‘In this dark hour, I do not believe that any darkness will endure’ – Faramir of Gondor
I offer these poems to anyone who may be dreading the worst today. I pray that even as they acknowledge the possibility of darkness, they point you toward the light.
Autocracy’s Rise
The darkening skies descend.
The unsuspecting masses blink
As trembling prophets absorb
What they knew would come.
For them, the expected death
Of what they once held dear.
They brace, for loss, for ruin,
And the marching feet of doom.
They know, that past is prologue,
As the behemoth takes its place
At the vanguard of a chilling dread
That now hangs over all.
Yet this they know, deeply:
That all will not be lost.
For all cannot be taken.
There is still that which abides,
Which nothing can filch or harm,
Beyond the dragon’s reach.
There is faith,
The substance of hope.
And love beyond imagining.
The forest, filled with wild.
Music, to dance to, to fuel desire.
For eternity. For Life.
There is the present moment.
To savor, bless, and know.
And in that moment God,
Ever-present. Constant. True.
Pointing the way forward. On!
Presence. Protection. Peace.
Is this not what matters,
Most of all, when all else fails?
To know that in such days
The best cannot be broken?
That in the end the sadness
Comes untrue, and love wins?
Oh Blessed One who stills my soul!
Let me not forget these truths.
And when the sky is darkest,
Let me feel your smile,
That I may brave the tempest,
Shielded by thy perfect love.
For Election Day
I have no earthly ruler
No President to claim
I serve the one who is the King
The name above all names.
The empire is a monster
A snarling, fearful beast
Like Grendel or Polyphemus
On mortal flesh it feasts.
Perhaps once I thought otherwise
That it was true and brave
I know it now for what it is:
It reeks of death and grave.
The times they are so fearful
Dreadful, dank, and dark
The leopard beast is on the march
As ‘lambs’ now wear its mark.
And yet I have no need to fear
Though all I once knew fails
My life is in the hands of Christ
Whose Kingdom will prevail.
Under Christ’s Mercy,
Brent