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Wednesday, October 27, 2010

Scandalous Blaze


Scandalous Blaze
by Melissa Campbell

When dark night settles heavy,
Hope pregnant with delay,
Holy angels come to gather
Those fallen to the sway,
Of self-love seduction,
And find,
A little faith sustained.

A happy flicker, faint at first,
One virgin wick just catching flame;
Bends low among the rushes,
Yields strong to winds of change;
When all around just ashes,
A remnant burn remains.

Such burning ones bleed,
Drip oil of Majesty,
Limp broken by their need,
Track heaven-scent along the street,
And sing to the wounded,
Love songs...

...A costly perfume,
For those who stand on the outside looking in,
Where stained-glass-window seats,
Shutter, shake,
And silver-tipped steeples,
Teeter, break,
And well-behaved worshipers,
Scatter, scathed,
Bathe long in after-glow of former glory...

And those seeking to know as they are known,
Turn faces full to welcome sun and fire's purge and race's run,
Rising up to lay-me-down, prostrate,
And willing to kiss both cheeks soft good-bye,
In final sacrifice,
Only after swallowing up the night,
In scandalous blaze...

...of glory.

Arise, shine;
For your light has come!
And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you.
  For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth,
And deep darkness the people;
But the LORD will arise over you,
And His glory will be seen upon you.
~ Isaiah 60:1,2 


My inspiration for writing these lines came in the reading of Charissa Steyn's blog-post at Everyday Adventures:  Be Like Happy (Click to read.)

Re-posting from the archives for One Shot Wednesday.



 
Photo Credit:  flickr - Ben Britten
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. As taken from Bible Gateway.

13 comments:

  1. uplifting verse...glad you popped back in for a second shot...was a nice devotion wiht my morning coffee...

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  2. I am not a Christian, but i really enjoyed your poem! I liked "sing to the wounded...love songs". yeah.

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  3. I too am not a Christian but I too enjoyed this poem. "And those seeking to know as they are known" Wonderful. Love and Light, Sender

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  4. Thank you for taking the time to visit my blog and leaving such kind words of encouragement on my poem The Mirror.

    this poem is absolutely beautiful

    correct me if I'm wrong but I interpreted this beautifully written poem as the birth of Christianity.

    Amazing piece! Loved it very much
    looking forward to reading more of your works
    thank you
    Hope

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  5. I am a witch and I loved this poem. "Hope pregnant with delay", such a great line. Very beautiful, thank you for sharing!

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  6. Insperational...just what I needed this day...thank you for listening to your heart and sharing;)

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  7. "A virgin wick," and "hope pregnant with delay..."

    Love the word choice in this, it is so original, inspiring!

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  8. Amen
    This is so profound and beautiful... I feel at peace after reading this
    Thanks for sharing

    ;)

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  9. Thank you, everyone, for stopping to visit. I do appreciate your comments, and hope you feel peace here. :)

    @Hope: I didn't write specifically about the birth of Christianity, but I love that you interpreted it that way.

    I am a follower of Jesus, but not of Christianity "as most have known it." When it was first birthed, and in its true form--yes. But so much has been said and done over the years in the name of Christ that has nothing to do with Jesus, and in fact is opposite of what He came to teach us.

    I wrote this poem about one who doesn't look like the rest of us religious folk (and I was definitely one of these), but one who presses in to know God spirit to Spirit, one who comes alive outside and in spite of the control (rules & regulations) of religion, and one who loves because He first loved us.

    What the world needs now is love, sweet love! :)

    Thanks again, all, for your comments!

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  10. Beautifully said about the things that matter in life.. at the end of the verse Melissa.. and I liked it. You have formed images in the words so beautifully that I could see them flickering in the flame of my thought...
    "A happy flicker, faint at first,
    One virgin wick just catching flame;"
    I enjoyed the last part very much..

    ॐ नमः शिवाय
    Om Namah Shivaya
    Twitter: @VerseEveryDay
    Blog: http://shadowdancingwithmind.blogspot.com

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  11. Great Devotional poetry here! Inspiring!

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  12. I read it slowly just so I can absorb every word.Each poet has their own style.I love to savour what I read just so I can learn from other poets,too.

    I love the ...sing to the wounded ,love songs,part!!Like helping a wounded heal.

    Great read!!!

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  13. Oh my. You should share this with Emily at Imperfect Prose. Beautiful. Just beautiful.

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I welcome and appreciate your kind words and comments.