest him that lives alas! away.

    The octave opens abruptly: “I wake and feel the fell of dark, not day.” The speaker awakens, yet awakening does not bring light. The word fell suggests something savage, cruel, or deadly, as though darkness itself were an attacking force. 

    Day has failed to arrive, not externally but internally. The speaker’s consciousness remains trapped in night. This darkness is not merely the absence of light but a palpable weight that can be felt.

    The second line intensifies this experience. The repetition emphasizes exhaustion. These hours are not ordinary; they are “black hours,” heavy with dread.   The speaker addresses his own heart directly, asking it to remember what it has seen and where it has wandered, suggesting a night filled with disturbing thoughts, memories, or spiritual visions that cannot be escaped even in sleep.

    The line “And more must, in yet longer light’s delay” extends the suffering into the future. Relief is postponed; light is delayed. The speaker anticipates further endurance without comfort. The octave has thus established a defining theme: suffering continues; the speaker is conscious of the fact that it is also unavoidable.

    In the second quatrain, the speaker asserts his testimony.  He is not exaggerating or indulging emotion; instead, he is claiming authority as one who has endured. Yet immediately, time expands. When he says “hours,” he means “years,” and beyond that, “life.” What began as a single night becomes a metaphor for an entire existence marked by anguish. The darkness is not episodic but continually defining.

    The lament itself takes the form of “cries countless.” These cries are compared to missives sent to a loved one far away.   The metaphor is striking. The speaker believes his cries are addressed to God, “dearest him,” yet they receive no reply. Like letters that never reach their destination, these prayers feel wasted, unheard, and perhaps unopened. God is known to be living, yet distant.

    The emotional force of the octave lies in this tension: the speaker continues to cry out, continues to bear witness, even while believing those cries go unanswered.  The speaker is not revealing disbelief but instead he is demonstrating faith that yet suffers. 

    The speaker holds no compunction to deny God’s existence, a suffering humanity often is wont to do; instead, he suffers under God’s silence. The speaker therefore is expressing despair not as rebellion but as endurance under abandonment. The night continues, the cries continue, and the speaker remains awake within it.

    Sestet: “I am gall, I am heartburn. God’s most deep decree”

    I am gall, I am heartburn. God’s most deep decree
    Bitter would have me taste: my taste was me;
    Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmed the curse.

    Selfyeast of spirit a dull dough sours. I see
    The lost are like this, and their scourge to be
    As I am mine, their sweating selves, but worse.

    The sestet takes a decisive inward turn. Where the octave emphasized time and unanswered cries, the sestet focuses on the body and self as the site of punishment.  The speaker does not merely feel bitterness; he is bitterness. Gall, a bitter substance associated with suffering and poison, suggests spiritual nausea. Heartburn implies a burning from within, a pain generated internally rather than inflicted from without.

    The speaker attributes this condition to “God’s most deep decree.” This suffering is not accidental or random. It is permitted, even ordained. The bitterness is something the speaker must taste, yet the shocking revelation follows: “my taste was me.” The self (soul) becomes both the instrument and the substance of suffering. There is no external punishment necessary; identity itself is the affliction.

    The line “Bones built in me, flesh filled, blood brimmed the curse” intensifies the embodiment of despair.  The curse is not simply symbolic; it saturates the physical body. Bones, flesh, and blood—the fundamental elements of life—are all implicated. Suffering is total, leaving no refuge within the soul. The speaker’s claims suggest a complete inhabitation or incarnation of pain, as though despair has become structural.

    The metaphor of fermentation is created in the line “Selfyeast of spirit a dull dough sours.” Yeast is normally a source of growth and life, but here it produces sourness. The spirit works upon itself destructively. The self generates its own decay. This image reinforces the idea that suffering is self-contained, inescapable, but continuous.

    In the final lines, the speaker broadens his vision.  He recognizes his condition as a foretaste of damnation. The lost are punished not by external flames but by being trapped within themselves. Their scourge is to be “their sweating selves.” The speaker identifies with this fate, acknowledging that he already experiences something like it, though he believes theirs will be worse.

    The sestet ends without consolation. There is no resolution, no light breaking through. Instead, the poem concludes with recognition and endurance. The speaker understands the nature of suffering more clearly, but understanding does not remove it. The sonnet closes in grim clarity rather than hope.

  • Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “The Habit of Perfection”

    Image: Gerard Manley Hopkins – Inspirational Jesuits

    Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “The Habit of Perfection”

    Father Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem “The Habit of Perfection” dramatizes the importance of silencing and stilling each of the five senses in order to advance in the spiritual realm.

    Introduction with Text of “The Habit of Perfection”

    The title “The Habit of Perfection” of Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem features a pun on the term “habit.” As a monk, the poet had accepted the garb of the monastic, sometimes called a habit. Of course, the ordinary meaning of common routine also functions fully.

    About the importance of silence, Paramahansa Yogananda has averred, “What joy awaits discovery in the silence behind the portals of your mind no human tongue can tell” (Spiritual Diary).

    Jesuit Priest Gerard Manley Hopkins concurs with the Indian guru’s claim. Father Hopkins’ poem dramatizes the bliss of silence in seven rimed quatrains, each with the rime scheme, ABAB, featuring his famous sprung rhythm and inscape techniques.  The devotee/speaker commands each of his senses to cease their normal functioning, in order that his soul may meditate in holy silence and commune with the Divine.

    The Habit of Perfection

    Elected Silence, sing to me
    And beat upon my whorlèd ear,
    Pipe me to pastures still and be
    The music that I care to hear.

    Shape nothing, lips; be lovely-dumb:
    It is the shut, the curfew sent
    From there where all surrenders come
    Which only makes you eloquent.

    Be shellèd, eyes, with double dark
    And find the uncreated light:
    This ruck and reel which you remark
    Coils, keeps, and teases simple sight.

    Palate, the hutch of tasty lust,
    Desire not to be rinsed with wine:
    The can must be so sweet, the crust
    So fresh that come in fasts divine!

    Nostrils, your careless breath that spend
    Upon the stir and keep of pride,
    What relish shall the censers send
    Along the sanctuary side!

    O feel-of-primrose hands, O feet
    That want the yield of plushy sward,
    But you shall walk the golden street
    And you unhouse and house the Lord.

    And, Poverty, be thou the bride
    And now the marriage feast begun,
    And lily-coloured clothes provide
    Your spouse not laboured-at nor spun.

    Reading

    Commentary on “The Habit of Perfection”

    Father Hopkins’ poem “The Habit of Perfection” dramatizes the importance of silencing and stilling each of the five senses in order to advance spiritually to experience union with the Divine Reality.

    First Quatrain: Devotee of the Spiritual Path

    Elected Silence, sing to me
    And beat upon my whorlèd ear,
    Pipe me to pastures still and be
    The music that I care to hear.

    The speaker reveals himself to be a devotee on the spiritual path, as he converses with “Elected Silence.” The devotee chooses silence as the place where inner awareness starts, remembering the biblical injunction, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10 King James Version).

    The speaker metaphorically likens his Elected Silence to music, capable of singing to him and beating upon his eardrum.  This silence “pipe[s him] to pastures” in the mind which he wants to still. He, therefore, asks silence to be “the music that [he cares] to hear.”

    Second Quatrain:  Commanding the Senses

    Shape nothing, lips; be lovely-dumb:
    It is the shut, the curfew sent
    From there where all surrenders come
    Which only makes you eloquent.

    As an adjunct to the auditory sense, speaking or moving the lips must cease as well as catching sounds with the ear; thus, the speaker bids his lips to remain “lovely-dumb.”  He tells his lips to form no sounds, stressing that the eloquent speech of the devotee is in his surrender to the Divine. The devotee must remain silent in order to hear the voice of Divinity.

    Third Quatrain:   Calming the Sense of Sight

    Be shellèd, eyes, with double dark
    And find the uncreated light:
    This ruck and reel which you remark
    Coils, keeps, and teases simple sight.

    The speaker then bids his eyes remain closed. He commands them to seek “double dark” beyond which they can encounter the “uncreated light.” In their seeking, the eyes may experience flashes of unearthly light that “[c]oils, keeps, and teases simple sight.”  But the devotee’s goal is to become so calm that the physical eyes cease to catch mere glimpses, while the single spiritual eye becomes operational.

    Fourth Quatrain:   Calming the Sense of Taste

    Palate, the hutch of tasty lust,
    Desire not to be rinsed with wine:
    The can must be so sweet, the crust
    So fresh that come in fasts divine!

    The speaker/devotee orders his sense of taste to cease its intrusion upon the soul. He specifically commands his taste buds not to crave wine.  The sense of taste must be subdued by fasting, wherein the urge for food and drink become swallowed up in the bliss of Divine communion.

    Fifth Quatrain:   Calming the Sense of Smell

    Nostrils, your careless breath that spend
    Upon the stir and keep of pride,
    What relish shall the censers send
    Along the sanctuary side!

    The sense of smell accompanies the act of breathing, and in meditation, breathing slows until it stops in deepest awareness of the Divine Essence.  The speaker commands his nose by asserting the premise that it functions through a sense of pride, which is damaging to the humbleness necessary for Divine awareness.

    Sixth Quatrain:  Calming the Sense of Touch

    O feel-of-primrose hands, O feet
    That want the yield of plushy sward,
    But you shall walk the golden street
    And you unhouse and house the Lord.

    The speaker then promises his greedy hands and feet, which desire softness and comfort, that they will be rewarded to walk the golden street, if they cooperate in sacrificing their worldly comforts for heavenly ones.

    Seventh Quatrain:  Union of Soul and Divine

    And, Poverty, be thou the bride
    And now the marriage feast begun,
    And lily-coloured clothes provide
    Your spouse not laboured-at nor spun.

    In the final quatrain, the speaker alludes to the Christ’s command not to become overly conscious about one’s clothes: 

    And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.  (Matthew 6:28-29 KJV)

    The speaker avers that taking Poverty as his bride, he will enjoy all the comforts of heaven. As a monastic, the speaker has taken a vow of poverty or simplicity because he is seeking treasures not afforded by the material world. 

    As he silences and calms all the senses, his true marriage feast begins, his marriage or union with the Divine Over-Soul, in Whom all worthwhile treasures are acquired and all worthy goals are achieved.

  • Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty”

    Gerard Manley Hopkins – National Portrait Gallery, London

    Gerard Manley Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty”

    Gerard Manley  Hopkins’ “Pied Beauty” is an eleven-line curtal sonnet, dedicated to honoring and praising God for the special beauty of His creation.  Father Hopkins coined the term “curtal” to label his eleven-line sonnets.

    Introduction and Text of “Pied Beauty”

    The speaker in Gerard Manley Hopkins’ poem/hymn “Pied Beauty” offers a tribute to the Creator for all things natural and human inspired, with special emphasis on things that are multi-colored, dotted, striped, or patterned in ingenious ways.  The poem employs Father Hopkins’ famed sprung rhythm and unique rime scheme: ABCABCDBCDC.  

    The poem is an eleven-line sonnet called a curtal, a term which Father Hopkins coined to describe the form he employed in certain of his poems, including “Pied Beauty.”  While the speaker emphasizes beauty by contrasting things that are widely touted as unpleasant yet possess a certain aura of unique loveliness, he ultimately is affirming that God has made all of creation to reflect various styles of beauty.

    Thus, the speaker begins by giving all “glory” to God for all these created things, and he concludes by insisting that God be praised for giving humankind these many patterned objects of beauty.   

    God and beauty are being weighed in special terms as the speaker creates in his hymn a drama of oppositional tension that results in the creation of balance and harmony.    Through appreciation and praise of God for His gifts, humankind learns that balance and harmony in order to complete life’s goals and purposes. 

    Pied Beauty

    Glory be to God for dappled things –
       For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
          For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
    Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
       Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;
          And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim. 

    All things counter, original, spare, strange;
       Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
          With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim;
    He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
                                    Praise him.

    Recitation of “Pied Beauty”

    Commentary on “Pied Beauty”

    Father Hopkins’ poem remarkably enlists several synonyms for the important title term “pied.”  Those synonyms are dappled, couple-colour, brinded (archaic form of brindled), stipple, and freckled.   All of those terms refer to multi-color or dotted patterns that so often appear in nature, that this observant human heart finds divinely inspired.

    The poem is, therefore, a hymn honoring the Supreme Creator of all that exists.  The piece offers gratitude that the Heavenly Father-Creator has fashioned His world to provide delight for His children.

    First Movement:  A Pattern of Gratitude

    Glory be to God for dappled things –

    The speaker begins by glorifying Creator-God for having effected His world to include objects that are multi-spotted and multi-colored.  While the speaker undoubtedly offers God all glory to everything in creation, he also glorifies his Creator for not only things but also events.  The act of creation remains of particular interest.

    The speaker appears to be concentrating on a certain style and pattern that the Almighty has chosen to bestow on certain of His creatures and things.  And this devout speaker remains most appreciative of those patterns.  Thus, the glory, the honor, and the achievement of God have infused this speaker’s heart and mind to express gratitude.

    Second Movement:  Examples of All Things Dappled

    For skies of couple-colour as a brinded cow;
          For rose-moles all in stipple upon trout that swim;
    Fresh-firecoal chestnut-falls; finches’ wings;
       Landscape plotted and pieced – fold, fallow, and plough;
          And áll trádes, their gear and tackle and trim.

    The speaker then offers examples of those “dappled” things for which he is offering glory to God. He appreciates the sky that ofttimes appears as multi-colored as a spotted bovine.  The speaker is thankful also for the patterns that are dotted over the bodies of “trout that swim.”  These stippling patterns resemble small mole-like roses as they decorate the skin of those fish.

    This observant, devout speaker also adores the beauty of fallen chestnuts that resemble freshly set-ablaze fire coals on a grate or in a stove.   He also uses the “finches’ wings” to exemplify his appreciation for things “dappled.”  The wings of finches are often layered strips.  The speaker then widens his example to include even the “[l]andscape” or the farmers’ fields that the farmer has “plotted and pieced” in order to plough and “fold” or allow to lie “fallow.”  

    He finds those patterns to be offering the glory that all “dappled” things offer; thus, he honors them by mentioning them as an example. In fact, every commercial endeavor deserves a nod along with the instruments, their tools, which he refers to as “gear,” “tackle,” and “trim.”

    Third Movement:  The Spice of Variety

     All things counter, original, spare, strange;

    In the second stanza, beginning with the third movement, the speaker shifts from simple  spotted, multi-colored things to everything remaining that runs against expectation, or that is original and unique, or things that seem simple, and things that appear odd.

    Because creation seems to offer an infinite number of styles, patterns, and ways of being, the speaker now wishes to praise God and glorify the Divine Maker by recognizing the Creator’s penchant for variety. 

    If the old adage “variety is the spice of life” possesses any truth, then certainly the Heavenly Father-God is responsible for the creation of those spices.  This speaker thus widens his scope for gratitude.

    Fourth Movement:  Things That Change

     Whatever is fickle, freckled (who knows how?)
          With swift, slow; sweet, sour; adazzle, dim; 

    The speaker then offers further elucidation for the other components that make up his glossary of things that deserve attention and appreciation because of their having been offered to humankind by the Ultimate Reality, the Supreme Creator of the cosmos.

    So the speaker reports that all things, beings, creatures that possess the quality of fickleness or changeability belong to his list of things that honor and give glory to God.  Even “freckled” things, of which no one can define the origin, belong to this category.

    Those “fickle” and “freckled” things all have several qualities in common; thus, they may exist and behave with speed or move measuredly.   They may possess the opposite flavors of sweetness or sourness.  Some may also reflect light blazingly while others remain muted and subdued.

    Regardless of the unique qualities, they are all part of the Blessèd Creator’s offerings to His children for their pleasure or for their edification or to light whatever pathway they are destined to follow.

    Fifth Movement:  That Which Does not Change

    He fathers-forth whose beauty is past change:
                                    Praise him.

    The speaker then concludes with a command—”Praise him.”  In the beginning, he made it clear that he was offering all glory to God for the things He has given through creation. Now he offers his stern command, but before that command, he offers the reason that such praise is due Him. 

    The Father of all this beauty continues, and although He Himself is “past change” or without the necessity to change Himself, He continues to offer through creation a beauty that is many faceted, multi-colored, multi-stippled, and brindled. And all things remain on a spectrum that humankind cannot duplicate but is surely obligated to honor, appreciate, and glorify in the name of Father God.

  • Langston Hughes’ “Goodbye, Christ”

    Image:  Langston Hughes– Appearing before Joseph McCarthy’s Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations – March 24, 1953

    Note on Term Usage:  Before the late 1980s in the United States, the terms “Negro,” “colored,” and “black” were accepted widely in American English parlance.   While the term “Negro” had started to lose it popularity in the 1960s, it wasn’t until 1988 that the Reverend Jesse Jackson began insisting that Americans adopt the phrase “African American.”  The earlier more accurate terms were the custom at the time that Langston Hughes was writing.

    Langston Hughes’ “Goodbye, Christ”

    Langston Hughes wrote “Goodbye, Christ” in 1931. It was published in a statist publication called “The Negro Worker” in 1932, but Hughes later withdrew it from publication.

    Introduction with Text of “Goodbye, Christ”

    Nine years after the publication of Langston Hughes’ “Goodbye, Christ,” on January 1, 1941, the poet was scheduled to deliver a talk about Negro folk songs at the Pasadena Hotel. Members of Aimee Semple McPherson’s Temple of the Four Square Gospel picketed the hotel with a sound truck playing “God Bless America.”   

    Likely those members of the McPherson temple became aware of the poem because McPherson is mentioned in it. The protestors passed out copies of Hughes’ poem, “Goodbye, Christ,” even though they had not secured permission to copy and distribute it. 

    A few weeks later, The Saturday Evening Post, heretofore no friend to black writers, also mentioned in the poem, also printed the poem without permission. The poem had received little attention until these two events.  

    But Hughes had been criticized for his “revolutionary” writings and apparent sympathy for the Soviet form of government. On March 24, 1953, Hughes was called to testify before the Joseph McCarthy’s Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

    Goodbye, Christ

    Listen, Christ,
    You did alright in your day, I reckon-
    But that day’s gone now.
    They ghosted you up a swell story, too,
    Called it Bible-
    But it’s dead now,
    The popes and the preachers’ve
    Made too much money from it.
    They’ve sold you to too many
    Kings, generals, robbers, and killers-
    Even to the Tzar and the Cossacks,
    Even to Rockefeller’s Church,
    Even to THE SATURDAY EVENING POST.
    You ain’t no good no more.
    They’ve pawned you
    Till you’ve done wore out.
    Goodbye,
    Christ Jesus Lord God Jehova,
    Beat it on away from here now.
    Make way for a new guy with no religion at all-
    A real guy named
    Marx Communist Lenin Peasant Stalin Worker ME-
    I said, ME!
    Go ahead on now,
    You’re getting in the way of things, Lord.
    And please take Saint Gandhi with you when you go,
    And Saint Pope Pius,
    And Saint Aimee McPherson,
    And big black Saint Becton
    Of the Consecrated Dime.
    And step on the gas, Christ!
    Move!
    Don’t be so slow about movin?
    The world is mine from now on-
    And nobody’s gonna sell ME
    To a king, or a general,
    Or a millionaire.

    Commentary on “Goodbye, Christ”

    Langston Hughes’ poem “Goodbye, Christ” is a dramatic monologue. The speaker is addressing Christ, telling him to leave because He is no longer wanted. The speaker is employing irony and sarcasm to express his distrust and disapproval of the many people, including the clergy, who have used religion only for financial gain.

    Serving God or Mammon 

    In the first verse paragraph (versagraph), the speaker explains to Christ that things are different now from the way they were back in Christ’s day; the speaker figures that back then Christ’s presence might have been appreciated, but now “[t]he popes and the preachers’ve / Made too much money from [your story].”  

    And that complaint is addressed in the poem that certain individuals and organizations have used the name of Christ to make money: “They’ve pawned you / Till you’ve done wore out.”  

    The speaker makes it clear that it is not only Christianity that has been desecrated, for he also includes Hinduism when he tells Christ “please take Saint Gandhi with you when you go.”  It is not only white people like McPherson, but also “big black Saint Becton,” a charlatan preacher Hughes mentions in his autobiography, The Big Sea. 

    Hughes is, in no way, repudiating Jesus Christ and true religion. He is, however, excoriating those whom he considers charlatans, who have profited only financially without highlighting the true meaning of Christ’s (or other religions’) teachings. 

    Langston Hughes on “Goodbye, Christ” 

    In editor Faith Berry’s Good Morning Revolution: Uncollected Writing of Langston Hughes, Berry brings together a large collection of writings for which Hughes did not seek wide publication.  Some of his early politically statist-leaning poems, which had appeared in obscure publications, managed to circulate, and Hughes was labeled a Communist, which he always denied in his speeches. 

    About “Goodbye, Christ,” Hughes has explained that he had withdrawn the poem from publication, but it had appeared without his permission and knowledge.  Hughes also insisted that he had never been a member of the Communist Party.  He went so far as to say he wished Christ would return to save humanity, which was in dire need of saving, as it could not save itself. 

    Earlier in his immaturity, Hughes had believed that the communist form of government would be more favorable to black people, but he became aware that his VIP treatment in Russia was a ruse, calculated to make people of color think that communism was friendlier to them than capitalism while ultimately hoodwinking them just as the Democratic Party did later on in the century.  (Also see Carol Swain’s “The Inconvenient Truth about the Democratic Party”)

    In his senate committee testimony on March 24, 1953, Hughes makes his political inclinations clear that he had never read any book on the theory of socialism and communism.  Also, he had not delved into the stances of the Republican and Democrat parties in the United States.

    Hughes claimed that his interest in politics was prompted solely by his emotion.  Only through his own emotions had he glanced at what politics might have to offer him in figuring out personal issues with society.  So in “Goodbye, Christ,” the following versagraph likely defines the poet’s attitude at its emotional depths:

    Goodbye,
    Christ Jesus Lord God Jehova,
    Beat it on away from here now.
    Make way for a new guy with no religion at all—
    -A real guy named
    Marx Communist Lenin Peasant Stalin Worker ME—
    I said, ME!

    Hughes spent a year in Russia and came back to America writing glowing reports of the wonderful equalities enjoyed by all Russians, which many critics wrongly interpreted to indicate that Hughes became a communist.   On January 1, 1941, Hughes wrote the following clear-eyed explanation that should once and for all put to rest the notion that his poem was meant to serve blasphemous purposes:

    “Goodbye, Christ” does not represent my personal viewpoint.  It was long ago withdrawn from circulation and has been reprinted recently without my knowledge or consent.  I would not now use such a technique of approach since I feel that a mere poem is quite unable to compete in the power to shock with the current horrors of war and oppression abroad in the greater part of the world.

    I have never been a member of the Communist party.  Furthermore, I have come to believe that no system of ethics, religion, morals, or government is of permanent value which does not first start with and change the human heart.  Mortal frailty, greed, and error know no boundary lines.  

    The explosives of war do not care whose hand fashions them.  Certainly, both Marxists and Christians can be cruel.  Would that Christ came back to save us all. We do not know how to save ourselves. (my emphasis added) —from  Good Morning Revolution: Uncollected Writing of Langston Hughes, page 149.

    The Importance of Understanding the Irony in “Goodbye, Christ”

    While it may be difficult for devout Christians, who love Christ and his teachings, to read such seemingly blasphemous writing, it is important to distinguish between the literal and the figurative:  Hughes’ “Goodbye, Christ” must be read through the lens of irony and sarcasm, and realized as a statement against the financial usurpation of religion, and not a repudiation of Christ and the great spiritual masters of all religions.

    It should be remembered that Hughes’ seemingly blasphemous poem simply creates a character who was speaking ironically, even sarcastically, in order to call out the actual despicable blasphemers who desecrate true religion with duplicity and chicanery.

    Image:  Ink Drawing of Langston Hughes– Ink Portrait – Fabrizio Cassett

  • Rabindranath Tagore’s “Light the Lamp of Thy Love”

    Image: Rabindranath Tagore – Portrait by William Rothenstein

    Rabindranath Tagore’s “Light the Lamp of Thy Love”

    Rabindranath Tagore’s poem “Light the Lamp of Thy Love” is a devotional lyric that expresses the speaker’s longing for self-realization. Through colorful imagery, the poem explores themes of transformation, redemption, and the transcendence of human limitation through spiritual awakening.

    Introduction and Text of “Light the Lamp of Thy Love”

    Rabindranath Tagore, a Nobel laureate poet and philosopher, often infused his works with spiritual depth and mysticism. His lyric “Light the Lamp of Thy Love” offers a prayerful plea for divine intervention, as the speaker implores a higher power to dispel darkness and replace it with enlightenment. 

    The poem’s structure follows a gathering movement from supplication to transformation, resulting in the profound realization of divine presence, also known as self-realization or God-union. Tagore employs vivid metaphors—lamps, light, and gold—to symbolize the process of spiritual purification. 

    The repetition of phrases reinforces the urgency of the speaker’s plea, while the invocation of touch underscores the immediacy of divine grace. The poem’s universal theme of seeking enlightenment resonates beyond religious confines, making it a poignant reflection on the human soul’s yearning for transcendence.

    Paramahansa Yogananda refashioned this poem into a chant that is performed at SRF meditation gatherings and ceremonies.  Immediately below the poem, there is a video of the SRF monks chanting the piece at one of SRF’s World Convocations.

    Light the Lamp of Thy Love

    In my house, with Thine own hands,
    Light the lamp of Thy love!
    Thy transmuting lamp entrancing,
    Wondrous are its rays.
    Change my darkness to Thy light, Lord!
    Change my darkness to Thy light.
    And my evil into good.
    Touch me but once and I will change,
    All my clay into Thy gold
    All the sense lamps that I did light
    Sooted into worries
    Sitting at the door of my soul,
    Light Thy resurrecting lamp!

    Commentary on “Light the Lamp of Thy Love”

    Rabindranath Tagore’s poem “Light the Lamp of Thy Love” serves a prayer for divine illumination or God-union (also known as self-realization), reflecting an intense spiritual longing. The speaker acknowledges human frailty and desires transformation through divine grace. Each movement of the poem builds upon the preceding one, deepening the speaker’s surrender to the divine will.

    First Movement: Invocation of Divine Light

    In my house, with Thine own hands,
    Light the lamp of Thy love!

    The speaker begins with a direct appeal to the divine, requesting illumination within his own “house,” a metaphor for the soul. The imagery of the divine hand lighting the lamp suggests an intimate and personal act of grace. 

    This scenario establishes the poem’s central theme of spiritual awakening as a force intervening in the speaker’s internal world. The use of the imperative conveys urgency as well as personal familiarity, emphasizing human dependency on divine intervention for enlightenment.  This evocative opening sets the tone for the poem’s progression from entreaty to transformation.

    Second Movement: Transformation through Divine Light

    Thy transmuting lamp entrancing,
    Wondrous are its rays.
    Change my darkness to Thy light, Lord!
    Change my darkness to Thy light.
    And my evil into good.

    In the second movement, the speaker acknowledges the power of divine enlightenment, describing it as “entrancing” and “wondrous.” The repetition of “Change my darkness to Thy light” underscores the urgency and necessity of divine transformation. Darkness symbolizes ignorance, sin, and suffering, while light represents wisdom, virtue, and divine grace. 

    The explicit plea to change evil into good reflects Tagore’s vision of spiritual evolution, wherein the divine presence purges human flaws.   This movement portrays transformation as both passive and active—the speaker submits to divine will while the divine force actively reshapes his essence. The imagery of light as a catalyst for moral and spiritual purification aligns with Tagore’s broader philosophical themes of unity between the self and the divine.

    Third Movement: Spiritual Alchemy

    Touch me but once and I will change,
    All my clay into Thy gold

    The speaker then expresses absolute faith in divine transformation, emphasizing the power of a single divine touch. The contrast between “clay” and “gold” serves as a metaphor for spiritual alchemy—earthly, flawed existence is refined into something pure and incorruptible. 

    This suggestion reflects the Upanishadic tenet that the soul has potential to merge with the divine.   The phrase “but once” highlights the immediacy and sufficiency of divine intervention, reinforcing the idea that enlightenment is not a gradual process but an instantaneous, transcendent experience, after conditions become aligned.

    Fourth Movement: Renunciation of Material Attachments

    All the sense lamps that I did light
    Sooted into worries
    Sitting at the door of my soul,
    Light Thy resurrecting lamp!

    In this final movement, the speaker reflects on past attempts to find light through worldly means, represented by “sense lamps.” These artificial lights, linked to sensory experiences, have only resulted in “worries,” suggesting that material pursuits lead to disillusionment. 

    The speaker, becoming aware that the Divine Reality is “sitting at the door of my soul,” finds himself in a precarious position, awaiting true illumination. The plea for the “resurrecting lamp” signifies the desire for rebirth through divine grace. 

    This conclusion emphasizes the contrast between self-induced, transient sources of light and the enduring illumination provided by the Divine. Tagore’s imagery addresses surrender and renewal, resulting in the speaker’s complete reliance on divine intervention for enlightenment.

    A Philosophy of Divine Love

    “Light the Lamp of Thy Love” encapsulates Tagore’s philosophy of divine love as the ultimate source of transformation. The poem progresses from invocation to surrender, illustrating the speaker’s deepening spiritual realization.   Tagore employs symbolic imagery—light, lamps, gold—to depict the process of transcendence, wherein the divine presence eradicates darkness and imparts purity. 

    The repetition of phrases reinforces the speaker’s desperation for enlightenment, while the shift from self-lit lamps to the resurrecting lamp signifies the futility of worldly pursuits in comparison to divine grace. 

    The interplay between passivity and divine action suggests that while human effort is insufficient for true transformation, surrender to divine will results in ultimate fulfillment.

    Tagore’s devotional lyric aligns with the Bhakti tradition, where longing for divine presence is central. However, its universal message extends beyond religious boundaries, addressing the fundamental human desire for meaning, clarity, and redemption.  The poem’s cyclical structure, resulting in divine illumination, parallels the spiritual journey from ignorance to wisdom. 

    By portraying the speaker’s progression from a seeker to one awaiting divine grace, Tagore underscores the idea that true enlightenment is not self-generated but received through divine compassion.  Ultimately, “Light the Lamp of Thy Love” serves as a meditation on the transformative power of divine love and its ability to guide the human soul toward transcendence.

    Image: Rabindranath Tagore – Portrait by Unknown Artist

  • Original Song: “Twixt Good and Evil” and Prose Commentary 

    Image: Created by Grok

    Original Song: “Twixt Good and Evil” and Prose Commentary 

    I chose the quotation from Isaiah because it demonstrates the omnipotence and omnipresence of the Almighty Creator.  Some religionists, especially Christian, argue that God is all good and therefore could not have created evil.  But such a claim limits God’s power and ability—an odd thing to do since they claim that God is omnipotent and omnipresent!

    Twixt Good and Evil

    “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.”    —Isaiah 45:7

    Chorus

    In the fight twixt good and evil
    Good will always win;
    For God created the devil
    Just tempt us all to sin.
    God doesn’t cause us to bear sorrow;
    He tries to lead us to His light,
    And His Word guides our tomorrow
    If we learn to read It right.

    First Verse 

    Good morning, Satan!
    Are you doing OK?
    What kinds of nasty
    You going to throw at me today?
    Will my daughter get cancer?
    Will my son fall off his bike?
    Will my husband crash his truck?
    Will my dog lie down and die?

    Second Verse

    Good morning, Devil!
    Are you doing just fine?
    How will you try to tempt me
    To cross that boundary line?
    Will you make me think I’m sexy?
    Will you make me want to flirt?
    Will you take me to a place
    I’d never go without your dirt?

    Third Verse

    Good morning, Lucifer!
    How’s it going, Old Dude?
    What you got in store for me today—
    What kind of rude and crude?
    Will you shine your light on sorrow?
    Will you tempt me to believe
    I’ll be so good tomorrow
    That today I can misbehave?

    Fourth Verse

    Good morning, Maya!
    Of all the things in the fold
    Which one will grab my thoughts today
    To divert me from my goal?
    Will I seize upon another’s mote
    Though there’s one in my own eye?
    Will I hurt anyone whose handy?
    Or will I just sit, sigh, and cry?

    Chorus

    In the fight twixt good and evil
    Good will always win;
    For God created the devil
    Just tempt us all to sin.
    God doesn’t cause us to bear sorrow;
    He tries to lead us to His light,
    And His Word guides our tomorrow
    If we learn to read It right.

    To listen to the recorded version, please visit “Twixt Good and Evil” on soundcloud.

    Commentary on “Twixt Good and Evil”

    Epigram:  “I form the light, and create darkness: I make peace, and create evil: I the Lord do all these things.”    —Isaiah 45:7

    I chose this quotation from Isaiah because it demonstrates the omnipotence and omnipresence of the Almighty Creator.  Some religionists, especially Christian, argue that God is all good and therefore could not have created evil.  

    But such a claim limits God’s power and ability and at the same time introduces a second force into being.  Because there can be no second force, only God can be responsible for all that exists, including evil.  In the Isaiah quotation, God is speaking and He clearly says, “I . . . create evil.”

    At first, such a claim may seem paradoxical, but just because God creates evil does not make God evil: it makes Him all powerful, the very quality that Christians believe God to possess.

    So with that fact established, the next question is why did/does God create/allow evil?  And the answer is so that a physical creation can exist.  Without pairs of opposites, there can be so creation: forces rub against forces; conflict pits good and evil against each other.

    We cannot recognize a quality unless we have something to which we can  compare or contrast it.  Image that only good things had happened to you in your life.  How would you know that only good things had happened if you had never experienced the less than good or the bad?  

    Humanity is faced with these forces in order to learn and to evolve.  According to Paramahansa Yogananda and other great spiritual leaders, the only purpose of life is to unite the soul with the Over-Soul or God.  In order to do that, each human being has to work out its karma, its issues that lead it to believe it is nothing more than a bag of bone and flesh.  

    Each human being must learn that he or she is essentially a soul that has a physical body.  That soul is already perfect but because it lost its divine awareness by being born in a physical encasement, it has to relearn to be divine.

    Now, why did God make such a plan, such an existence?  Why not just let us  keep our divine status and not have to go through incarnations that may take many millennia?  Only God knows the answer to that question.  Offering one possible explanation, Paramahansa Yogananda contends that creation is God’s lila or play, and He made for his own enjoyment.  

    Because that explanation may not satisfy, the following exchange between Sri Yukteswar, the guru of Paramahansa Yogananda, and a student suggests additional reasoning:

    “Why did God ever join soul and body?” a class student asked one evening. “What was His purpose in setting into initial motion this evolutionary drama of creation?” Countless other men have posed such questions; philosophers have sought, in vain, fully to answer them.

    “Leave a few mysteries to explore in Eternity,” Sri Yukteswar used to say with a smile. “How could man’s limited reasoning powers comprehend the inconceivable motives of the Uncreated Absolute? T

    he rational faculty in man, tethered by the cause-effect principle of the phenomenal world, is baffled before the enigma of God, the Beginningless, the Uncaused. Nevertheless, though man’s reason cannot fathom the riddles of creation, every mystery will ultimately be solved for the devotee by God Himself.” (my emphasis added)

    The opening quotation, therefore, establishes the spiritual nature of the song: a monotheistic worldview in which nothing—light or darkness, peace or evil—exists outside God’s sovereignty.

    By invoking Isaiah 45:7, I preempt the simplistic dualism: evil is not an equal rival to God but a force that God Himself created to serve a divine purpose. This contention prepares the listener/reader to understand temptation and suffering not as evidence of God’s absence, but as part of a moral testing ground in which human choice matters.

    Thus, although the singer/speaker has undergone all of these tests foisted by Satan, the Devil, Lucifer, and Maya—all of which are simply different names for the same force—she seems to be implying that she is transcending them because she realizes that God only created these forces to tempt his children. 

    She is also implying that she has learned to read God’s word correctly and now she understands that by not allowing that evil force to dominate her she will no longer suffer.

    Chorus: “In the fight twixt good and evil”

    In the fight twixt good and evil
    Good will always win;
    For God created the devil
    Just tempt us all to sin.
    God doesn’t cause us to bear sorrow;
    He tries to lead us to His light,
    And His Word guides our tomorrow
    If we learn to read It right.


    The chorus opens the song/poem with its theme, which focuses on the battle between good and evil in the world of humankind. It makes the explicit claim that “good will always win,” and then it explains that the devil is just a tempter—not a separate force— because God Himself “created the devil.” 

    That “God created the devil / Just to tempt us all to sin” reflects the exact message of the Isaiah quotation. God made the devil to introduce temptation in our lives, but God allows it, and He did not create temptation to make us suffer, at least, not eternally. 

    We  know of God’s intention because God has offered a guide in written scripture, which all religions and spiritual faiths possess.  But it is interpreting those pages of guidance that confounds us and keep us in darkness.  God wants to lead us to light, and learning to interpret his Word correctly and effectively can lead us there.

    First Verse: “Good morning, Satan!”

    Good morning, Satan!
    Are you doing OK?
    What kinds of nasty
    You going to throw at me today?
    Will my daughter get cancer?
    Will my son fall off his bike?
    Will my husband crash his truck?
    Will my dog lie down and die?


    The singer/speaker addresses Satan directly, asking quite conversationally how he’s doing?  Assuming that he is doing “OK.”  Then she pitches a series of questions at him.  These question involve “nasty” events that no one wants to experience:  a daughter getting cancer, an son falling off his bike, a husband crashing his truck, a dog dying.

    The answer to each of these questions is yes: Satan will throw all of these things at me eventually.  And I personally have experienced every one of them.  So addressing Satan in such a friendly way must be understood a high sarcasm. 

    Satan will always remain the adversary, but showing him that I can take him lightly lessens his power over me.  Besides, I have already told you in the chorus that I know the score on these issues.  Satan does not hold the power; God does.

    Second Verse:  “Good morning, Devil!”

    Good morning, Devil!
    Are you doing just fine?
    How will you try to tempt me
    To cross that boundary line?
    Will you make me think I’m sexy?
    Will you make me want to flirt?
    Will you take me to a place
    I’d never go without your dirt?

    Addressing Devil with the same tone expressed when she addressed Satan, the singer/speaker assumes Devil is “doing just fine.”  Again, with a series of questions:  how are you going to temp the today?  will you use sex and promiscuity to make me do things that otherwise I would deplore?  

    Because vanity and sex lead to so much mischief and depravity in the world, one would likely be a consummate prevaricator to deny having been caught up in such “dirt.”  That’s all the personal confession and testimony I will offer for this one. But obviously, again, the from Devil, the answer is “Yep, I’ll get you, my Pretty, and you little dog, too!”

    Third Verse:  “Good morning, Lucifer!”

    Good morning, Lucifer!
    How’s it going, Old Dude?
    What you got in store for me today—
    What kind of rude and crude?
    Will you shine your light on sorrow?
    Will you tempt me to believe
    I’ll be so good tomorrow
    That today I can misbehave?

    Addressing the devil/satan in his light-bearer form, Lucifer, the singer/speaker makes no assumption but simply asks how things are going for the “Old Dude. Then again wants to know that the Light-Bearer has “in store” for her.”  She knows that whatever it is it will likely be “rude and crude.”  She has learned about this being’s ways in earlier verses.

    She wonders if Lucifer will put a spotlight on self-pity and thus allow her to engage in sorrowful feelings.  Then abruptly, she shifts to wondering if he will encourage her think she will behave tomorrow so well that today she can engage in all manner of  debauchery.

    This verse captures the moral danger of self-bargaining and the illusion of future repentance as permission for present wrongdoing.

    Fourth Verse:

    Good morning, Maya!
    Of all the things in the fold
    Which one will grab my thoughts today
    To divert me from my goal?
    Will I seize upon another’s mote
    Though there’s one in my own eye?
    Will I hurt anyone whose handy?
    Or will I just sit, sigh, and cry?


    In this final verse, I address the evil one as Maya, which means delusion, and is the Hindu concept for Satan/Devil/Lucifer.  Maya seems less judgmental and harsh than the Christians concepts, although the end result of “delusion” is the same as the end result of sin.  It is delusion that causes us to “misbehave” and therefore “suffer.”  

    The satanic, evil, mayic force all steer the human being to engage in sense gratification, and such activities divert the person from seeking Divine Awareness, which is the goal of life, according to Paramahansa Yogananda.

    When I reference the “mote” and the “beam,” I am, of course, echoing Christ’s teaching on judgment, offering that as the first possible wrong thing I might do today.  Then again I continue questions as I wonder what the magic Satan/Maya will do today to “divert me from my goal.” 

    I might engage in activities that hurt people, or maybe I will just sit, think useless, thought, become maudlin and then “cry.”  The negativity supports the wretched influences that has been on display in the entire song/poem.  

    Chorus:  “In the fight twixt good and evil”

    In the fight twixt good and evil
    Good will always win;
    For God created the devil
    Just tempt us all to sin.
    God doesn’t cause us to bear sorrow;
    He tries to lead us to His light,
    And His Word guides our tomorrow
    If we learn to read It right.

    What saves the whole mess from languishing in pool of sorrowful dreck is the chorus, which is repeated at the end.  Despite the battle each human being has to face each day, eventually according to each person’s karma “good will always win.”

  • Original Song: “River of Time” with Commentary

    Image: Whitewater River, Richmond IN  

    Original Song: “River of Time” with Commentary

    My original song “River of Time” is a hymn to my Divine Belovèd, featuring a chorus that functions as a chant.

    Introduction with Text of Lyric “River of Time”

    Because music was my first love that I remember from the earliest age, I have always been attracted by the sounds from inspiring music.  

    I began writing songs seriously around age 32, and I especially enjoy and appreciate my songs that turn into hymns to the Divine Belovèd.  “River of Time” is such a hymn.  

    I am strongly influenced by the Cosmic Chants of my guru (spiritual leader) Paramahansa Yogananda.  Many of my original hymns have a chant-like element—a repetition that takes the minds within or bespeaks some spiritual truth for mental awareness.

    River of Time

    A hymn to my Divine Belovèd

    Verse
    Waiting by the river of time—
    My beloved keeps His rime
    In the sunlight that sings in stars
    The moon will wax in tune

    Verse
    Flowing with the river of time—
    Do you feel the rhythm that glides
    As you sing each lingering verse?
    Your soul will chant in bliss

    Verse
    Once beyond the river of time—
    Where you seek your ultimate rime,
    Where you need to battle no more
    You’ve reached that heavenly shore

    Chorus
    Every moment is light infused  
    Behind the darkness of closed eyes
    Seek no more for all is here
    Nothing more to do or fear

    Video by Carlene Craig

    Commentary on “River of Time”

    The singer/seeker/devotee in this hymn does not directly address her Heavenly Father-God.  She suggests the target of her report in subtle ways by essentially addresses her own self or soul. She sings to remind herself of her goal of soul- or self-realization, unity with the Divine Belovèd.

    First Verse:  Existence on the Physical Plane

    Waiting by the river of time—
    My beloved keeps His rime
    In the sunlight that sings in stars
    The moon will wax in tune

    The singer/devotee exists along a continuum that the human mind and heart often liken metaphorically to a river—a “river of time.”  Time seems to flow, meander, going somewhere.

    Intuition tells the human mind and heart that the soul is moving as on a flowing body of water to somewhere that must be wonderful.

    The beloved who is causing this river to flow displays his wares in light—sunlight and moonlight.  Science tells humanity that sunlight is reflected in the stars, and the moon also reflects that important, life-sustaining orb.

    The singer/devotee implies that her beloved is a poetic artist because he keeps “His rime” visible in the light of the sun and the moon.

    Second Verse:  The Rhythm of Soul Bliss

    Flowing with the river of time—
    Do you feel the rhythm that glides
    As you sing each lingering verse?
    Your soul will chant in bliss

    The singer then states that her soul is, in fact, moving down this metaphorical river.  She poses a rhetorical question of her self to ascertain if she is really sensing the rhythmic sway of the music of her verses.

    As she sings, she has become aware of her soul flowing into its natural state of “bliss.”  The verses that linger in the heart and mind bestow on her a marvelous state of awareness and joy.

    Third Verse:  Transcending Physical Existence

    Once beyond the river of time—
    Where you seek your ultimate rime,
    Where you need to battle no more
    You’ve reached that heavenly shore

    The singer then begins to speculate about the existence to be experienced after transcending the physical level of existence, metaphorically named the “river of time.”  

    Beyond that locus is where the ultimate poetry and music hold sway, where humanity no longer is required to struggle with life’s vicissitudes, trails, and tribulations.  Once the soul has become self-realized, it knows only divine joy and love.

    Chorus:  Moving into the Joy of the Light

    Every moment is light infused  
    Behind the darkness of closed eyes
    Seek no more for all is here
    Nothing more to do or fear

    The singer’s repeated, chant-like chorus is an affirmative statement about what goes on after she closes her eyes to the physical level of existence.

    She need not continue searching for she has arrived at the Goal of life. United with the Divine Belovèd, there is nothing that she will ever have to fear.

    Video:  Whitewater River-Tim Bowman-East Fork of the Whitewater River-near Brownsville IN 

  • Original Song:  “Where You Are”  with Prose Commentary

    Image: Pacific Ocean – August 2015 – Self-Realization Fellowship Meditation Gardens – Encinitas CA – Photo by Ron W. G.

    Original Song:  “Where You Are”  with Prose Commentary

    This song “Where You Are” is one of my original compositions. The video accompanying it was created by landscape artist/photographer Ron Grimes.

    Introduction and Text of “Where You Are”

    My original song “Where You Are”is based on a simple premise: the singer is addressing her Divine Belovèd (God), asserting to the Belovèd the desire to be where the Ultimate Loved One is.

    Each verse features rhetorical questions and musings upon the actual location of the Divine Creator.  Because the Creator/Father of all creation is both within creation and outside of creation, the answer to all of the rhetorical questions is, naturally, yes.

    Nevertheless, being where the Divine Belovèd is cannot be the same situation as being where a human friend or beloved is.   Because it seems that God is playing hide and seek with his children, the singer asserts that her soul “soul tugs at the veil hiding You from me.”

    Where You Are

    First Verse

    Are You standing on top of a mountain?
    Are You sitting beside the vast grave sea?
    How can I ever approach You?
    Will You ever just come to me?

    Second Verse

    Are You speaking to me through my loved ones?
    Are You quietly whispering through the silver stars?
    Are You waiting to hear what my songs will sing?
    Do You listen to the rapid beat of my heart?

    Third Verse  

    If I offer You all in my stillness—
    If I silently listen to the hum in my mind—
    If I patiently fast from all my senses—
    Will You break Your vow of silence and just come to me!

    Chorus 

    Where You are is where I long to be.
    I cannot understand where else I could seek.
    My soul tugs at the veil hiding You from me.
    Where You are is where I long to be.

    Video: Linda Sue Grimes performing “Where You Are”  

    SoundCloud:  Linda Sue Grimes performing “Where You Are” 

    Commentary on “Where You Are”

    After much questioning, contemplating, and ultimately meditating, the devotee will find that the soul will remove the veil hiding it from the Over-Soul—the soul’s Creator, the Divine Belovèd, or any of the preferred name for the Ineffable (God).

    First Verse:  “Are You standing on top of a mountain?”

    Are You standing on top of a mountain?
    Are You sitting beside the vast grave sea?
    How can I ever approach You?
    Will You ever just come to me?

    The singer opens with four rhetorical questions to the Divine Reality.  The first two questions reveal earthly locations that are considered sanctuaries of sacredness, holiness, or just ordinary vacation escapes:  mountain tops and sea sides. 

    The next two questions reveal that the devotee is still walking the sacred, devotional path to soul-realization (also known as self-realization or God-realization).  

    Before final liberation, the devotee experiences the separation from her Goal to be a heavy burden.  That burden causes her to wonder if she, in fact, will ever be able to unite with the Creator/Father.

    In her melancholy and sorrowful mourning because of the seeming distance, the devotee often wonders if the Lord will ever appear to her and make her know that she is His own child.   Will she ever be able to attain the Sacred Goal of self-realization and experience unity with her Belovèd Divine Creator?

    Second Verse:  “Are You speaking to me through my loved ones?”

    Are You speaking to me through my loved ones?
    Are You quietly whispering through the silver stars?
    Are You waiting to hear what my songs will sing?
    Do You listen to the rapid beat of my heart?

    In the second verse, the singer/devotee continues with rhetorical questions.  Intuiting the answer yet not knowing the fullness of each answer, she inquires of the Divine Belovèd if He is communicating with her through her family and friends.

    The singer likely is aware that God is speaking to her through everyone she knows and meets.  But without that last step in the process of enlightenment, she does not know exactly what is being said or exactly what all that conversation might ultimately mean to her.

    Thus, she also wonders if the One Who fashioned the “silver stars” may be signaling to her through those heavenly entities.  Again, she likely knows it to be a fact, but that separation continues to prompt questions.  

    The singer wonders if Divine Mother anticipates what she sings in her songs.  She wonders if her musical worship is reaching its intended Goal.

    The singer/devotee often becomes anxious with a rapid heart beat, knowing that that heart beat needs to become calm to achieve stillness.  She therefore wonders if the Creator Divine cares to listen to that rapid heart beat.  And she wonders if the Ultimate Physician will perform some medical heavenly magic to help her still her rapid heart.

    Third Verse:  “If I offer You all in my stillness”

    If I offer You all in my stillness—
    If I silently listen to the hum in my mind—
    If I patiently fast from all my senses—
    Will You break Your vow of silence and just come to me!

    The singer/devotee’s questioning becomes even more intense in the lyric of the final verse.    She has shown that she knows that she must still the rapid beat of her heart, but she also must still all of her senses as she offers her every atom to the Divine Essence.

    The devotee/singer shows awareness that she must listen the divine hum of the cosmic motor, the sacred AUM (Om) sound that upholds all of creation.  She knows that she must remove her attention from worldly things and events and place that attention upon the locus beyond the senses, where the soul resides.

    The singer/devotee remains certain that after she is able to accomplish all that is implied in her questions and musings, the Divine Belovèd Presence will, in fact, “break [that] vow of silence and [ ] come to [her].”

    Chorus:  “Where You are is where I long to be”

    Where You are is where I long to be.
    I cannot understand where else I could seek.
    My soul tugs at the veil hiding You from me.
    Where You are is where I long to be.

    The chorus, instead of offering mere rhetorical questions and musings, makes an affirmative statement:  the singer asserts that she wants to be where her Divine Beloved is.   She reveals her intuition that she cannot find love, peace, fulfillment on the physical, earthly plane.

    The singer/devotee insists that her soul is attempting to rend the cloth of separation from the Divine, as it “tugs at the veil” that keeps her from uniting with the Creator Belovèd. 

    The final line emphasizes as it repeats the important desire: “Where You are is where I long to be.”  The importance of the chorus is demonstrated by its repetition after every verse.

  • Original Song: “Against” with Prose Commentary

    Image:  Linda Sue Grimes at the SRF Windmill Chapel at Lake Shrine – Photo by Ron Grimes (Ron W. G.).

    Original Song: “Against” with Prose Commentary

    The singer/devotee is entreating her soul to forsake worldly things and ways, which according to Emily Dickinson, “hold so,” and follow the way of spirit.  The way of spirit protects “against”  all the things that damage the individual physically, mentally, and spiritually.

    Introduction with Text of Lyric “Against”

    Many old spirit-infused hymns sing about the futility of this world to the point of asserting that this world is not even our true home [1].   Paramahansa Yogananda has explained that one’s engagement with sense pleasure must be carefully observed lest they ensnare the soul, preventing it from experiencing the higher pleasures of soul-awareness [2].  

    Removing the flesh motivating experiences becomes one’s highest duty.  While the first step to soul-awareness appears to be a struggle “against” the senses and all worldly endeavors, that opposition must not become so intrenched that it impels one to judge others harshly and act on that judgment.

    Instead simply remaining mindful of one’s own behavior opens one’s heart to soul power. Creatively fashioning the experiences and thoughts on the journey to soul awareness adds to the reality and beauty that the world actually provides. 

    Against

    The Blessed Divine gave us all the gifts that we must learn to enjoy but without becoming entangled and attached; it is with that non-attachment in mind that the following hymn is offered to the Blessed Spirit Who inspires true music.

    Chorus: 

    Against the tone of heartbreak
    Against the stone of night ache
    Against the wrong that leads you
    Against the blood that speeds you

    1st Verse

    Whisper into the drum and see the bay of stars
    That permeate the golden night in silver bars
    Usher to the harp the placid palms of notes
    That wistfully breathe on strings of hope

    2nd Verse

    Quaff the mist of years, past where you thought
     That dwarves were playing in the valley of rock
    Don’t listen to a decibel lower than the sound
    Of the one hand raised in perfect redound

    3rd Verse

    Bless your father and your mother whose ears
    Have turned to stone with worries and fears
    They planted their flag in the wind by the sea
    They pray on the ghost ridge and wait to be free

    4th Verse

    Whisper again and listen for the echo
    That lingers in the valley you used to know
    Keep a clear watch how the strain will peel you
    Keep your mind in tow for the brain will steel you 

    5th Verse

    Into the light, where you bow
    Where you offer news of then and now
    Where you fold your hands and wonder as you pray
    If you heard that thunder across the bay

    6th Verse

    Whisper blowing, softly into the day
    Let no shaft of light escape your sight today
    Listen to your commandments, as they
    Lead you to the words you hunger to pray

    To listen to an audio recording of this song, please visit “Against.”

    Commentary on “Against”

    My original song “Against” is a lament for our times—for all times.  The devotee/singer begs her soul to forsake the things of this world, which become so attractive that they hold one’s attention to the detriment of the soul.

    The spiritual aspirant, however, wishes to follow the way of spirit.  The way of spirit protects the individual “against”  all the things that hurt one physically, mentally, and spiritual.

    Chorus:  A Lament and Call to Struggle

    Against the tone of heartbreak
    Against the stone of night ache
    Against the wrong that leads you
    Against the blood that speeds you

    The broken heart, the mental-pain-induced inability to sleep, behaving inappropriately, and allowing the physical body to dictate one’s thoughts and behavior are all things the devotee of spirit must battle “against.” 

    Allowing the voice to express opposition through melody tempers the heart and mind, allowing soul power to influence the senses that have the tendency to become so greedy and obstructive.

    1st Verse:  Listening to the Music of the Spheres

    Whisper into the drum and see the bay of stars
    That permeate the golden night in silver bars
    Usher to the harp the placid palms of notes
    That wistfully breathe on strings of hope

    The singer demands of her soul that it listen to the music of the spheres [3], to observe the night sky for inspiration to follow the way of spirit.   The singer remains in search of hope through beauty of sight and sound.  The stars at night accompany the beauty of melody that the seeker/singer tis striving to engage.

    Quaff the mist of years, past where you thought
     That dwarves were playing in the valley of rock
    Don’t listen to a decibel lower than the sound
    Of the one hand raised in perfect redound

    2nd Verse:  Command to Turn Inward

    The singer commands her soul to move past the past—reflecting on the Zen koan, “The sound of the one hand” [4].

    By imbibing the tears of many years passed without knowledge, singer drinks her own heart’s deepest desires which turn the eye and the mind inward in search of the indwelling Lord, to Whom all reverence and devotion are due.

    3rd Verse:  The Unforgiven and Prayer

    Bless your father and your mother whose ears
    Have turned to stone with worries and fears
    They planted their flag in the wind by the sea
    They pray on the ghost ridge and wait to be free

    The singer commands her mind to forgive the sins of her forebears, who were innocent and did their best, even though they were ignorant of the exact way of spirit.   As the immature look about their environment, they crave to find a place more suitable to their talents. It is that impetus that drives the soul to eventually find its path back to its true home.

    4th Verse:  Focusing on Spirit

    Whisper again and listen for the echo
    That lingers in the valley you used to know
    Keep a clear watch how the strain will peel you
    Keep your mind in tow for the brain will steel you 

    The singer again commands her mind to take the lessons of her past gingerly, while recalling in the present that stress is the enemy of spiritual progress—keeping the mind focused is at the heart of the way of spirit.

    5th Verse:  Acknowledging Soul Reality

    Into the light, where you bow
    Where you offer news of then and now
    Where you fold your hands and wonder as you pray
    If you heard that thunder across the bay

    The devotee/singer acknowledges that she has progressed into awareness of “the light” and she continues to pray and supplicate. The singer then acknowledges that the heart and mind will continue to reflect on past and present even while seeking the way of spirit.

    6th Verse:  The Hunger to Pray the Right Prayer

    Whisper blowing, softly into the day
    Let no shaft of light escape your sight today
    Listen to your commandments, as they
    Lead you to the words you hunger to pray

    The singer then admonishes herself to step lightly and watch for any sightings of spiritual light, and above all to continue to follow the way of spirit as it leads her to its golden gate. She knows that she needs more exact words to offer the Divine, and she remains confident that she will find them through her dedicated prayer.

    Sources

    [1] The Monroe Brothers. “This World Is Not My Home.”  YouTube. Accessed October 29, 2025.

    [2] Paramahansa Yogananda. “The Purpose of Life.”  Self-Realization Fellowship. Accessed October 29, 2025.

    [3] M. N. K. Mander.  “Milton and the Music of the Spheres.”  Vol. 24, No. 2, May 1990. Milton Quarterly.  Via JSTOR.

    [4]  Yoel Hoffman.  The Sound of the One Hand.  Bantam. 1977. Print.  Online at Internet Archive.  Accessed October 29, 2025.