Post by tengwartranslator on Jun 25, 2005 12:58:55 GMT -5
We have a class called "Faith and Imagination" at my school, and I took it for the last half of the year. The last assignment was to take a Bible story and go deep into it, showing it in a way it's not normally seen. For mine, I decided to do a free-verse, epic poem of the book of Job, and the teacher loved it so much she gave me and "A" on the spot. It's 12 stanzas, and the viewpoint switched back from the narration of Job and Satan, beginning with Satan. I tried my best to put my ideals of faith in this story as part of the assignment. Hope you guys like it:
THE TRIAL OF JOB
I
[glow=red,2,300]I am darkness- the Shadow, cast from Eternal Light
The people, they are the light of the world- I am the abyss, the opposite of that light
Once a part of the Light was I, a seat of power I did have, yet I was cast out-
The Loving God, who cast out his own!
Was it not through Him that the great choice was given?
Was it not then that I was born?
Indeed, I am His son.
Beautiful was I in the eyes of the God
Loved was I
Wanted was I
Needed was I
Now love, want, and need are past
Changed for the future, selected among loyal
Loyal like that of Job.[/glow]
II
You, the Lord, are my God, my Lord alone!
I will love you, my God, with all my heart, soul, and strength.
I, Job, walk in your footsteps, and have since my birth.
Walking naked from my mother’s womb, searching for the light you give
For you will take and give, until naked I shall return.
I bless you, O Lord- may Israel hear your love!
III
[glow=red,2,300]Coming from roaming the Earth and patrolling it,
One apart from others do I see.
Faultless and Upright Job, he is called.
Faultless and upright in the blessings of his Lord.
If without these, would love of loyalty remain?
Loyalty from loyalty, life from life, skin for skin,
Love for love.
All will man give for his life, even renouncing loyalty’s love.
If life and love is broken, surely loyalty follows.
Then will true judgment of love be placed.[/glow]
IV
Lightning to strike! The livestock of innocence slaughtered!
From Heaven, I am told, come these orders of death!
A wind from the desert, also, there was,
Four corners of the house destroyed.
Two men alone have escaped- they alone to tell me
Of the death of my sons and daughters.
Not from heaven this death comes!
For the Lord is life and love alone.
It is rightly so, for why worship be repaid with malcontent?
V
[glow=red,2,300]Alas! Renounce has not taken wing in the mind of the servant Job
Who for his downfalls, and all things lost, has kept his love for the God.
What is the God, who through torture is worshipped? Do they not realize that God Cannot love if such torture can be brought?
Perhaps there is suspect of the true cause- No!
I am silent- none realize I am there-
Weakness would prove; ego would fail.
To suffer is human, and is accepted perhaps, yet questioning remains.
Question will lead to doubt, doubt to anger, anger to disloyalty.
Then, trust broken, realization begins, and I rewarded.
To question must occur, so upright Job will have bent to bow to true greatness.[/glow]
VI
Pain of a thousand knives from the sole to the skull!
With boils I am cast, shadowed with a sickly leopard skin
Of paleness, weakness, and question
Nay, say I, this pain be of the Lord;
With all sense, it is not possible if from Him all good things come.
But if not the Lord, whence does agony come?
If God is all, is agony not?
Answers wait, yet I do not see
Through confusion’s wall- it is dense with question
Dense as though simple love is no simple task.
O confusion- it becomes my life!
Curse the day of my birth, when darkness by God’s light bean!
Why does life persist if only for torture at divine approval?
Life is no rest- despair inherent-
May it be that I am no longer!
VII
[glow=red,2,300]Doubt, despair, regret takes hold- clearer than water is his lament.
His friends, my servants, speak to him- regret of the Lord’s love, they say.
True love is not questioned- trust can break-
And Job begins to question.
Though he does not speak, what is thought screams in his eyes.
A cursing of his birth and rejection of his life.
Yet, although there is rejection, faith remains.
Although in sickness, upright Job remains.
There is strength in his divine addiction, yet relief is sought.
This I will give, through condolence
He will see my love, and once love is found,
Need will follow.[/glow]
VIII
A cause to my suffering found, possibly divulged
Is the reason why light from heaven is fire.
Sin has corrupted my life, and atonement must follow.
Punishment is given by those who love.
But what sin has passed my lips, my limbs, or my thoughts?
Have I done that which I do not know?
Anger in some way must affect the divine Father,
Even if its knowledge is not known to the one of cause.
Speakers have come- they say to me
The cause of Almighty torture,
“Deceived were you,” they say to me, “in your belief of uprightness
For none are truly upright.
There are those who plow for mischief- they alone walk the Earth,
And all are laid to blame and punishment.
No trust of His servants is possessed by the Lord.
For sin will take without warning.
The Lord will punish, chastise, rebuke
Only to beg is the choice you have.
Why suffer in the aura of falsehood?
Plead to end, and behold it shall”.
Is there no friendly advice of condolence?
Only dogma- no true speech I see here-
Sounds of a hypocrite, spouting answer without reason, and reason without answer.
God Himself seems blind to truth.
IX
[glow=red,2,300]Much confusion, doubt, and despair- yet will of faith holds strong.
Upright did Job begin- and upright he remains!
What strength be in such falsehood?
What is it of faith that holds so strong?
So deep, yet unseen- and with a strength far beyond expectance.
No understanding is within myself that I would know this faith.
How can trust be without knowledge?
What bond invisible can hold so strong?
And a bond held by wavering love!
Indeed, such a thing would not and could not long endure-
Yet Job persists.[/glow]
X
Can it be that the Lord shall suffer?
Is this torture I am bearing His to bear, and seeking relief
Knowing my wish to serve has chosen my back to place the burden?
Punishment yields to love, as that of a scolding parent-
A thought misplaced in other’s minds.
Happy to carry the burden am I if to bring relief of the Lord.
Yet, confusion remains-
Clouds form before mine eyes.
Why has not this not past occurred- never was this suffering known
To any man- even those greater servants than I.
Pain of thought and body consume me-
I hold nothing!
I know nothing!
I am nothing!
Speak to me your cause O God!
XI
[glow=red,2,300]Now is the point of question driven to the want of answer-
And answer shall be my task.
He shall hear my word and know of God’s forgotten and misplaced love-
That love, which cast out me as it now casts out him-
That love, which brings all to suffer-
That love, which by my hand and Job’s shall end!
Wait- something draws near- something I am not known to.
A force of faith, a step of courage and will, and a being of understanding
Another servant of the God!
Like Job, yet unlike Job
He is upright, blameless, and loyal- like that of Job, yet he understands!
This man, called Elihu understands!
The faith! The dreaded faith! It is with this man! My vision becomes clouded!
No power do I have here![/glow]
XII
Through my pain, through my scarred and tainted ears- a voice
Soothing with comfort, warm with wisdom,
Deep understanding, this voice.
Elihu is his name, my God, his God.
Young he is, yet abundant with wisdom.
He speaks- to listen is an effort in my struggle,
But answers must be found.
He says to me, “Weary of bestowing my knowledge
Upon one as old as you, was I.
Yet the message of mine must be conveyed.
You speak for God’s answer, you beg to hear His voice,
But you have not the ears to hear,
For He has been speaking ceaselessly, from beginning to end.
You believe He cannot see; you believe He does not hear,
But he cries with you- He suffers with you-
He does not pass his sufferings- He takes them from you-
It is He who has bared your burden.
I have suffered was well, many times- and I acted as you do now;
I lay in agony, crying for the Lord,
Until I saw He was crying also,
For His tears had cleared my vision.
Why then, do you ask, do the pain and sufferings remain?
There are others working in the world that remain unseen to you.
The Lord works not alone- those that do what He will not.
Nature, chance, and evil, even- always at work on the Earth.
We suffer by cause of nature- by that will that makes us free.
For if suffering does not pass, never will we know true love of the Lord,
For while ours will waver- His does not.
Open your heart, Job- listen to the voice of the Lord!
Within His glory- you shall share!”
And thus did I do, stepping aside all doubt and confusion,
Which born of Satan, I have rebuked.
With eyes of faith and sight of love- ending of my sufferings come!
Clear is my sight- full is my love,
And destruction of Satan’s will has begun!
For though suffering must pass, the righteous, proved through suffering,
Will have their glory.
THE TRIAL OF JOB
I
[glow=red,2,300]I am darkness- the Shadow, cast from Eternal Light
The people, they are the light of the world- I am the abyss, the opposite of that light
Once a part of the Light was I, a seat of power I did have, yet I was cast out-
The Loving God, who cast out his own!
Was it not through Him that the great choice was given?
Was it not then that I was born?
Indeed, I am His son.
Beautiful was I in the eyes of the God
Loved was I
Wanted was I
Needed was I
Now love, want, and need are past
Changed for the future, selected among loyal
Loyal like that of Job.[/glow]
II
You, the Lord, are my God, my Lord alone!
I will love you, my God, with all my heart, soul, and strength.
I, Job, walk in your footsteps, and have since my birth.
Walking naked from my mother’s womb, searching for the light you give
For you will take and give, until naked I shall return.
I bless you, O Lord- may Israel hear your love!
III
[glow=red,2,300]Coming from roaming the Earth and patrolling it,
One apart from others do I see.
Faultless and Upright Job, he is called.
Faultless and upright in the blessings of his Lord.
If without these, would love of loyalty remain?
Loyalty from loyalty, life from life, skin for skin,
Love for love.
All will man give for his life, even renouncing loyalty’s love.
If life and love is broken, surely loyalty follows.
Then will true judgment of love be placed.[/glow]
IV
Lightning to strike! The livestock of innocence slaughtered!
From Heaven, I am told, come these orders of death!
A wind from the desert, also, there was,
Four corners of the house destroyed.
Two men alone have escaped- they alone to tell me
Of the death of my sons and daughters.
Not from heaven this death comes!
For the Lord is life and love alone.
It is rightly so, for why worship be repaid with malcontent?
V
[glow=red,2,300]Alas! Renounce has not taken wing in the mind of the servant Job
Who for his downfalls, and all things lost, has kept his love for the God.
What is the God, who through torture is worshipped? Do they not realize that God Cannot love if such torture can be brought?
Perhaps there is suspect of the true cause- No!
I am silent- none realize I am there-
Weakness would prove; ego would fail.
To suffer is human, and is accepted perhaps, yet questioning remains.
Question will lead to doubt, doubt to anger, anger to disloyalty.
Then, trust broken, realization begins, and I rewarded.
To question must occur, so upright Job will have bent to bow to true greatness.[/glow]
VI
Pain of a thousand knives from the sole to the skull!
With boils I am cast, shadowed with a sickly leopard skin
Of paleness, weakness, and question
Nay, say I, this pain be of the Lord;
With all sense, it is not possible if from Him all good things come.
But if not the Lord, whence does agony come?
If God is all, is agony not?
Answers wait, yet I do not see
Through confusion’s wall- it is dense with question
Dense as though simple love is no simple task.
O confusion- it becomes my life!
Curse the day of my birth, when darkness by God’s light bean!
Why does life persist if only for torture at divine approval?
Life is no rest- despair inherent-
May it be that I am no longer!
VII
[glow=red,2,300]Doubt, despair, regret takes hold- clearer than water is his lament.
His friends, my servants, speak to him- regret of the Lord’s love, they say.
True love is not questioned- trust can break-
And Job begins to question.
Though he does not speak, what is thought screams in his eyes.
A cursing of his birth and rejection of his life.
Yet, although there is rejection, faith remains.
Although in sickness, upright Job remains.
There is strength in his divine addiction, yet relief is sought.
This I will give, through condolence
He will see my love, and once love is found,
Need will follow.[/glow]
VIII
A cause to my suffering found, possibly divulged
Is the reason why light from heaven is fire.
Sin has corrupted my life, and atonement must follow.
Punishment is given by those who love.
But what sin has passed my lips, my limbs, or my thoughts?
Have I done that which I do not know?
Anger in some way must affect the divine Father,
Even if its knowledge is not known to the one of cause.
Speakers have come- they say to me
The cause of Almighty torture,
“Deceived were you,” they say to me, “in your belief of uprightness
For none are truly upright.
There are those who plow for mischief- they alone walk the Earth,
And all are laid to blame and punishment.
No trust of His servants is possessed by the Lord.
For sin will take without warning.
The Lord will punish, chastise, rebuke
Only to beg is the choice you have.
Why suffer in the aura of falsehood?
Plead to end, and behold it shall”.
Is there no friendly advice of condolence?
Only dogma- no true speech I see here-
Sounds of a hypocrite, spouting answer without reason, and reason without answer.
God Himself seems blind to truth.
IX
[glow=red,2,300]Much confusion, doubt, and despair- yet will of faith holds strong.
Upright did Job begin- and upright he remains!
What strength be in such falsehood?
What is it of faith that holds so strong?
So deep, yet unseen- and with a strength far beyond expectance.
No understanding is within myself that I would know this faith.
How can trust be without knowledge?
What bond invisible can hold so strong?
And a bond held by wavering love!
Indeed, such a thing would not and could not long endure-
Yet Job persists.[/glow]
X
Can it be that the Lord shall suffer?
Is this torture I am bearing His to bear, and seeking relief
Knowing my wish to serve has chosen my back to place the burden?
Punishment yields to love, as that of a scolding parent-
A thought misplaced in other’s minds.
Happy to carry the burden am I if to bring relief of the Lord.
Yet, confusion remains-
Clouds form before mine eyes.
Why has not this not past occurred- never was this suffering known
To any man- even those greater servants than I.
Pain of thought and body consume me-
I hold nothing!
I know nothing!
I am nothing!
Speak to me your cause O God!
XI
[glow=red,2,300]Now is the point of question driven to the want of answer-
And answer shall be my task.
He shall hear my word and know of God’s forgotten and misplaced love-
That love, which cast out me as it now casts out him-
That love, which brings all to suffer-
That love, which by my hand and Job’s shall end!
Wait- something draws near- something I am not known to.
A force of faith, a step of courage and will, and a being of understanding
Another servant of the God!
Like Job, yet unlike Job
He is upright, blameless, and loyal- like that of Job, yet he understands!
This man, called Elihu understands!
The faith! The dreaded faith! It is with this man! My vision becomes clouded!
No power do I have here![/glow]
XII
Through my pain, through my scarred and tainted ears- a voice
Soothing with comfort, warm with wisdom,
Deep understanding, this voice.
Elihu is his name, my God, his God.
Young he is, yet abundant with wisdom.
He speaks- to listen is an effort in my struggle,
But answers must be found.
He says to me, “Weary of bestowing my knowledge
Upon one as old as you, was I.
Yet the message of mine must be conveyed.
You speak for God’s answer, you beg to hear His voice,
But you have not the ears to hear,
For He has been speaking ceaselessly, from beginning to end.
You believe He cannot see; you believe He does not hear,
But he cries with you- He suffers with you-
He does not pass his sufferings- He takes them from you-
It is He who has bared your burden.
I have suffered was well, many times- and I acted as you do now;
I lay in agony, crying for the Lord,
Until I saw He was crying also,
For His tears had cleared my vision.
Why then, do you ask, do the pain and sufferings remain?
There are others working in the world that remain unseen to you.
The Lord works not alone- those that do what He will not.
Nature, chance, and evil, even- always at work on the Earth.
We suffer by cause of nature- by that will that makes us free.
For if suffering does not pass, never will we know true love of the Lord,
For while ours will waver- His does not.
Open your heart, Job- listen to the voice of the Lord!
Within His glory- you shall share!”
And thus did I do, stepping aside all doubt and confusion,
Which born of Satan, I have rebuked.
With eyes of faith and sight of love- ending of my sufferings come!
Clear is my sight- full is my love,
And destruction of Satan’s will has begun!
For though suffering must pass, the righteous, proved through suffering,
Will have their glory.