The Answer

My God does not sit just upon a throne;

He lingers in the slums and the trenches of groans,

But He does not require arduous tasks to atone.

He gave us Grace through death on the cross--

The hope that through Christ none have to be lost,

And we are sin-free for the asking.

Look to His favor with good cheer!

You don’t have to confess for the length of a year;

He knows every agony and joy you hold so dear,

For He lingers in the hearts of every man,

Waiting for each to take His hand,

And all sins will be forgiven.

You don’t need evangelist on phone or TV;

Just talk to Him like you talk with me, 

And let Him give you comfort from your misery.

For He’s more than a star in fairy tales;

He helps believers through life’s travails

To see the beauty in this world.

Look around at the world in its broken glory--

You’ll find there are some amazing stories

If you take the time to carefully inventory

Those who have put their struggles in His hands,

For each of them knows and understands

His love and mercy are always with us.

Author's Note

This was written as a response poem for a contest at another site. the form is called a Didactic--it lays out a religious problem and then instructs you how to get past.

Leave comments as you will..tell me what you think of the style and rhyme scheme..it is not my usual and leans toward classic.

Reviews

[Michele Harman]

wow great message fantastic wording. More people need to remember how to have a relationship with god

[JayceeC]

Thank you Michele. I totally agree, and sadly Domme never have had one with Him.

[Coyote Poetry]

Good song and powerful words.
"His love and mercy are always with us."
All of us need faith and support. Thank you for sharing the excellent poetry.
Coyote

[E G TEN]

Hello Jan, your writing has no limits, it reaches out! This is a
Different take from 2 AM, but I can still see its you, nothing
forced or anything pretentious, this one is divine"
Great as always my friend! Thank You! :-)

[JayceeC]

This probably shocked some with its topic after 2AM. .lol. But definitely a different style actually an older one that I recycled. I guess subtle is not something I do well. ;-)

[Writer at last! Sky ~]

I see the love of god and blessings are always with us and all we need to do is believe in god. I get this wonderful message from your lines. Thanks friend!

[JayceeC]

Thank you dear Skyfall, and may He always bless you!

[Aclestile]

I love the countless comparisons found throughout this poem.

[JayceeC]

Thanks so much for taking the time to read and review it.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

not exactly my taste, but i like this one...you do the style well...and i like the modern day scenario you present of an old theme...made me think of Joan Osborne..."what if god was one of us"

i especially like the beginning of the third stanza the best...those are great lines.

well done.

j.

[JayceeC]

Jacob this was a fall back style from my early years of writing but I like it for certain things. It keeps the fifth line from bogging down in rhyme I think..where messages get lost. Love Joan and that song..the notion that He or angels walk amouamong us at will.

[Nadia B.]

Beautiful poem, God bless! Very well written didactic poem, although you mention it is supposed to lay out a religious problem? The interesting thing is that if I read between the lines of your first and second stanza I can somewhat see the problem you are trying to describe, however it is rather subtle and a lot more emphasis is put on instructing a person how to not distance themselves from Jesus Christ. Personally thats what I liked the most about this poem, because it does not hash too much about problems but is more problem-solving in its attitude. Without changing the original however may see if there was a way to highlight any possible problems a little more? That said I really enjoyed this poem, thank you for writing and for opening my eyes, a lovely read indeed, please keep writing!

[JayceeC]

Nadia, thanks for the input on this. As I said in the notes, it was a response poem so the problem as such was laid out in the other piece..this was more of the moral lesson part of the didactic. That said I'm looking at pulling this into more formal lines and so perhaps can outline the problem there or perhaps add a stanza at the beginning to lay them out. As a rebuttal piece it was not needed. I'll ask the writer for permission to publish it with his name in my notes, though until I get a full edit done.

[Nadia B.]

Oh I'm so sorry! Stupid me, I read response poem simply as response to contest calling for specific poem, not a two set piece with another writer, thanks for having read my review anyway and explaining this! Really appreciate it, and I hope you win the contest as your poem is really strong.

[JayceeC]

It took a third place I think...on another site. I should have said it was a rebuttal poem which is a bit clearer..the other was agnostic in tone.

[Nadia B.]

Congrats! Third place is still really good! If you keep at it you will get first place for sure, just don't give up!

[Nadia Gerassimenko]

Definitely not your usual, but still the same beautifully and faultlessly executed!

[JayceeC]

One of the nice things about contests are that they sometimes challenge use to look out side our norm and grow...This one is actually a bit of a throwback in form to some very early writes with aabbc ddeef type rhyme scheme. I may actually tighten it up a bit..not sure.

[Nadia Gerassimenko]

You are right, we must explore all kinds of forms and write about all kinds of things to see our full potential grow. It's the same with acting, if actors only do roles in their comfort zone, they will never truly thrive as a professional. And a wonderful actor would go out of his comfort zone and tackle all kinds of genres.

[Arline]

Very nicely done: ) I agree entirely of the comfort ad Grace God gives us each day!

[JayceeC]

Thanks you Arline for stopping by to read. I'm glad you enjoyed it! Welcome to my pages! ~Jaycee