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Creation
From deep within eternity, the sound
Of song burst out! As Perfect Fullness stirred,
A melody in wisdom wrought, profound,
Complex in form and powerful in word
Reverberated… undulated… surged!
Celestial sleeves rolled up; the work could start.
Then the opaque, void emptiness emerged,
As the Almighty Mover set apart
A space where being meets with time. The roar
Of chaos rushed the vacuum now ordained,
But Holy Fiat ordered calm, and bore
Shalom—commanded “LIGHT!” Pristine, unstained
Reality awoke, began to sing
Its praises to the First and Final King.
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D.R. Rainbolt is a resident and native of the unique cowboy-cajun-country cultural cross-roads that is Northwest Louisiana. Some of his poems have appeared in Vita Latina magazine.
I enjoyed the almost light-hearted tone, what with God’s ‘celestial sleeves rolled up’, and making the big guy upstairs the ‘Almighty Mover’, if not ‘mover and shaker’.
There is much else to commend this poem, D.B. Thanks for the read.
D.R.,
So much philosophy buried in this poem! No doubt, the big bang is a truism, but who ordained it? The one and only maker, perhaps?
And even if one doesn’t believe in an Almighty, why did the big bang occur? Once, we begin to ask “why?”, and not just “how?”, we are only left with metaphysical answers.
Best regards,
Paddy
Very nice. So much for the “Big Bang” nonsense. While I don’t believe in Creationism, I certainly believe in Creation and a benevolent Creator
I enjoyed the description of creation accompanied by a melody of “Perfect Fullness”. Although there is later emptiness and chaos, these are effectively mitigated by the rigor of the descriptions of “Almighty Mover” and “Holy Fiat”. The counterpoint of hard work and chaos to perfect song and a command of “LIGHT” is extremely satisfying! Bravo!
This is really, really good, D. R.!
I also love the “sleeves rolled up” bit. I’m actually planning a painting that is a sort of spin on that theme.
Good show!
Splendid and complex sonnet on a most exalted theme–and one very difficult to deal with because the imagery must derive from things just coming into existence. Magnificent response to the challenge, with careful application of doctrinal and philosophical terms.
The keys to this sonnet are the words “the sound / Of song” in the beginning, and “began to sing” at the conclusion. They put together God’s impulse to create, and created reality’s immediate response to that generous gift. In the middle of that duality comes the “melody” that is the Word — and the poet seems to be playing with the /–er/ acoustics of “word,” “–verb–” from “reVERBerate,” “surged,” “work,” and “emerged.” All of these /–er/ sounds are in a stressed position. And how appropriate that the three terms that refer to God are “eternity,” “Perfect,” and “First” — the same sound, widely separated — but also stressed — in the poem.
This is an impressive description of what it might have been like if we could have watched and listened to the creation happening. I love the phrase “where being meets with time”, and the sentence “The roar of chaos rushed the vacuum now ordained….” Beautifully done!
Thank you all so much for your comments. I am truly humbled and honored to join the community here at the SCP. This group boasts quite the talent.