Mt. of Olives

A parable of life

"Christ on the Mt. of Olives", abt. 1604, by Caravaggio (1571-1610)

 

Mt. of Olives

Here, sit I, on the Mount of Corruption¹,

Waiting my time…the flesh is weak²

And whomsoever I shall kiss, saith death,

Hold him fast³, for he has sold his soul―

For silver!⁴

 

…Will you not stay awake with me one hour?⁵

I long for company and succor for my misery.

For I am the seed of the Sower⁶

Cast on infertile ground,

Destined not for immortality.

 

In this garden I sweat great drops of blood⁷.

Sit ye here, while I shall pray⁸,

And suffuse myself with the greatest commandment:

Love…with all thy heart, and with all thy soul⁹,

For there is naught else of value in this world.

 

In quiet tears, I have passed my life in doubt,

For all these things are done in parables¹⁰

To confuse my mind!

But I do know this: When ye stand praying,

forgive if ye have aught against any!¹¹

 

And in the darkness gather thy strength,

For in this Garden of Gethsemane,

When great Caesar comes to collect his due,

All is silence…and last breath,

 

For then It is finished.¹²

 

 

 

 

©2008, Richard Puetter

All rights reserved

 

 

 

Notes:

 

Most of the references for this poem are drawn from the passion of Christ--see below. Quotes from the bible, both in the poem and the notes, are given in italic.

 

^[1]The Mt. of Olives, also known as Mt. Olivet, was known in the time of King Josiah as the Mount of Corruption (Kings II 23:13).

 

^[2]This is from Jesus’ often quoted remark to Peter upon finding his apostles asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane: “…for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” This passage is returned to at the beginning of the second stanza.

 

^[3]This is from Judas’ statements to the Roman soldiers before he identifies and betrays Christ: “Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He; hold Him fast.” (Matthew 26:48)

 

^[4]An obvious reference to Judas who betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver.

 

^[5]This returns to Jesus’ admonition to Peter when the apostles were asleep in Gethsemane: “What, would none of you stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake, and pray that you may be spared the test, for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” See note [2]. (Matthew 26:40-41)

 

^[6]A reference to the “Parable of the Sower” who dropped seed on the path, on rocky ground, and among thorns, and the seed was lost; but when seed fell on good earth, it grew, yielding thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. (Mark 4:1-20, Matthew 13:1-23, and Luke 8:1-15)

 

^[7]A passage from Luke regarding Jesus seeing an angel in Gethsemane and his praying becoming more earnest: “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44)

 

^[8]From Jesus’ first request to his disciples upon entering Gethsemane: “And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.” (Mark 14:32)

 

^[9]This is abstracted from “The Greatest Commandment”. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30)

 

^[10]Again taken from the “Parable of the Sower”--see note [6]. “…all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.”

 

^[11]This is from the “Prayer of Forgiveness”. “And when ye stand praying, forgive if ye have aught against any, that your Father also who is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25)

 

^[12]The last words of Christ. (John 9:30)

Reviews

[Sheila Kline]

Dear Rick,
This is a most fascinating piece speaking of the various aspects of the life of Christ classified as a parable of life. This is what I noted first:

You have taken the life of One who is regarded as the son of God, and likened his time and experiences to that of a "life"...could be pertaining to any of us in that regard.

I have just read through all of the previous reviews, and your comments to Satine and C.T. Bailey, which I have found to be most interesting. I agreee in that I do not see a correlation to your life, but that of "life in general" as to how profound Christ has been in touching the lives of millions since his birth and death.
We all have a Mount of Corruption, a betrayer at some point who would sell us out for 30 pieces of silver.

I am especially impressed and touched by the lines.....
"In quiet tears I have passed my life in doubt
for all these things are done in parables to confuse my mind.......

You are executed the meaning and importance of the events of religious and historical importance in a most memorable way, and I commend you for the finished creation!

And, I must mention how fitting and beautiful is the image you have chosen. I think the starkness of the black and white painting with subtle highlights sets the tone for the write.

Also, footnotes would not be needed for me, but many are not aware of the meanings of phrases you have quoted, or used, so in that regard, I think of them as most appropriate.

As always....an admirable write!


Best Regards,
Sheila

[Lost in Wonderland]

This poem is very good. The quotes form actual biblical text make it feel eerily real. There is an undertone of emotions here that aren't...dark.. but sad maybe. It makes Jesus seem more human, which he was. He was all God and all human. It makes him seem almost more relatable, makes the reader feel sad for him. But the difference of this poem id that this sad event really happent. Beautful poem and I enjoyed the foot notes as well. Well done:)
God Bless!
-- Lost in Wonderland

[Samuel Ferris]

I think the last stanza is my favorite from what iv read of your stuff. I think the weakest line might be " to confuse my mind!" it seemed superfluous to me. As always it is a balance of personnel aesthetic and the aesthetic of the audiences for whom you write. Thats just how it hit me. I also notice that you must be a big fan of older perhaps Miltonic poetry. Much of your syntax(destined not) and words like ye, give me this sense. Im still waiting to read some poetry that takes a shot at a more modern diction. Overall though i think your syntax, and sentence structure are pretty solid. "All is silence and last breath" is a great ending.

[Fabian G. Franklin]

Being a student of world religions (Its a hobby of mine) and a "Christian" I suppose...let me just say that I am a believer and a follower of the teachings of Christ...("Christian" was a word invented by unbelievers at Antioch.)...I didn't require or even read the footnotes. :o) The gist of the thing is what is important. The scribes and pharisees of Jesus' time were really big on mysticism and the interpretation of laws..( a bunch of nitpicking hypocrits is what they were!)..very much like many of the modern "Christians" of today I've met... Jesus told them, "You would strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!" Now it doesn't take a genius to figure out THAT metaphor! lol But the gist of the thing is this: You should love God with all your heart, all your strength and all your might and love your neighbor as much as you love yourself; because THAT is EVERYTHING you need. That is my "religion". A favorite scripture of mine is Micah 6:8, it breaks down the whole duty of mankind towards God into a single sentence and I like things simple that I can grasp and hold onto. It begins by asking what God requires of us and then says: "To do justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God." And I just LOVE this painting (in fact all the painting) by Caravaggio. I think my personal favorite is the calling of Matthew the tax collector who was a man no self respecting Jew would have been caught dead with (being an emissary of the Roman Empire as he was) But Jesus had something to say on that count too when he said "Give to Caesar the things that belong to Caesar and give to God the things which belong to God" I enjoyed this write very much. Flesh and blood can't inherit heaven so shedding this skin and these bones are the only hope of Eternity we are offered. I had no fear coming into this world (God knows I probably should have!) But I figure God has seen through this life with many blessings and there's no reason for that to change as I make my way out of this life. I just try to keep an attitude of gratitude and take each day as it comes. Eventually, I will get to wherever God finds a place for me.

[GetTheHellOut]

Amazing work. Thanks for sharing this great piece.

[Tina]

I have always admired biblical stories, they are so full of mysticism, your poem successfully brings out the feel. It almost feels like reading a mythological story.

[Laura E. Aranda]

Rick,
Very impressive. I knew before reading where you got what passage, what each line was about. I like this piece and the picture added at the top was a fitting one. Good work. Bravo, Lea

[Rick Puetter]

Dear Readers and Reviewers,

As I've already decided to comment on reviews, here, a brief comment on Satine's review. I was very much on the fence about putting my comments here on the "meaning" of my poem, but decided it might help. Also, let me comment, so people know, that I am not religious at all. However I certainly appreciate the powerful cultural heritage of religion--all religions. And in my opinion, the betrayal of Jesus in Gethsemane by Judas is one of the most powerful passages in the Christian bible.

Best regards, and thank you all for the wonderful and thoughtful reviews.

Rick

[Satine]

Rick,

This write is superb, so much so that an authors explaination of the context vs. original bible verse isn't really needed and/or perhaps maybe even detracts. By this I mean, I am not a bible scholar therefore when I read the piece I am considering it's meaning within the confines of this write alone and with a little thought it's meaning is very clear. I get it's relevance to the bible by the chapter/verse references at the end of each stanza and that is really all that is needed. To offer an extended explaination opens then this write up to debate about the biblical context wherein the write fades into the background and we find ourselves in a discussion about the bible. I find that anytime I feel the need to explain one of my pieces it's because I lacked the confidence to let it stand on its own.

Satine