Orthodox Poetry

[Christianus]

use meters, or whatever to write orthodox poetry.

[Asteriktos]

If you don't mind, I'd like to post something from St. Gregory the Theologian to start off with (I'm not very good at poetry myself, though I've tried, lol... maybe I'll test the waters eventually)...

But I, I have not kept God's holy mysteries,
with a soul initiated in the way again to heaven,
but the dust's weight weighs me down, nor could I manage
to cast my gaze to light, when I rose from the mud
Yes, cast it! But midway there arose a cloud, blocking the view,
the flesh stirred up by a mundane spirit.
Many cares turn about in my heart, this way and that,
empty things, from a wandering mind,
casting Christ, God the Word, far off...
But now, while God provided every member as good, to do good things,
evil has found them an instrument toward my death.
What is this law for me? How am I bound upon earth by flesh?
How, as a body mingled with light spirit,
am I not totally mind, a pure nature, not totally
a dust of lesser things, but something else, from both, and both?
Therefore I wage an unending battle of war, with
flesh and soul opposed to one another.
I am the image of God, and am drawn to wickedness...

[Asteriktos]

Catholics are red
Orthodox are blue
Together they make purple
That's ecumenism for you!

[Asteriktos]

Ok, here's one I wrote like 8 years ago. It shows off why I generally stick to silly haikus

Thick clouds roll, shadows play on the western wall,
Hashem thunders as his restive children mock,
Eclipsed light, encompassing darkness of day,

Crawling through the streets under a crossbeam, dolorous,
Ragged King falters, falls, once more arises,
"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" his plea forlorn,
Swat from a whip, slowly, reality redivivus,
Swimming eyes of love gaze the pain's genesis,

   Only begotten, Messiah ben David, Suffering servant:
   Fixed now upright, spike in bone, forgiving as bloody head bends,

Joined beams of consciousness, God-man raised up to save us,
Egregious betrayal transforms, foreknown ever-before,
Standing on the air, imprinted on the cross, victorious,

   Unbelieving world, come, look and see:
   Saviour, your Lord, uncursed holding up a tree,

Cryptic instrument of death, what wonder is this before us?
How God himself, would spread his arms, welcoming sinners,
"Return to me, my children, whom I love!" echoes through history,

In the splinter that has drawn Christ's blood, we affix our eyes,
Staggered drift no longer, the sign of our eternal salvation,
Timbers of immortality, God's gracious gift to us, from all creation.

The Cross of Jesus Christ

[Christianus]

Ok, here's one I wrote like 8 years ago. It shows off why I generally stick to silly haikus

Thick clouds roll, shadows play on the western wall,
Hashem thunders as his restive children mock,
Eclipsed light, encompassing darkness of day,

Crawling through the streets under a crossbeam, dolorous,
Ragged King falters, falls, once more arises,
"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" his plea forlorn,
Swat from a whip, slowly, reality redivivus,
Swimming eyes of love gaze the pain's genesis,

   Only begotten, Messiah ben David, Suffering servant:
   Fixed now upright, spike in bone, forgiving as bloody head bends,

Joined beams of consciousness, God-man raised up to save us,
Egregious betrayal transforms, foreknown ever-before,
Standing on the air, imprinted on the cross, victorious,

   Unbelieving world, come, look and see:
   Saviour, your Lord, uncursed holding up a tree,

Cryptic instrument of death, what wonder is this before us?
How God himself, would spread his arms, welcoming sinners,
"Return to me, my children, whom I love!" echoes through history,

In the splinter that has drawn Christ's blood, we affix our eyes,
Staggered drift no longer, the sign of our eternal salvation,
Timbers of immortality, God's gracious gift to us, from all creation.

The Cross of Jesus Christ

Greco Roman poetry rhymes better than those silly rhyme-less haikus, which is not based an accents/tones or vowel length.

[Christianus]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dies_Irae
Dies irae rhymes a lot I love it's rhythm.

Day of wrath! O day of mourning!
See fulfilled the prophets' warning,
Heaven and earth in ashes burning!

Oh, what fear man's bosom rendeth,
when from heaven the Judge descendeth,
on whose sentence all dependeth.

Wondrous sound the trumpet flingeth;
through earth's sepulchers it ringeth;
all before the throne it bringeth.

Death is struck, and nature quaking,
all creation is awaking,
to its Judge an answer making.
continues.....

[Asteriktos]

Greco Roman poetry rhymes better than those silly rhyme-less haikus

You are arguing that poetry which attempts to rhyme, rhymes better than poetry which doesn't. I concede the point! 

[EofK]

Catholics are red
Orthodox are blue
Together they make purple
That's ecumenism for you!

I love it!   

[Asteriktos]

Not an Orthodox Christian, but I love the poetry of Paul Laurence Dunbar, and it's fairly orthodox in content...

Conscience and Remorse
  "Good-bye," I said to my conscience--
    "Good-bye for aye and aye,"
  And I put her hands off harshly,
    And turned my face away;
  And conscience smitten sorely
    Returned not from that day.

  But a time came when my spirit
    Grew weary of its pace;
  And I cried: "Come back, my conscience;
    I long to see thy face."
  But conscience cried: "I cannot;
    Remorse sits in my place."


Religion
  I am no priest of crooks nor creeds,
  For human wants and human needs
  Are more to me than prophets' deeds;
  And human tears and human cares
  Affect me more than human prayers.

  Go, cease your wail, lugubrious saint!
  You fret high Heaven with your plaint.
  Is this the "Christian's joy" you paint?
  Is this the Christian's boasted bliss?
  Avails your faith no more than this?

  Take up your arms, come out with me,
  Let Heav'n alone; humanity
  Needs more and Heaven less from thee.
  With pity for mankind look 'round;
  Help them to rise--and Heaven is found.


By the Stream
  By the stream I dream in calm delight, and watch as in a glass,
  How the clouds like crowds of snowy-hued and white-robed maidens pass,
  And the water into ripples breaks and sparkles as it spreads,
  Like a host of armored knights with silver helmets on their heads.
  And I deem the stream an emblem fit of human life may go,
  For I find a mind may sparkle much and yet but shallows show,
  And a soul may glow with myriad lights and wondrous mysteries,
  When it only lies a dormant thing and mirrors what it sees.

You can find more at this site. I'm lucky enough to have that in book form (my copy is from 1924).

[Asteriktos]

Some more from St. Gregory the Theologian...

Know this, too: Scripture is full of meter,
as wise ones of the Hebrew nation say.
Or don't you find meter in the plucking of strings,
as men of old sang in well-tuned words,
making a genial vehicle for the good
informing morals by way of melodies?
Let Saul persuade you of this,
who was freed of a spirit by the harpist's modes.
What harm, then, is it to you that the young be led
by pleasant solemnities to communion with God?
For they don't bear a change all at once.
For now, let there be some nobler mixture,
and a fixing, when in time the good takes hold,
then, drawing away the frills, like scaffolding,
we'll keep that which is good.
What could be more useful?
And don't you add sweet flavors to your meals,
O stern one, with your frowns and scowlings?
Why then do you begrudge me my good meter,
judging your neighbor's meters by your own?

[username!]

Other topics, take me to the tropics where I can catch some sun and stuff.   how was that?

[Asteriktos]

Other topics, take me to the tropics where I can catch some sun and stuff.   how was that?

For whatever reason, it reminds me of an old Scorpions song...

Longing for the sun you will come
To the island without name
Longing for the sun be welcome
On the island many miles away from home
Be welcome on the island without name
Longing for the sun you will come
To the island many miles away from home

--Holiday

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

HONOR

I honor Saints, not soldiers
I honor the dead who live,
Not those who live to bring death

I honor martyrdom, not militancy
I honor those who lay down their own lives,
Not those who cut down the lives of others

I honor prophets, not politicians
I honor those who die for Truth,
Not those who kill for lies

I honor the Faith, not the flag
I honor those whose arms carry the Cross of life,
Not those who arm themselves with weapons of death

I honor the Gospel, not the government
I honor those who cling to Christ,
Not those who cling to guns, bombs, armies, and war

I honor peace, not paganism
I honor that which conforms to life and love,
Not that which is destructive, deadly, demonic, and dishonorable

And because I honor these things
I am called a "dishonorable man"

 

 

Selam,  -GMK-

[akimori makoto]

Greco Roman poetry rhymes better than those silly rhyme-less haikus, which is not based an accents/tones or vowel length.

You can't properly appreciate haiku unless you can read Japanese. I imagine Chinese poetry works similarly.

[Hiwot]

HONOR

I honor Saints, not soldiers
I honor the dead who live,
Not those who live to bring death

I honor martyrdom, not militancy
I honor those who lay down their own lives,
Not those who cut down the lives of others

I honor prophets, not politicians
I honor those who die for Truth,
Not those who kill for lies

I honor the Faith, not the flag
I honor those whose arms carry the Cross of life,
Not those who arm themselves with weapons of death

I honor the Gospel, not the government
I honor those who cling to Christ,
Not those who cling to guns, bombs, armies, and war

I honor peace, not paganism
I honor that which conforms to life and love,
Not that which is destructive, deadly, demonic, and dishonorable

And because I honor these things
I am called a "dishonorable man"

 

 

Selam,  -GMK-

Oh WOW! Gebre that was deep! and beautiful!!! Thank you for sharing that. if you got more I will be looking forward to it. 

[Hiwot]

Ok, here's one I wrote like 8 years ago. It shows off why I generally stick to silly haikus

Thick clouds roll, shadows play on the western wall,
Hashem thunders as his restive children mock,
Eclipsed light, encompassing darkness of day,

Crawling through the streets under a crossbeam, dolorous,
Ragged King falters, falls, once more arises,
"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" his plea forlorn,
Swat from a whip, slowly, reality redivivus,
Swimming eyes of love gaze the pain's genesis,

   Only begotten, Messiah ben David, Suffering servant:
   Fixed now upright, spike in bone, forgiving as bloody head bends,

Joined beams of consciousness, God-man raised up to save us,
Egregious betrayal transforms, foreknown ever-before,
Standing on the air, imprinted on the cross, victorious,

   Unbelieving world, come, look and see:
   Saviour, your Lord, uncursed holding up a tree,

Cryptic instrument of death, what wonder is this before us?
How God himself, would spread his arms, welcoming sinners,
"Return to me, my children, whom I love!" echoes through history,

In the splinter that has drawn Christ's blood, we affix our eyes,
Staggered drift no longer, the sign of our eternal salvation,
Timbers of immortality, God's gracious gift to us, from all creation.

The Cross of Jesus Christ

Awesome!!! in its beauty and its truth!

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

Ok, here's one I wrote like 8 years ago. It shows off why I generally stick to silly haikus

Thick clouds roll, shadows play on the western wall,
Hashem thunders as his restive children mock,
Eclipsed light, encompassing darkness of day,

Crawling through the streets under a crossbeam, dolorous,
Ragged King falters, falls, once more arises,
"Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" his plea forlorn,
Swat from a whip, slowly, reality redivivus,
Swimming eyes of love gaze the pain's genesis,

   Only begotten, Messiah ben David, Suffering servant:
   Fixed now upright, spike in bone, forgiving as bloody head bends,

Joined beams of consciousness, God-man raised up to save us,
Egregious betrayal transforms, foreknown ever-before,
Standing on the air, imprinted on the cross, victorious,

   Unbelieving world, come, look and see:
   Saviour, your Lord, uncursed holding up a tree,

Cryptic instrument of death, what wonder is this before us?
How God himself, would spread his arms, welcoming sinners,
"Return to me, my children, whom I love!" echoes through history,

In the splinter that has drawn Christ's blood, we affix our eyes,
Staggered drift no longer, the sign of our eternal salvation,
Timbers of immortality, God's gracious gift to us, from all creation.

The Cross of Jesus Christ

Awesome!!! in its beauty and its truth!

Amen!



Selam

[orthonorm]

Scott Cairns Patristic Poetics.

http://www.amazon.com/Loves-Immensity-Mystics-Endless-Life/dp/1557255253

[Heorhij]

Boris Pasternak wrote some pretty amazing poetry with Orthodox Christian motifs in it ("Transfiguration," "Nativity" and other poems, some of them included into his major novel, "Doctor Zhivago," and some not). Unfortunately, it seems impossible to translate them, because they completely lose their charm in translations.

[pensateomnia]

There were many excellent poets in Greece in the 20th century: Kostis Palamas, George Seferis, Constantine Cavafy, Angelos Sikelianos, Odysseus Elytis, Nikos Gatsos, and Zissimos Lorenzatos (to name just the most famous, including the Nobel Laureates). They all dealt with Orthodox themes, quite like T.S. Eliot dealt with issues inspired by Christianity. A lot of their work has been translated into English by Philip Sherrard and Edmund Leroy Keeley.

[JamesRottnek]

Catholics are red
Orthodox are blue
Together they make purple
That's ecumenism for you!

My signature laugh.  It just happened.

[akimori makoto]

I know Archbishop Styllianos of Australia writes poetry with Christian themes but I don't know if he's any good.

[orthonorm]

Catholics are red
Orthodox are blue
Together they make purple
That's ecumenism for you!

And why haven't you cured cancer yet? Or the talk of the town among all the young women?

This is pure brilliance.

[Asteriktos]

For George

I am the abrogation of the dogmatic wont
   The keystone of a life well lived

I am the root of the rebellion against the ancestral evil
   The original and ever-present sin of certainty

I provide a glimpse of that which fills with awe and delight
   A sense of the depth and breadth of existence

I bestow glorious gifts upon all my children
   Clothing the shaken, the vulgar, and the ragged

I battle ignorance and wage war on delusions
   Armies are laid low before me, and my enemies tremble

I march on the gates of gehenna and bring release
   All who follow me shall lift their heads and rejoice

I am the origin and manifestation of your integrity
   A bulwark against ruin when you falter and fall

I am that from which you derive your worth
   Making five from the sum of two twos
   
I am the touchstone of all that is possible
   Seek me, faith, and I shall be yours

[Asteriktos]

Spiritual Writing

Those stirring feelings are just conceit
Disband such whims that hearts supply
Close your grip and don't retreat
Withstand the passions that do defy

Begin to write as thoughts are posed
Watch as words on paper expand
Ideas shatter as they're enclosed
Put back together at your command

Repose shall come to those found meet
Demanding no more than parting sigh
Depose all notions of deceit
Receiving that which comes from on high

And welling up from ascetic throes
Taking paper and pen in hand
Emerging is a fulminant prose
As lines stream out strand by strand

So give yourself to joyful grace
Do not recoil in false pride but
Know that you'll find in that place
No windows closed or doors barred shut

For all is open to those who seek
To write those truths that do not die
And finds the words that do bespeak
This newfound creation, aye and aye

[Asteriktos]

Our Theosis

Between heaven and hell are hearts alive
A life astride eternality's threat
Grasping at that for which our hearts do strive
Having to answer for all we beget

We come before He who makes the decision
Our souls are naked for all to see
Will he smile at us or laugh in derision
When he looks on a man of such low degree?

What can be done but submit for sentence
And we have no choice but to pay the fine
Cleansed without fire in proportion to repentance
Till at last when each of us are made divine

[Gebre Menfes Kidus]

 

When I dropped
My mind arose
But my soul remained
Unchanged
Within the microdot
I saw a lot
Yet no further
Than the windowpane

But when I bowed
My heart awoke
My spirit found
New life
I saw beyond
This mortal realm
A Truth
Named Jesus Christ

Selam

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