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Boomerang
In the chronicles of hist’ry
There we see a vast array
Of malicious, scheming tricksters
Who themselves became the prey,
Thus, confirming what the Psalmist
In his wisdom once had said
Of the violence of the wicked
Boomeranging on his head.
Haman tried his best to ruin
Mordecai the righteous Jew
When he schemed and built the gallows
Where he thought to hang him too,
Yet the narrative of hist’ry
Has this cunning renegade
Swinging from the very gallows
And the noose which he had made.
As our enemy advances,
As the battle lines are set
Though God’s people are outnumbered,
Brother let us not forget
That the cruel and cunning trickster
Falls into the net he spread
And the violence of the wicked
Will return upon his head.
We take courage in the promise
That no scheme can ever stand
Which is formed against the righteous
Matters not how well it’s planned,
But the trickery and violence,
Like the ancient poets sang,
Of our evil adversaries
In the end, will boomerang.
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For the Truth
While many have striven to vanquish the Truth
__Instead, they have proven its might
For whether you fight or acknowledge the proof
__The Truth you can only prove right.
When Pharaoh attempted to halt and enslave
__God’s people who fled from his hand
His violent demise in a watery grave
__Proved God reigns supreme in the land.
If you like old Pharaoh, attempt to suspend
__The militant march of the Truth
The Truth will be proven correct in the end
__While you become ill-fated proof.
Since you can do nothing but choose to decide
__To vindicate God and the Truth
Enlist on the right and the conquering side
__Of that which you cannot dispute.
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James Bontrager was born and raised near the rural town of Bonduel, Wisconsin. He currently lives in Ontario, California. He is part of one of several project management teams that works for a construction company. Very recently he published a book of his poetry through the Hustlin’ Backwards Entertainment organization.
These are two wonderful biblically based ecclesiastical poems that depict what happens to the sinning tricksters and the power of truth! Both have excellent flow and rhymes that enhance the meaning and deepen the effect.
The story of Esther vs. Haman is a great one to make into a poem — what a poignantly ironic story, with such a satisfying ending — a “boomeranging” ending, as you say. (I really like that verb form of the word!) And you have told it very well, with allusions to at least a couple of verses from the Psalms worked into the poem very cleverly. If these poems were artistically illustrated, they would make a great beginning of a Bible story book which would be equally enjoyed by children and their parents.
The image is the message in “Boomerang.” And in “For the Truth,” there is clever wordplay balancing “proof” and “Truth,” with these words as slant rhymes to one another and to the other important words “dispute” and “choose.” Good work, brother! Your meter is very skillfully handled, being easy to read, yet complex to describe. I’ll do a description only for “Boomerang,” where the meter is trochaic tetrameter, with the even-numbered lines ending in a tailless trochee for the sake of rhyme. You’re an excellent construction manager, and I much enjoyed the militant march of both poems.
These are very fun and entertaining Bible story themed poems, which I enjoyed reading, thank you!
Thank you to everyone who took the time to response! Your insightful comments are really appreciated.
A supporting comment for “Boomerang” from my reading today: “In the cross, the radical contrast is made manifest between the wisdom of God, concealed until now, and the wisdom of worldly powers, bringing disaster for them, but salvation for believers in the proclamation.” From Bible scholar Gunther Bornkamm.