Oh Great Solomon

A five stanza survey of the book of Ecclesiastes

 

From Ecclesiastes

 

Oh, great Solomon:

 

Proclaim the truth that we might see!

Did wealth and wisdom set you free?

O’ tell me king of what you found "

did chasing after winds confound?

 

And say o’ king - what gratifies?

No vine nor house did satisfy,

no wife or song, servants nor wine,

Even your gold the heart declined.

 

Ten thousand labors you’ve begun,

and find you profit nether sun?

Upon this Earth, what profit me?

O’ learned king, I make this plea!

 

Prince and son, hear my decree:

 

From worldly pleasures, turn the heart,

from earthly treasures soon depart,

consider only God’s just truth;

forget him not while in your youth!

 

When darkness falls upon your days,

Oh, seek his mercy, give him praise!

No wisdom will this world explain,

but through his word he will sustain!

 

C.T. Bailey June 20, 2008

Reviews

[Angela]

I really like this piece a lot. It is truly inspiring. You did an excellent job in your summation of the book of Ecclesiastes. It was well written and flowed nicely.

This stanza really did it for me:

Oh, great Solomon turn thee from thy pleasures;
Turn also thee from all thy earthly treasures;
Shall I now remember the Creator in my youth?
And now shall I see your obedience through truth?

Thank you for sharing this. I look forward to reading more of your work.

[Mark]

Thou'rt a latter-day Psalmist, oh, Son!
Welcome back, partner! Haven't seen you around, and I've missed you!
What a wonderful surprise to turn to my page and find such a weighty nugget, by one of my favorite poets-of-the-old-style awaiting me. And to be able to synopsize a book as complex as Ecclesiastes in so few lines is no mean accomplishment. But if The Song of Solomon is to be next, warn me so I can take a cold shower first!

[Nancy Lee Shrader]

Oh this is soooo good. I never thought of writing about the wisdom of Solomon.

[Laura E. Aranda]

Good luck with this one in the contest! It is really good! Cheers,lea

[Laura E. Aranda]

Thanks for telling me about this! I really liked it and followed it well. There is nothing like the great poetry and writers of the Bible. We can learn so much from their past mistakes and failures as well....thanks again. Cheers, lea

[Angelic Darkness]

The flow of this piece is wonderful. It seems sometimes we try to find
our answers through the written works of religion. I really love your religious
insights. AD

[Save the Trees, Save th..]

wow i love this its amazing....that book is my favorite book of the bible

[jumbie's #1 fan]

This is really good. I love your take on Solomon and his life. It really hits on the highlights of his life. Great job!

[Reika]

I like this a lot. It sums up this book magnificently and really captures the main points, or how do I say it, Solomon's heart. Reading this, I start to feel as if I am Solomon; I start to feel emotions he might have felt and thoughts he might have thought if you were personally speaking to him through this poem. The lines that stuck out the most to me are:

"Oh, great Solomon tell me of thy labors done;
Tell me how there is no profit under the sun;
And if there be no profit here for thyself and me;
Then where? where? Son of David, do decree! "

This is a wonderfully well-written survey of Ecclesiastes.