- One could tear in shame when we read this work by the poet Edward Sill.
- In pride our dues to God we spurn.
- Perhaps it's time we take a turn.
The Fool's Prayer- The royal feast was done; the King
- Sought some new sport to banish care,
- And to his jester cried: "Sir Fool,
- Kneel now, and make for us a prayer.
- The jester doffed his cap and bells,
- And stood the mocking court before;
- They could not see the bitter smile
- Behind the painted grin he wore.
- He bowed his head, and bent his knee
- Upon the Monarch's silken stool;
- His pleading voice arose: "O Lord,
- Be merciful to me, a fool!
- "No pity, Lord, could change the heart
- From red with wrong to white as wool;
- The rod must heal the sin: but Lord,
- Be merciful to me, a fool!
- "Tis not by guilt the onward sweep
- Of truth and right, O Lord, we stay;
- 'Tis by our follies that so long
- We hold the earth from heaven away.
- "These clumsy feet, still in the mire,
- Go crushing blossoms without end;
- These hard, well-meaning hands we thrust
- Among the heart-strings of a friend.
- "The ill-timed truth we might have kept--
- Who knows how sharp it pierced and stung?
- The word we had not sense to say--
- Who knows how grandly it had rung!
- "Our faults no tenderness should ask.
- The chastening stripes must cleanse them all;
- But for our blunders -- oh, in shame
- Before the eyes of heaven we fall.
- "Earth bears no balsam for mistakes;
- Men crown the knave, and scourge the tool
- That did his will; but Thou, O Lord,
- Be merciful to me, a fool!"
- The room was hushed; in silence rose
- The King, and sought his gardens cool,
- And walked apart, and murmured low,
- "Be merciful to me, a fool!"
Edward Sill
Now edited by professionals, or so I'd have you believe.
Lady
My life in shambles, lacking all and having nothing.
Ten years have passed, and past all point of living.
That love I came to know.
It was so long ago.
He said he would return for me come winter or spring.
Man
My life in riches, lacking nothing and having all.
Ten years have past, in slums I had to crawl.
That life I had to know.
It was so long ago.
But then, I left that scum-filled place forever and more.
Lady
Could it be him? That man there bears his likeness.
Ten years have past, now past this life of bleakness.
That love I came to know.
It was so long ago.
And now he has returned to me, his love still no less.
Man
Hello stranger, whose rotting rags house rats and lice.
Hello stranger, why look at me with those eyes.
Come take a coin or two.
And now be off with you.
To say you are a pretty sight would say you a lie.
Lady
We were in love, love being all and needing nothing
Be off with me? As if he were no longer caring.
Can you not recall my face?
Memories of me misplaced.
And as I walk away from him, my entirety despairing.
Man
And here I am, back to change the slums of my past.
So long ago I was freed from the chains of my caste.
The things that now I see.
Fragments of my memory.
Now times have changed, it is the things I've built that will last.
Lady
So long I've waited, now he knows me no longer.
So long I've waited, but now I wait no longer.
This dagger I now plunge.
This heart I will expunge.
To the marring darkness of despair, myself I render.
Man
And now I recall, the piteous dreg that I had seen
That lady in rags, the love of my life had been.
I once held her in my arms.
Shielding her from hurt and harm.
What have I done? Of thieves and murderers I am akin.
Lady/Man
We were in love, love being all and needing nothing.
He/She was my world, all else beyond comparing.
Mock this wretched life of mine.
He/She is not for me to find.
If there's not meager hope of love, life's not worth enduring.
Notsnhoj
Edited by Christopher Yang and Judith Ooi
Proverbs 1:7 - "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and discipline."
Proverbs 1:8 - "Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching."
Proverb 1:10 - "My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them."
Proverbs 3:1 - "My son, do not forget my teaching, but keep my commands in your heart."
Proverbs 3:3 - "Let love and faithfulness never leave you, bind them around your neck, write them on the tablet of your heart."
Proverbs 3:5 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding."
Proverbs 19:11 - "A man's wisdom gives him patience; it is to his glory to overlook an offense."
Proverbs 19:18 - "Discipline your son, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party in his death."
Proverbs 19:21 - "Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the Lord's purpose that prevails."
Proverbs 20:19 - "A gossip betrays a confidence; so avoid a man who talks too much."
Proverbs 20:22 - "Do not say, 'I'll pay you back for this wrong!' Wait for the Lord, and He will deliver you."
Proverbs 20:24 - "A man's steps are directed by the Lord. How then can anyone understand his own way?"
Quiet the noises. Stop the squabbles. Do you not hear the sweet sound of laughter? Do you not feel its merriment and the peace that it brings? It soothes the giants and quells the raging waters in me. A lady's sonance. It speaks of tranquility, of tenderness, and of affection. Of love! I say. I hear her speak. Layoff with the hubbub. Listen to her. I am unhinged. Thrown into the turmoils of anxiety. I swim in its swirls and uncertainties. Do you not hear her melody? Let me find her. I know she is there. I sense her presence. Who is she? Let me see her face. I hear her. Silence now! Hide the children. Make the rounds. Track the sounds. Seek out her sanctuary.
And as I try to find out where, I am here, and she is there.
Notsnhoj
I saw a picture of two persons oblivious to their surroundings. Behind them, a wave of tremendous power was approaching, towering frighteningly over them. What could have better illustrated our blindness to sin? I then imagined an image of God there beside them, His hand stretched out toward them. I wrote this very simple poem to remember this picture.
Human
Our wills are resolute, our faces straight.
Our hearts are hardened in this charade.
But the waves are high, the forces strong.
His face is there, the master of wrong.
He lurks in the darkness where we cannot see.
By the time we know, we cannot flee.
God
"My feet are rooted into the ground.
I am here, my balance is sound."
"My grasp is firm, my grip secure.
I am here, I am your cure."
"Hold my hand, your wounds will be healed.
Cling to me, your life will be filled."
Human
My ears are deaf, I hear you not.
Now by this storm, I will be caught.
Help me to hear, and build my faith.
Help me to trust that you'll keep me safe.
I hear your voice, I hear you call.
Lord, hold my hand, do not let me fall.
Johnston
Eponine
And now I'm all alone again, nowhere to turn, no one to go to
Without a home, without a friend, without a face to say hello to
And now the night is near
Now I can make believe he's here
Sometimes I walk alone at night when everybody else is sleeping
I think of him and then I'm happy with the company I'm keeping
The city goes to bed
And I can live inside my head
On my own
Pretending he's beside me
All alone
I walk with him till morning
Without him
I feel his arms around me
And when I lose my way, I close my eyes and he has found me
In the rain
The pavement shines like silver
All the lights
Are misty in the river
In the darkness
The trees are full of starlight
And all I see is him and me forever and forever
And I know it's only in my mind
That I'm talking to myself and not to him
And although I know that he is blind
Still I say there's a way for us
I love him
But when the night is over
He is gone
The river's just a river
Without him
The world around me changes
The trees are bare and everywhere the streets are full of strangers
I love him
But everyday I'm learning
All my life
I've only been pretending
Without me
His world will go on turning
The world is full of happiness that I have never known
In the book of Habakkuk, Habakkuk questions God firstly of why the unrighteous of Judah go unpunished. God brings into revelation that He will raise the Babylonians against Israel. Habakkuk then questions of why God would allow an ungodly people to inflict suffering upon a godly people. The answer was that all would be judged, Judah, Babylon, and all else. Though, the righteous would live by their faith, even if they got caught up in the conflict. Yet even amidst these trialing times, Habakkuk concluded it all with a powerful confession of faith.
Habakkuk 3
17 Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.
19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength, he makes my feet like the feet of a deer, he enables me to go on the heights.
And so I pray that when my life is covered in the shadows of trouble and hardship, I will quiet my turbulent soul amidst my focusing on the Lord who is my redeeming light. I pray for faith. That should the malevolent of the world cloud me with confusion and the ones I hold dear decline to intervene, that should I fail realise reality and my sanity coalesce with delusion, that should I tread the paths of darkness and light should shine no more. That I should know that the Lord is Master of my life and Keeper of my soul. So that when my life is no longer filled with goodness, I will trust in His plan for me and follow Him till I die.
Johnston
