Popular Posts

Friday 23 March 2012

Light


In the beginning: light.
Nowhere was there not light,
for all that was to be was bathed in light -
for time and tense had not begun -
and even in the strongest darkness there was light,
for the light was the light of God,
an aspect of his Godness.

And when God finally exclaimed:
Let there be light!
He was not then and there creating it,
but sanctioning its earthly form
to be perceived by those with eyes to see,
who'd welcome it.

And the light that was and is
proved revelatory:
form, colour, texture, mood
and character all lie
within its gift to us,
it is the sculptor sculpting out our world.

Not in its gift -
the darkest thing about it -
its own nature.
Light, actual and metaphorical,
as with the peace of god,
still passeth understanding -
and still the darkness
comprehends it not:

an elementary particle
that travels like a canon ball...
or like an ocean wave...
or either one at different times...
or both together, take your pick.
Yet those who cannot fathom
light as of the now, purport
to talk about its genesis!

I have submitted this poem to Poets United's Thurday Think Tank.

22 comments:

Mary said...

This is one of my all-time-favorites of your poems, Dave. So dense with things to contemplate, and the ending is profound.

"Yet those who cannot fathom
light as of the now, purport
to talk about its genesis."

So very true! (And I keep thinking about the many people who are in the dark who consider themselves enlightened.....but hmm, perhaps they are.)

haricot said...

I cannot imagine the ocean without any light.And when I think about other places it is the same...
Fortunately I don't know the very darkness.

Brother Ollie said...

light baffling light - solid piece sir.

Brian Miller said...

really great piece man...i like thinking of light as either a canon ball or an ocean wave...and mary is right there is much her to contemplate....

Daydreamertoo said...

When we are go inside the stillness often enough and for long enough to find our own light then, we discover we are a part of 'the' light because we are made of it. This is a fabulous read Dave because it shows you've read past the written 'truths' and seen for yourself what 'is'.
Yes, one of my favs of yours too.

JANU said...

Lot of depth here...loved this.

Laurie Kolp said...

I agree with everyone, Dave... beautiful piece, love the strong ending.

Unknown said...

Time and tense had not yet begun... WONDERFUL phrasing.

Eileen T O'Neill ..... said...

Dave,

This is a most wonderful piece of poetry. A delight with both its prayerful considerations and the scientific aspects, nicely balanced.

Eileen

Rachna Chhabria said...

This is a wonderful poem. Dave!

Ed Pilolla said...

i also liked this very much, especially the deprecating tone of the last line. who really knows about this divine thing of light? you really brought home that it's a physical element and that simmered so well as you moved from the metaphorical. terrific stuff.

Tommaso Gervasutti said...

"still passeth understanding"...deep echoes from the classical past, and a great solemnity. You have many and multifarious voices in your poems.

The last three lines underline an old truth, I totally agree...maybe those who "purport" to talk about light's genesis do that JUST BECAUSE they cannot fathom light.

Kat Mortensen said...

Only one word for this, brilliant! :)

Windsmoke. said...

Very enjoyable indeed :-).

Helena said...

My, did this move me! It has to be a Hey! Hey! Stunning piece!

Cait O'Connor said...

This is so deep and I am going to re-read it many, many times, it is that good.

By the way the poem you commented on was not written by me but by Gillian Clarke. I really wish I had written it!

ds said...

Yes, brilliant. And I love the ending-it is so true (as each and every word is so true). This begs rereading, and I will. Thank you, sir.

kaykuala said...

'Let there be light'...Very exhaustively penned, Dave! Brilliant post all the time!

Hank

Ella said...

Brilliant David!
I love the way you made the light guide us throughout your poem:

"And the light that was and is
proved revelatory:
form, colour, texture, mood
and character all lie
within its gift to us,
it is the sculptor sculpting out our world."

Wonderful, I love this stanza~

rch said...

Hey Dave I like how you dazzle us with this brilliant gem.

Dave King said...

Mary
Thank you so much for this most generous comment. It's reall good to know you enjoyed it so much.

haricot
No, the reference was not to a dark ocean but to the two distinct ways that light is said to travel: in waves and in straight lines, either or both at once. Sorry I didn't make that clearer.

Old Ollie
Hi, and a warm welcome to you. Thank you for your visit and your kind comment.

Brian
Thanks for saying this. Yes, light is as interesting a subject as it is tricky.

Daydreamertoo
Yes, you express the thought so well. Thank you for such an encouraging comment.

janaki
A very warm welcome to my blog and my thanks for your valued comment.

Laurie
Warm thanks for this.

Dave King said...

Kim
Hi, good to have your company. Thanks for the comment.

Eileen
And a very gratifying comment, for which I do thank you very much.

Rachna
Thank you so much for saying this.

Ed
Hi, a warm welcome to you, and my thanks for visitng the blog. Your comment is very generous and much appreciated.

Tommaso
The choe was deliberate, of course. Your final point is well made. I had not thought it, but, yes, it is just possible - and in this area, that makes it quite likely. Thank you.

Kat
Thank you very much. Truly appreciated.

Windsmoke
Thanks so much.

Helena
Welcome, it is really good to have your company and your very generous comment. Thank you for both.

Cait
Thanks for this really encouraging comment - and ooops! Humble apologies all round. Not sure what I was thinking about. Shall have to nip back and try to fathom what I did. Thanks for pointing it out.

ds
Thank yo for your gracious comments. All such are most helpful and do make a great difference.

Hank
Amen to that! And many than ks for the nice compliment.

Ella
Hi! Wecome! Good to have you visiting. And very many thanks for the great response. Really good to have.

rch
That's really good of you to say so. Thank you!