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Evensong
“It’s your Church, Lord, I’m going to bed.”
—Evening Prayer of Pope St. John XXIII
I know you’re there, so don’t pretend
You’re off somewhere, removed, remote,
Preoccupied with greater needs
And folks who’ve done far greater deeds
Than I might ever hope to float
Your way as day toward evening bends.
The weary world will have to wait
A sec or two while I unbare
The meager trappings of my soul:
The times I lost and found control;
The times I did and didn’t care;
The straits I couldn’t navigate.
But most of all I have to tell
You how amazingly the sun
Came up today, how soft it pinked
The morning sky and made me think
All day of what you have begun
In me. Now let me please sleep well.
.
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Jeffrey Essmann is an essayist and poet living in New York. His poetry has appeared in numerous magazines and literary journals, among them Agape Review, America Magazine, Dappled Things, the St. Austin Review, U.S. Catholic, Grand Little Things, Heart of Flesh Literary Journal, and various venues of the Benedictine monastery with which he is an oblate. He is editor of the Catholic Poetry Room page on the Integrated Catholic Life website.
This is terrific, Jeffrey!
I may actually print this out and use it as my last prayer of the day.
Well done!!
I note you used one of the more rare methods of rhyming. “Evensong” is a precious poem of prayer and thanksgiving with a touching thought of how busy must be our savior elsewhere while mentioning the issues of the mind.
It does seem an unusual form — an ABBA quatrain separating the two halves of a rhyming couplet. Since the poem is short and sweet, the structure does not matter that much, but it would be hard to sustain a longer narrative piece.
The poem is clearly addressed to God, and was therefore bound to take on a prayerful tone. This is why it is confessional, and profoundly humble.
This poem is reflective of the qualities of prayer—clear, concise, sincere, and direct. Upon reading the poem with the beginning quote in mind, I get this message: the subject is telling God that he’s very tired and needs to sort his own life tangles out first before addressing others (churchgoers) issues, that God alone can handle things and doesn’t need him to do that, and goes to sleep. Thanks, Mr. Essmann for this wonderful piece.
I agree with the others; this is a delightfully humble and straightforward prayer, which elaborates in a lovely form on the quotation from Pope John.
Thanks so much, everyone. I’m so glad you liked it.
Yes, the quote from Good Pope John was a wonderful inspiration. I particularly loved its tone, the voice of someone who’s very comfortable with God–because he’s loved him for such a long time. Whatever success the poem has, it’s because of my own effort to hew close to that tone.
The scheme happened quite by accident, but what I liked about it was how the rhymes moved toward the center of the verse, then away from it.
Again, thanks so much and God bless.
Lovely poem I liked the relation of “pink sky” to a beautiful thing inside us our faith.
A humbling poem. I particularly liked the image of the pinking of the sky.
This poetic prayer has lovely imagery and flow, and is calming.
Great poem. Great poem.
I particularly liked the pivot from S2 to S3. The personal, internal struggles–the ones mentioned spoke to me– and the attitude of panning back, settling down, and letting appreciation blend into worship.
About a year ago, for instincts that I can’t explain, I felt the need for regular, repeated prayer. I found a solid traditional morning prayer, memorized it and now that is how I start every day. I have recently found one for sunset and this poem of yours is very much like it.
Enjoyed. Appreciated.