The Poppet Doll (Part One of Three)

The Poppet Doll

 

The Ninth Rhyme of Jean Ami

 

I once abused

A common man,

 

A creature that I know,

 

And beat him till

The blood

 I shed

 

Caused heaven’s tears to flow

 

He did not seek my grace at all -

Indeed, he cursed my name

 

So, every day

I broke his bones

And battered him

The same

 

For he was guilty

Of the deeds

 

That every man has done

And yet denied that what he lost

Was what the devil won

 

And baser still,

He falsely lived,

And vainly he would lie

About the nature of his heart,

 

 

And look me in the eye!

 

These days did end

For both of us beneath

 

An olive tree[1]

 

When I discovered

That this man

 

Was not a man,

 

But me!

 

I saw him burning in a flame,

A flame that made it seem

 

As if he were a poppet doll

That mocked me in a dream![2]

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[1] According to some legends, Christ’s cross was made of olive wood. Others suggest the dogwood tree, while still others claim that the crossbar was made of cypress, while the piece to rest the feet upon was of palm.

 

[2] Many Christians believe that God expects them to live impossible lives. Every sin they commit or mistake in judgment they make is magnified, sometimes to a point of excruciating shame and self-loathing. Paris believed that when Christians participate in war, they are particularly susceptible to this destructive thought process. They are made the victims of a malicious “poppet doll,” one that represents the enemy of their salvation and symbolizes the ascendant power of evil in a theater dominated by destructive forces.

 

Still, it is worth noting that Paris’s general attitude toward sin was similar to the one St. Augustine describes relative to his theft of the pears in the Confessions: “I wasn’t led by others to be a thief, a deceiver, and a moral reprobate. I became those things because I wanted to hurt God, and the best way to hurt Him was to seek the approval of others, thereby betraying my fealty to God.” In later years, Paris came to recognize that all human beings are made of the same clay and share the same spiritual DNA, concluding that if human beings are judged only on the merits of their thoughts and actions, all are destined for the pit. Grace opens the door for everyone.