"Hark, lamentation is heard in Ramah, and bitter weeping,
Rachel weeping for her sons.
She refuses to be comforted : they are no more."
Jeremiah 31.xv, quoted in Matthew 2.xviii
"Were we led all that way for
Birth or Death? There was a Birth, certainly"
T S Eliot, Journey of the Magi
I
Raising a child in a world of dirt
There are times of necessary hurt:
A thorn extracted, a decayed tooth removed;
Parents must demonstrate their love
By acting thus, but also by
Soothing pain and explaining why.
II
The birth of God's son needed witnesses
He called the Magi from afar
From obscure Eastern fastnesses-
And sent them a guiding star
It was unfortunate that the Wise Men
Had been directed through Jerusalem
And by enquiring for God's son on earth
Alerted Herod to his rival's birth.
III
Through the smoke of Chanukah's candles
The soldiers came to Bethlehem:
Their orders were clear.
They searched the village, house to house,
Rounding up babies and toddlers
Who stared dumbly, not understanding
The import of this baleful power.
Too late they heard blade slip from scabbard
Saw the edge gleam in the dusk:
Their cries were brief.
IV
Weeping, I lifted the featherweight body
Carried it to a table and laid it out
The rabbi came to comfort me
"God's hand might have saved him-
We know that One escaped,
But He did not -could not, or would not - rescue more"
"Perhaps His purpose entails
Some suffering of innocents
To achieve His great designs-
We are as children to Him,
And cannot hope to comprehend His plan."
V
No ceremony was made at the burial
I had no confidence in the care
To which I must entrust my child's fate
Turning away, I covered my head.
And laid curses on the soldiers
And I cursed the king
Then I cursed the Magi
And then I cursed the Author of my loss.
2 comments:
Well, obviously, it was the last two stanzas that got me. It spoke of too much reality in my own life for me to miss. Absolutely this piece DOES speak to the "god is good" philosophy of religion - and how much crap it can be. God is not always kind and loving, and this piece shakes its fist at the realization of that concept.
As for an overall look at this, I think the first stanza could somehow mention religion (maybe the spare the rod spoil the child idea?) so that it wasn't so obviously different than the other parts. Also, removed/love don't quite rhyme, which makes it a bit of a jolt there, since the rest of the piece told me to expect exact rhyme.
I actually like this piece quite a lot Martin - I like anything written that challenges the ideas of organized religion, particularly christianity. That's what happens when you're born on Independence day, and raised by christian zealots ;)
Thanks for pointing this one out to me sir, I'd have hated to have missed it.
Yes, I knew the removed/love bit was wrong! I had started out with no rhyme at all, but thought it would be good to add a hymn feeling to echo the carols which are inextricable from the nativity story, and therefore levered in some slightly flabby rhyme. I justified this to myself on the grounds that 19th-century hymns often accept a wide range of near-rhymes (which is why I felt that in II men/Jerusalem was ok).
I'm thinking of adding an introductory hymn-type stanza:
To the Lord God our debt is deep
He watches o'er us as we sleep
He freed us from Egyptian chains
And led us back to Canaan's plains
We are gathered safely in
We are as children unto Him.
(still a bit flabby but sets the tone and place)
and then changing the love line to "A parent's love is proved"
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