If You want to know the Truth, ask the Poets

Poetry is a sort of writing shorthand, that cuts through the world's grief, and reveals the divine truth that governs the universe.

Or, as Percy Bysshe Shelly once put it: "Poets are the unacknowledged legislators of the world."

Shelly also wrote: "Poetry is the record of the best and happiest moments of the happiest and best minds."

And,

"Poets are the hierophants (priests) of an unapprehended inspiration; the mirrors of the gigantic shadows which futurity casts upon the present."

Only poets could write the following:

Be strong!

We are not here to play, to dream, to drift;

We have hard work to do, and loads to lift;

Shun not the struggle--face it; it's God's gift.

Be strong!

Say not, "The days are evil.  Who's to blame?"

And fold the hands and acquiesce--oh shame!

Stand up, speak up, and bravely, in God's name.

Stand up!

It matters not how deep intrenched the wrong,

How hard the battle goes, the day how long:

Faint not--fight on!  Tomorrow comes the song.

by Maltbie Davenport Babcock, American reverend and poet,

If I can stop one heart from breaking, I shall not live in vain:

If I can ease one life the aching,

Or cool one pain,

Or help one fainting robin

Unto his nest again,

I shall not live in vain.

by Emily Dickenson

Of all the liars in the world,

 sometimes the worst are our own fears.

by Rudyard Kipling

"A single act of kindness throws out roots in all directions, and the roots spring up and make new trees."

by aviator Amelia Earhart

"What is life?

'Tis but a madnesss.

What is life?

An illusion, a shadow, a story?

And the greatest good, is little enough;

For all life is a dream,

And dreams themselves are only dreams."

by Pedro Calderón de la Barca, a.k.a. "the Spanish Shakespeare"

"It is only imperfection that complains of what is imperfect. The more perfect we are, the more gentle and quiet we become towards the defects of others."

by Joseph Addison, English philosopher

"I will speak ill of no man, and speak all the good I know of everybody."

-- Benjamin Franklin

"He drew a circle that shut me out --

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout;

But love and I had the wit to win

We drew a circle that took him in."

by English poet Edwin Markam

"Foregivess is the sweetest revenge."

-- Anonymous

If you really want to understand the human condition, you can do no better than William Shakespeare, the world's great poet. Below is a famous quote from MACBETH:

Life's but a waking shadow, a poor player

That struts and frets his hour

upon the stage, And then

is heard no more; it is a tale

Told by an idiot,

full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.

In "MEASURE FOR MEASURE",  Shakespeare writes:

. . . man, proud man,

Dress'd in a little brief authority,

Most ignorant of what he's most assur'd

-- His glassy essence -- like an angry ape

Plays such fanatic tricks before high heaven

As makes the angels weep . . ."

In THE MERCHANT OF VENICE, Shakespeare illustrates that the power of kings is only as great as the mercy they bestow:

The quality of mercy is not strained;

It droppeth as the gentle rain from heaven

Upon the place beneath: it is twice blest,--

It blesses him that gives and him that takes:

'Tis mightiest for the mightiest; it becomes

The throned monarch better than his crown:

His scepter shows the force of temporal power,

The attribute to awe and majesty,

Wherein doth sit the dread and fear of kings,

But mercy is above the sceptered sway--

It is enthroned in the hearts of kings,

It is an attribute to God himself;

And earthly power doth then show likest God's,

When mercy seasons justice."

THE BIBLE

Some of the world's most inspired poetry can be found in the Bible, on a variety of subjects: leadership, deliverance, overcoming impossible odds; the triumph of the human spirit; the need to be loving, gentle, meek, kind, and forgiving; and the need to follow The Golden Rule.

Jesus Christ himself achieved a lofty level of poetry, in his majestic "Sermon on the Mount".  Below is an excerpt:

THE BEATITUDES:

1   And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:

2   And he opened his mouth, and taught them, saying,

3   Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

4   Blessed are they that mourn: for they shall be comforted.

5   Blessed are the meek: for they shall inherit the earth.

6   Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness: for they shall be filled.

7   Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.

8   Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.

9   Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.

10  Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

11  Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

12  Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.  (Matthew 5:1–12)

ST. PAUL'S MESSAGE TO THE ROMAN WORLD

While not one of Jesus' original twelve disciples, the Apostle Paul was recruited by Jesus on the road to Damascus, and proved to be an inspired leader who would found Christian churches throughout Asia Minor and Southern Europe.  He also wrote a series of letters to encourage, comfort and guide Christian converts throughout the Roman Empire.  Below is an excerpt from his letter to the Christian Church in Ephesus:

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand.

Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;

And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:  (Ephesians 6:12–17)

THE POETRY OF PSALMS, ISAIAH and PROVERBS

In God is my salvation and my glory: the rock of my strength, and my refuge, is in God . . . God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power belongeth unto God.  Also unto thee O Lord, belongeth mercy (Psalms 62:11 and 12):

No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgement thou shalt condemn.  This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord; righteousness is of me, saith the Lord  (Isaiah 54:17).

Hate is always picking a quarel, but love turneth a blind eye to every fault

(Proverbs 10:12 NEB).

The wisdom of the prudent is to understand his way: but the folly of fools is deceit . . . The house of the wicked shall be overthrown: but the tabernacle of the upright shall flourish (Proverbs 14:8,11).

AMERICAN EXCEPTIONALISM

It's worth noting that the Founders of the American Republic were avid Bible readers.  During the Declaration of Independence Convention of 1776, and the Constitutional Convention of 1787, no political treatise, no doctrine, nor philosophic essay, was quoted as often as the King James Bible.

While the American Republic errs from time-to-time, the nation always manages to self-correct.  To me, that's the genius of American democracy, what President Ronald Reagan called American exceptionalism. No matter the setback, no matter how widespread the evil, the American people always manage to right the ship of state.

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