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Beyond the Visible Veil
Gravity cannot hold those forms who float
__And drift—hiding in air—
Though some guard human souls; the others gloat
__And sow their bait on snares.
These spirit shapes wage constant war unseen.
__Shadowy ones stalk near—
Whether in daylight bright or moonlight sheen,
__Their sly voices we hear.
Beings of light with flashing, flaming swords
__Invisible to us,
Wave off and bind those fiends with mighty cords—
__They whine and fuss and cuss.
Forces of darkness, versus powers of light
__Imperceptibly war,
And in my heart both whispers We are right.
__Which one knocks at my door?
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Peter Venable has been writing poetry for 50 years. He has been published in Windhover, Third Wednesday, Time of Singing, The Merton Seasonal, American Vendantist, The Anglican Theological Review, and others. He is a member of the Winston Salem Writers. On the whimsical side, he has been published in Bluepepper, Parody, Laughing Dog, The Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online (e. g. # 48) and the Society of Classical Poets.
The choice remains yours and only yours as to whether you lean toward light or darkness. May I hear an Amen …
We each decide who will win the spiritual war surrounding us. That thought is tied up in a neat bow in this poem.
Unfortunately the dark can often be as persuasive as the light.
Great stuff, Peter. Thanks for the read.
I like your form — five meters, then three, throughout; and I like the way you made the invisible, visible in the poem, which isn’t an easy thing to do. I’m not sure I like the use of the word “cuss” in the third verse, only because it it doesn’t seem to match the tone of the rest of the poem. Just a suggestion: perhaps a multi-syllable word like “furious” might be used somehow in that line.
Good job form, music, and language-wise, and brilliant [poetic] ambiguity in what it says and also can’t say.
It’s great to see a poem on the higher powers and principalities, the existence of which so many people do vehemently deny.
I like the rhyme of “fuss and cuss” because it helps to delineate the holy from the profane realm, a distinction which the Bible advises the believers to make.
It seems to me that from a grammatical standpoint the penultimate line should read “And in my heart both whisper We are right”, instead of “whispers”.
Appreciate all of you. Key on, versifiers!
A great challenge to our mental and spiritual certainties versus faith. An intriguing poem. Many thanks.