who maketh stars to leap in the gaped black
mouth of heaven–
darken me like Thee. Less snake, more
cloud. Less stone, more bread. Less
striking heel and more anointed head.
Quick, before my life sharpens to fang–
more birth, less pang, Lord. Cobalt me
to the level of Your eye—style me
the singing evening lark. You know—
good dark.
Listen to a conversation about this poem on the Reformed Journal Podcast.
Photo by Calwaen Liew on Unsplash
2 Responses
I confess I am new to poetry and this poem makes me wish I’d jumped on board much earlier in my life. So thank you Haley.
A couple words/lines jumped out at me.
“dark”
alone on the line is what dark feels like to me.
“striking heel and more anointed head.
Quick, before my life sharpens to fang–“
That snake image, especially fang; yes PLEASE Lord quick,anoint my head.
And finally “cobalt”. I’m with you Rose. I immediately clicked on it to look for the verb definition. I love the color blue but it is also a mineral of the God created earth; which says to me, take me Lord from my earthly desires to Your “level” of desire of You.
I love your Poetry Edition part of the RJ Rose. Thank you for introducing me to this new way (for me) to experience delight and depth of words.
Thanks for such a wonderful close reading, Joyce! I wish you many happy returns in the beautiful undertaking of reading poetry