The Truth Won’t Die
—a villanelle for Charlie Kirk
They clung to hate and jealousy and lies,
While he spoke words that could have set them free.
They tried to kill the truth but truth won’t die.
At first they used profanity and cries
Of outrage while debating angrily.
They clung to hate and jealousy and lies.
The evidence was plain but they denied
The obvious. He faced them fearlessly.
They tried to kill the truth but truth won’t die.
He looked his haters calmly in the eye,
And took a sip of mint and honey tea.
They clung to hate and jealousy and lies.
His logic all their madness magnified.
His kindness they did not have eyes to see.
They tried to kill the truth but truth won’t die.
In shock we saw him shot before our eyes.
(Though cowards do their work clandestinely.)
They clung to hate and jealousy and lies.
They tried to kill the truth but truth won’t die.
Nothing New
“Beneath the blazing sun there’s nothing new,”
Ecclesiastes told us long ago.
When Jesus told the masses what was true
It caused their wrath to boil and overflow.
And He, the innocent, was crucified.
This sparked His followers to bolder feats,
For when the grain falls to the ground and dies
It brings a harvest of abundant wheat.
And now we see it happening again.
A man is martyred for the words he spoke.
His voice now rings repeatedly in reels
And followers have multiplied by droves;
The truth cannot be hidden or concealed.
The murderer shall not have his desire,
For what he tried to stop now is a fire.
Gigi Ryan is a wife, mother, grandmother, and home educator. She lives in rural Tennessee.
Such a well written poem and such a strong message. We are so much better off for Charlie having lived among us.
Thank you so much. I agree – we are much better off having had Charlie among us. His wife and children have suffered massive loss. I am glad they have so much video coverage of what he believed. It will always be a treasure to them.
Gigi
Gigi, massive respect for your message that reverberates with those of us who seek and believe truth and understanding. These are two well-conceived and well-constructed poems.
Thank you, Roy. Writing about him has helped me process the events and given me the opportunity to acknowledge my great respect of Charlie.
Gigi
These were both fantastic. I like the tie back to Ecclesiastes, but especially like the last couplet. The flames have been fanned.
Thank you, Warren,
The older I get, the more I appreciate the wisdom in Ecclesiastes.
Gigi
Gigi, a pair of poems beautifully written and meaningfully paired. As Charlie Kirk had said more than once during the months prior to his death, the abandonment of Christian civilization created a vacuum filled by wokeness.
And let me take this opportunity to offer you a personal thank you for your fine haiku that was among the runners-up in the Society’s recent competition.
Dear Margaret,
Thank you for your comment and for your message about my haiku. While I have written the occasional haiku since grade school, I attribute my increasing respect and understanding of that poetic form to the SCP.
Gigi
Gigi, you have made beautiful use of the villanelle and the sonnet to get a much-needed message on the Truth out there. I believe the Truth is spreading far and wide at this moment in time, and it’s wonderful poems like these that help it on its way. Thank you very much indeed!
Thank you, Susan. I am likely to overindulge in the use of the villanelle. I believe it is my favorite form. Gigi
Lovely poetry Gigi – beautifully sustained and controlled, and has that wonderful ‘ring’ of truth about it.
Thank you, James. I love that poetic forms require deliberateness of my thoughts and words.
Gigi
There must be something good in Tennessee water that allows its imbibers to shoot from the hip and lean into the fray with both shoulders. Both of these are awful good, and that’s the truth.
Thank you, C.B. I confess we have wonderful water her in Tennessee. And there is much shooting here – especially now during hunting season. I, however, do not shoot with anything harder than a pen. 🙂
Gigi
Then keep your quills sharp, Gigi.
I’ll do my best, C.B.
To clarify, I was not raised with guns around, I have no opposition to them. My adult sons make up for my lack, especially handy when we come across rattlers and copperheads. (The price we pay for living near amazing water, I suppose.)
These are two beautiful poems in celebration of suffering for the sake of Christ. I’m reminded of Philippians 1:29: “For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe in him, but also to suffer for him,” a privilege and duty we Christians love to ignore. Charlie Kirk inspires us to fearlessly live and speak the truth of the gospel, regardless of its outright offence against the slaves of Satan. His death has challenged me to more urgently imitate Christ’s boldness in a narcissistic world.