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The Lamb
“And suddenly there was with the angel a heavenly
host saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on
earth peace, goodwill toward men.” —Luke 2:14
The lamb looks up and sees a light, a star
Or something heavenly, a highness like
A lamb’s best dreams. He thinks he hears a far
Off voice. The star is bladelike with a spike
Gashing towards the lamb. This star is sharp
Like winter air, more lance-like than the form
Of icicles. A sound like breaking harp
Strings pierces night-time. Voices spreading warm
Across the hills speak something that the lamb
Cannot discern. He snuggles up against
His mother, baaas, “I will not be a ram.”
He feels a threat, a menace, cold, condensed.
..The shepherds lead him to a shed. He sees
..A troubled scene. He stumbles to his knees.
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Phillip Whidden is an American living in England who has been published in America, England, Scotland (and elsewhere) in book form, online, and in journals.
What a striking sonnet. Thank you.
Thank you for your positive response, Gigo Ryan.
This is sad, beautiful and deftly nuanced. Thank you.
Thank you for your deep reply, Rohini.
I like the way you’ve subtly juxtaposed Christ’s birth and death. The star “bladelike with a spike / Gashing towards the Lamb.” really pulls the two ends of the story together.
I’m pleased with your close reading, Cynthia Erlandson. Thank you.
Thank you very much, Gigi Ryan.
This sonnet beautifully describes the Event, all from the viewpoint of the lamb with its terse closing couplet. I love the emphasis given on describing the star. I think this poem goes on to show that the innocent and pure of heart hear His “voice” or, at least, get some hint about His next plan. Thank you, Mr. Whidden, for this wonderful piece!
Thank you, Shamik Banerjee. You were generous to send such a thorough and insightful response.
A touching presentation from the animal’s imagined point of view, leaving the reader to supply the connections with Jesus as Lamb of God. This necessarily makes the reading and proper interpretation a most thoughtful process. As well as the lamb compared to Jesus, and the star compared to instruments of the Passion, there is the temporal distance of Christmas and Good Friday, in the life of Christ, and as celebrated in each Christian year. A great deal to incorporate in a short poem, but all the finer is your achievement, Philip.
And I agree with Shamik Banerjee, that historic and symbolic dimensions can lead further, into a devotional consideration by the reader seeking personal guidance toward a deeper relationship with God.
Margaret Coates, I think my unfinished reply got sent. Sorry. I’m touched by your intelligent and thorough response. You were kind to give so much consideration to the poem. I did not imagine you would read it as a devotional tool.
Phillip, I always revel in a poet’s ability to explore the known from an alternative and striking perspective, and your fine sonnet does just that. I love the symbolism. The imagery is wonderful, and the message is beautiful. Thank you!
Susan Jarvis Bryant, You praised just about every important aspect of the sonnet in your accolades. Yes, it is (so far as I know) a unique perspective on both the stories of the birth of Jesus and Good Friday. The symbolism is, of course, borrowed from the bibilical source so I can hardly lay claim to it for myself. I tried to avoid cliche in the imagery and hope I succeeded. The beauty in the poem is very much shadowed by horror. Maybe that contrast enlarges the beauty.
A strong detail in this sonnet is the linked enjambment of the first eleven lines. This flow of words then leads to the closure, where “threat,” “menace,” “cold,” and “troubled” all suggest the anticipated sacrifice. When he bleats “I will not be a ram,” we are getting prophecy from the mouth of an animal — something which the ancients would have understood as divine.
Joseph S. Salemi, I really liked all your very perspicacious readings and responses, not least the one about the ancients and animals as part of prophecy. The lamb in this instance seems to have received the prophecy from the angels and the star. A very perspicacious beast in the prophecy realm aligned with you in the close reading realm. Thank you very much.
The system refuses to let me send my second comment. Report this to the editors?
Phillip, you can write a new comment at the bottom of the entire thread or use the nearest reply button above what you would like to comment on. Thanks, Mike
Thanks. I did click on the nearest button and it was that method that failed.
Phillip, you have just posted two comments of concern. Can you use the same method to post what you would like to say?
I tried to post a second reply to Joseph S. Salemi. The system said it was a repition of an earlier reply. I checked. The earlier reply that was supposedly being repeated was not there.
I just now tried to answer your message above. I wrote a completely new message. Your system said it was a repeat.
I checked to make sure that I had not tried to send the same message again. The claim that I had tried to send a repeated message was not borne out by the facts. The message that I was supposedly sending again was NOT in the string above the system’s claim that I was re-sending the same message. LATER, yes, I did see that the previous message had indeed been sent but that was not visible to me when I checked to see if it was there–and that therefore I was sending the same message again. For me this is a difficulty, but perhaps not for the Society of Classical Poets.
I checked to make sure that I had not tried to send the same message again. The claim that I had tried to send a repeated message was not borne out by the facts. The message that I was supposedly sending again was NOT in the string above the system’s claim that I was re-sending the same message. LATER, yes, I did see that the previous message had indeed been sent but that was not visible to me when I checked to see if it was there–and that therefore I was sending the same message again. For me this is a difficulty, but perhaps not for the Society of Classical Poets.
Philip, this is a bug that happens occasionally. It is not an SCP problem, but a WordPress problem.
Thanks, Mike Bryant.