Devotional Poetry
The use of poetry as devotion has long been one of the ways people connect with God.
The poetry of the Bible expresses the deep yearnings and love, the difficult feelings and pain, the wonder and praise, the worship and thanksgiving of the heart of humankind to God. Here below are two poems from Catching the Light.
The first looks at the Prodigal Son from the perspective of the older brother:
All that I have
I thought the prodigal son had it all,
A Father to reckless run to him
And bundle his stinking body close, heart surges
Pounding the memory of feet on a road.
All forgiveness, a robe, a ring and a huge party
The fattened calf, and tears creasing the cheeks.
I was the older son of back-room shadows
Resentful, slaving so hard for the love
I felt I could never earn.
Until I heard him say to me, My son,
You are always with me and
All that I have is yours.
I was the son of a prodigal heart
A hundred thousand miles away, distant
I might as well not have lived here at all.
All of the trying, the mask of perfection
Every single lie I believed told me I had to be right
And here I fold into the cloak, beat upon the chest
Sink onto my knees, weep under a robe
Made for me so long ago, a ring kept for my hand
A feast prepared, for me to join
And arms around me, breath in my ears joy.
Yes, You are always with me,
All that I have
Is yours.
© Jenneth Graser 2012
This next poem is a prayer as conversation:
The Quiet of Love
In your heart Father
Is the fragrance
Of a million gardens.
In your company
Is pure rest.
Your feathers are to
Me great comfort
Shielding me from harm.
“How are you?” you ask.
I feel you are altogether
Present to hear me
And I altogether present
To hear you.
I am wrapped up in
Your expression of love;
You take me in with
Your eyes and invite
Me into depths I have
Never known.
“Lavish,” you say
“My love for you is lavish.
And I will lavish you with my love
Spread abroad in the eternity of
Your heart.
Love is my heart beating for
You with the blood of my Son.
I will quiet you with my Love
I will quiet you with my Love.”
© Jenneth Graser 2012
The mystics wrote some of the most beautiful devotional poetry.
Many used poetry to express their experiences with God, which are often profoundly moving.
These poems cause our hearts to respond in like with our own unique prayers and meditations.
The Dark Night of the Soul
by St John Of the Cross
On a dark night,
Kindled in love with yearnings–oh, happy chance!–
I went forth without being observed,
My house being now at rest.
In darkness and secure,
By the secret ladder, disguised–oh, happy chance!–
In darkness and in concealment,
My house being now at rest.
In the happy night,
In secret, when none saw me,
Nor I beheld aught,
Without light or guide, save that which burned in my
heart.
This light guided me
More surely than the light of noonday
To the place where he (well I knew who!) was awaiting me–
A place where none appeared.
Oh, night that guided me,
Oh, night more lovely than the dawn,
Oh, night that joined Beloved with lover,
Lover transformed in the Beloved!
Upon my flowery breast,
Kept wholly for himself alone,
There he stayed sleeping, and I caressed him,
And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze.
The breeze blew from the turret
As I parted his locks;
With his gentle hand he wounded my neck
And caused all my senses to be suspended.
I remained, lost in oblivion;
My face I reclined on the Beloved.
All ceased and I abandoned myself,
Leaving my cares forgotten among the lilies.
Come, Come, Whoever You Are
by Rumi
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn’t matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a thousand times
Come, yet again, come, come.
Be a Bud
by Thich Nhat Hahn
Be a bud sitting quietly on the hedge.
Be a smile, one part of wondrous existence.
Stand here. There is no need to depart.
Benediction
by Rabindranath Tagore
Bless this little heart, this white soul that has
won the kiss of heaven for our earth.
He loves the light of the sun,
he loves the sight of his mother’s face.
He has not learned to despise the dust,
and to hanker after gold.
Clasp him to your heart and bless him.
He has come into this land of an hundred crossroads.
I know not how he chose you from the crowd,
came to your door, and grasped your hand
to ask his way.
He will follow you, laughing and talking,
and not a doubt in his heart.
Keep his trust, lead him straight and bless him
Lay your hand on his head, and pray
that though the waves underneath grow threatening,
yet the breath from above may come and
fill his sails and
waft him to the heaven of peace.
Man
by Meister Eckhart
Man never desires anything so earnestly
as God desires to bring a man to Himself,
that he may know Him.
Silence
by Hafiz
A day of Silence
Can be a pilgrimage in itself.
A day of Silence
Can help you listen
To the Soul play
Its marvellous lute and drum.
Is not most talking
A crazed defence of a crumbling fort?
I thought we came here
To surrender in Silence,
To yield to Light and Happiness,
To Dance within
In celebration of Love’s Victory!
God alone is enough
by St Teresa of Avila
Let nothing upset you,
let nothing startle you.
All things pass;
God does not change.
Patience wins
all it seeks.
Whoever has God
lacks nothing:
God alone is enough.
A quote by Lao Tzu
Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
Clearing at Dawn
by Li Po (translated by Arthur Waley)
The fields are chill, the sparse rain has stopped;
The colours of Spring teem on every side.
With leaping fish the blue pond is full;
With singing thrushes the green boughs droop.
The flowers of the field have dabbled their powdered cheeks;
The mountain grasses are bent level at the waist.
By the bamboo stream the last fragment of cloud
Blown by the wind slowly scatters away.
Click the links below to be taken to more spiritual poetry, both classic and modern day for your further enrichment:
The poetry of the Bible expresses the deep yearnings and love, the difficult feelings and pain, the wonder and praise, the worship and thanksgiving of the heart of humankind to God. Here below are two poems from Catching the Light.
The first looks at the Prodigal Son from the perspective of the older brother:
All that I have
I thought the prodigal son had it all,
A Father to reckless run to him
And bundle his stinking body close, heart surges
Pounding the memory of feet on a road.
All forgiveness, a robe, a ring and a huge party
The fattened calf, and tears creasing the cheeks.
I was the older son of back-room shadows
Resentful, slaving so hard for the love
I felt I could never earn.
Until I heard him say to me, My son,
You are always with me and
All that I have is yours.
I was the son of a prodigal heart
A hundred thousand miles away, distant
I might as well not have lived here at all.
All of the trying, the mask of perfection
Every single lie I believed told me I had to be right
And here I fold into the cloak, beat upon the chest
Sink onto my knees, weep under a robe
Made for me so long ago, a ring kept for my hand
A feast prepared, for me to join
And arms around me, breath in my ears joy.
Yes, You are always with me,
All that I have
Is yours.
© Jenneth Graser 2012
This next poem is a prayer as conversation:
The Quiet of Love
In your heart Father
Is the fragrance
Of a million gardens.
In your company
Is pure rest.
Your feathers are to
Me great comfort
Shielding me from harm.
“How are you?” you ask.
I feel you are altogether
Present to hear me
And I altogether present
To hear you.
I am wrapped up in
Your expression of love;
You take me in with
Your eyes and invite
Me into depths I have
Never known.
“Lavish,” you say
“My love for you is lavish.
And I will lavish you with my love
Spread abroad in the eternity of
Your heart.
Love is my heart beating for
You with the blood of my Son.
I will quiet you with my Love
I will quiet you with my Love.”
© Jenneth Graser 2012
The mystics wrote some of the most beautiful devotional poetry.
Many used poetry to express their experiences with God, which are often profoundly moving.
These poems cause our hearts to respond in like with our own unique prayers and meditations.
The Dark Night of the Soul
by St John Of the Cross
On a dark night,
Kindled in love with yearnings–oh, happy chance!–
I went forth without being observed,
My house being now at rest.
In darkness and secure,
By the secret ladder, disguised–oh, happy chance!–
In darkness and in concealment,
My house being now at rest.
In the happy night,
In secret, when none saw me,
Nor I beheld aught,
Without light or guide, save that which burned in my
heart.
This light guided me
More surely than the light of noonday
To the place where he (well I knew who!) was awaiting me–
A place where none appeared.
Oh, night that guided me,
Oh, night more lovely than the dawn,
Oh, night that joined Beloved with lover,
Lover transformed in the Beloved!
Upon my flowery breast,
Kept wholly for himself alone,
There he stayed sleeping, and I caressed him,
And the fanning of the cedars made a breeze.
The breeze blew from the turret
As I parted his locks;
With his gentle hand he wounded my neck
And caused all my senses to be suspended.
I remained, lost in oblivion;
My face I reclined on the Beloved.
All ceased and I abandoned myself,
Leaving my cares forgotten among the lilies.
Come, Come, Whoever You Are
by Rumi
Wonderer, worshipper, lover of leaving.
It doesn’t matter.
Ours is not a caravan of despair.
Come, even if you have broken your vow
a thousand times
Come, yet again, come, come.
Be a Bud
by Thich Nhat Hahn
Be a bud sitting quietly on the hedge.
Be a smile, one part of wondrous existence.
Stand here. There is no need to depart.
Benediction
by Rabindranath Tagore
Bless this little heart, this white soul that has
won the kiss of heaven for our earth.
He loves the light of the sun,
he loves the sight of his mother’s face.
He has not learned to despise the dust,
and to hanker after gold.
Clasp him to your heart and bless him.
He has come into this land of an hundred crossroads.
I know not how he chose you from the crowd,
came to your door, and grasped your hand
to ask his way.
He will follow you, laughing and talking,
and not a doubt in his heart.
Keep his trust, lead him straight and bless him
Lay your hand on his head, and pray
that though the waves underneath grow threatening,
yet the breath from above may come and
fill his sails and
waft him to the heaven of peace.
Man
by Meister Eckhart
Man never desires anything so earnestly
as God desires to bring a man to Himself,
that he may know Him.
Silence
by Hafiz
A day of Silence
Can be a pilgrimage in itself.
A day of Silence
Can help you listen
To the Soul play
Its marvellous lute and drum.
Is not most talking
A crazed defence of a crumbling fort?
I thought we came here
To surrender in Silence,
To yield to Light and Happiness,
To Dance within
In celebration of Love’s Victory!
God alone is enough
by St Teresa of Avila
Let nothing upset you,
let nothing startle you.
All things pass;
God does not change.
Patience wins
all it seeks.
Whoever has God
lacks nothing:
God alone is enough.
A quote by Lao Tzu
Be content with what you have;
rejoice in the way things are.
When you realize there is nothing lacking,
the whole world belongs to you.
Clearing at Dawn
by Li Po (translated by Arthur Waley)
The fields are chill, the sparse rain has stopped;
The colours of Spring teem on every side.
With leaping fish the blue pond is full;
With singing thrushes the green boughs droop.
The flowers of the field have dabbled their powdered cheeks;
The mountain grasses are bent level at the waist.
By the bamboo stream the last fragment of cloud
Blown by the wind slowly scatters away.
Click the links below to be taken to more spiritual poetry, both classic and modern day for your further enrichment:
