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

[Jacklyn]

This is beautiful, and I love the rhyme scheme. Everyone needs a little bit of the classic touch now and again. :)

[JayceeC]

I developed this rhyme scheme style many years ago, because while rhyming couplets are okay..a whole poem of them really gets old and they need a break, hence the fifth lines. It's not a strict meter, but well, it has the classic feel in contrast to my more modern tight work.

[AaronFreitas]

I like it... I like the style and rhyme scheme because it doesn't take away from the meaning of the poem. I love the song with the write as it fits perfectly. I like the way it is but I am also not one to read a poem and say oh my that doesn't fit this or fit that... I am more of a content person myself and I love the content :) Good work my friend always a pleasure :)

[JayceeC]

Aaron thanks my friend..love that band and album..if you get a chance you should have a listen. Glad you liked the poem and content..

[Taylor]

Hi Jan, the computer swallowed my first attempt at this. As usual, you may disregard all and attribute my opinions to a nearly complete insensitivity and knowledge of poetry. What you'll get here is the same as you would get if you nabbed someone out of the coffee line at Dunkin Donuts. So...first the overlay of the music is such a stroke of genius, reinforcing the poem and appealing to more of the reader's senses. The only improvement to that would be to send roses ( to smell and feel). Of course the message of the Grace that awaits each of us coincides with my own belief system, so I stongly affirm that. To my uneducated ear, the first two stanzas you set up a very structured rhyming pattern and then break it in the third and fourth stanzas. I think for me I would like the "music" provided by the rhyme to be consistent (but who am I to say). I don't know anything about meter and it is quite possible I am missing the very obvious pattern, but given the overlay of the song, I guess I'd like the meter to be a little more regular so that lead-footed readers like me could feel it. These remarks are made only bec you asked. I want to reinforce that I do very much like this poem and as with all you write, it is yet another testimony to your wealth of talent.

[JayceeC]

Well, CD and I will be discussing how to straighten it out..I think its the change from pure rhyme to near rhyme and yes the differing metrical feet that throw it off a bit. So you liked the music? That whole album is great!

[Samuel Dickens]

Being one who knows little of poetry, I had no idea this followed any kind of set rules or prescribed recipe, but only that the message rang clear and true.

[JayceeC]

Thanks Samuel..that is often enough, and says a lot too. Not everyone who reads are huge poetry buffs, so sometimes likes and dislike by those who do not read it a lot are very valuable indeed.

[CD Campbell]

I read and reread this last night and this morning. I think this is a wonderful work in style and in rhyme. It's funny how perusing the net what people believe what a didactic poem consists of. Thomas's "Do not go gentle into that good night"? OK maybe. I personally like religious work and I am a fan of Milton. If you wanted to push this further, you could tighten up the meter and lose the plural in some rhymes and this could easily be a classic in the truer sense of the word. If you do I'll loan you my turtlenecks and induct you into the "Over The Top Way too Serious Poets Society" (trademarked). CD

[JayceeC]

Oh I think I still have one...It is okay if it has an iconic logo of a polo player on it? LOL You did not that I said it LEANS toward classic style..Cleaning this up may be a summer project. (Please tell me it will not take too long) and someone of the OTTWSPS to give me some very specific line advice..LOL As long as it is not a gateway into the Dead Poets Society..and I can drink wine without the Rachmaninoff, I might even consider it.
Jan
PS_ did you look at the form dictionary I sent? Its a good quick lookup guide.
PSS-Didactic is really just a category for theme not style or form...morally instructive is traditional.

[CD Campbell]

"OTTWSPS" had me laughing right out of my chair and I'm sitting in my work truck. I didn't look at the website but I did re-familiarize myself with the term from my handy "Poetry Handbook, a dictionary of terms" By Babette Deutsch. Who I have lovingly nicknamed "The D****e". BTW to be admitted into the OTTWSPS you will have to send an admission fee to me of the amount of 5645.45. I will send you my P.O. Box address soon. Thanks for joining and good luck to your future writing endeavors.

[JayceeC]

LMAO--why are you taking any advice from The D****e...seems very counter-productive...I hope it did not have a lift kit..I wouldn't want you to break anything in that fall..did people worry that it was a seizure?
Oh and don't expect a check anytime soon..I think I'll start my own society the SILIPS the "Spew It & Leave It Poet Society" and I'm so sad that you do not really qualify. Entrance is free, but you can only change punctuation and spelling in a write..no other edits are allowed. I'm afraid if I let you in I would be liable for mental health rehab..LOL

[CD Campbell]

Aww that hurts. I wanna b in SILIPS.

[JayceeC]

I'm saving you man...think of the mental anguish of not being able to edit! No No I just canNOT do that to you!

[CD Campbell]

You really do care. Shucks.

[ANTO]

It did act (nearly an anagram) as a confirming poem for me - especially this -
'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." - which is my own way of praying and the one I feel most relevant and comfortable with despite having grown up going to a huge Cathedral as my parish church which was filled with icons and splendour.

I love your use of the word 'travails' - another new one for me - an excellent piece :)

[JayceeC]

I think it's one of the reasons church attendance is going down...People believe in having a more personal relationship with God..not one that is dictated by a church. That is not to say either way is wrong. God just demands we pray and be close to Him. I do not think He is picky on how we do that.

[ANTO]

The main reason here the huge slump in church attendance is the paedophile scandal of the Catholic Church but there also seems to be a general feeling that church-type worship has had its day.

[JayceeC]

If that were the only reason then non-Roman Catholic churches would not be experiencing the same and they are. That indecent just highlighted the hypocrisy found in organized religion..why people always think that is something new is beyond me when Jesus was pointing it out in the pharisees of his time..It is not new. I think there is a paradigm shift in belief and people are tired of being/feeling judged within their churches. The largest church in the US is Joel Osteen's Lakewood Church in Houston. If you have ever rad anything about him or seen interviews, he will refuse to take a religious stand on political issues. using the "Judge not, lest thou be judged" stand. He tells all that he preaches only the forgiveness of sin through Christ and in Him all things are possible. That's it. Nothing very complicated. That is his message every week with slightly different theme, and he has viewers all over the world. The churches that are gaining membership are following this example.

[....................]

Our relationship with God is a personal one and you are absolutely right, Jan, we don't need anyone to help us speak to Him. There is nothing complicated about it, however, Religions have gone to great lengths to make it so. Well-penned, my friend. - Thomas

[JayceeC]

Religions/denominations are a thing of man and there fore subject to all of man's flaws. God just demands that we be close to Him.

[....................]

Exactly, Jan...

[Elan Vital 23]

It has always amazed me the comfort people can find in the personifications they make of their Gods. Although agnostic I'm convinced these Gods have a very real existence in human terms.

[JayceeC]

Philosophically the belief in Faith and God produces positive emotions, which then carry over into other things..and faith produces hope which helps us endure through the hard things in life. Belief or not..I convey blessings.

[Elan Vital 23]

I guess the blasphemous worst of me is I actually consider myself an agnostic christian. He had so many tenets I could get behind.

[Jamestown]

Well penned!
I was scared to read after the first sentence but so glad I did:)
I enjoyed the wording and how you expressed forgiveness, it
put a smile on my face for sure, PTL! Thanks for sharing and b-blessed!

[JayceeC]

I never thought about what the first line would look like to those who did not know what to expect from the poem...will think on that a bit..Thanks J. May His love and blessings b upon you always.

[Robert]

Jaycee,

I really like thins piece you have written. This is how I have felt many times, not always the traditional way of praying but more of a personal way. I think either way is fine, whichever feels better to the individual. I think as you that he hears us whenever we talk with him. Thank you for this poem, it is very special.

[JayceeC]

Robert, Thanks for the comments. I have to agree that God hears our prayers however they are given and by whomever says them. It's one of the amazing things about His love.