The Power of Poetry

I've written on poetry before, and felt clumsy next to the masterful artistry I was writing about. Today T. M. Moore at BreakPoint also writes on the Power of Poetry. It may be off your usual path, but I highly recommend it.

I had to laugh at this, as he bemoans our loss in not spending enough time with the poets:

"It’s almost enough to make me wish that Beth Moore and Max Lucado were poets."

He goes on:

"Poetry can do so much for us. Besides providing reflective seasons of deep delight and wonder, poetry can teach us how to slow down and be better observers of the ordinary in life. It can make connections between apparently unrelated things and surprise us by revealing the common threads of our experience. Poetry teaches us to appreciate the beauty of just the right word and the mystery of sounds and images woven together just so. It speaks to our hearts, assuring us that others have felt what we were too ashamed or embarrassed to reveal, and perhaps convicting us of misguided affections. It shows us that others have thoughts about things from perspectives we thought peculiar to ourselves and, therefore, weird. Poetry can increase our sensitivity to others and teach us how to see the glory of God in created things; it can stimulate the imagination, put into thoughts sentiments that we only previously knew as feeling, and render into feeling what was before merely an abstract idea. Poetry can connect us with our past, immerse us more deeply in our present, and project us into futures never before imagined.

"Perhaps this is why so much of the Bible is written in poetry."

[The added emphasis is mine--what I consider to be the best of all the reasons he gives.]

Moore closes with a personal experience with a great poem. Take the time--you'll be glad you did.

Posted: Thu - January 19, 2006 at 10:24 AM |

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The Power of Poetry

Thinking Christian by Tom Gilson