Author’s Note: Below is a rather avant-garde poem I wrote. It illustrates the situation for Gen-X-ers (my generation), Millennials (those after my generation), and probably the generation that comes after them (Gen Z). This poem, in its form, illustrates the busy thinking and difficulty finding time to rest often experienced by these generations. The poem is antiphonal. There are limerick lines and sonnet lines. The sonnet lines all form one sonnet. The limerick lines form three limericks, but they alternate. There is a Haiku at the end which provides the main point of the poem. This may read best with two or three people, one for each part. The poem is antiphonal to illustrate the multitasking people in my generation and after tend to do. You may read it best just reading the sonnet lines and the limerick lines, unless, of course, you’re an X-er or Millennial. Then, maybe, you can be expected to just read the whole thing in one trip.
Millennial Crisis
(Isaiah 26:3, 10/23/2018)
Limerick: There once came yet one more great task
Sonnet: My mind is filled with countless worries great.
Limerick: For my loyal work it must ask.
Sonnet: They sound with clash of loudest, angry din
Limerick: It came shining bright
Sonnet: To drown the softest song of peace within.
Limerick: But that angel of light.
Sonnet: For them to be resolved I cannot wait.
Limerick: Was a devil that wore a sweet mask.
Sonnet: They e’er demand that I must contemplate
Limerick: There once was a sound from my phone
Sonnet: Only on their tyranny of sin.
Limerick: I moved as if I were its own.
Sonnet: The fight for every thought they swiftly win
Limerick: I answered its song.
Sonnet: To find sweet calm, it seems it is too late.
Limerick: I stayed by all day long.
Sonnet: And so my form must roam bereft of rest
Limerick: With no human touch, all alone.
Sonnet: Every moment screams from bondage sly
Limerick: There once was a tumult of woe
Sonnet: And soon my heart becomes that cruelest nest
Limerick: From thought after thought on the go.
Sonnet: From where all clashing, angry words may fly.
Limerick: They clamored all day
Sonnet: Oh, that I might learn that perfect zest
Limerick: All wanting their way
Sonnet: Alive in softest silence from on High.
Limerick: And nothing got done here below.
***
Haiku: But God will keep one
In unending, perfect peace
Whose thoughts stay on Him.
Dr. Ray McAllister is passionate about enjoying all he can out of life. He enjoys writing poetry, reading, origami, computer programming, coding computer graphics, and serving others. In August 2010 he received a PhD in Hebrew Scriptures. Dr. McAllister is totally blind, so he's the first blind PhD from Andrews University's seminary, and the first totally blind person in the world to get a PhD in Hebrew Scriptures. He teaches distance education religion classes for Andrews University and works as a licensed massage therapist in Michigan. In December 2014, he became the first totally blind, male, certified birth doula, trained to assist a woman during childbirth. In July 2016, Dr. McAllister and two other visually impaired biblical scholars received from the National Federation of the Blind the top prize Jacob Bolotin Award for their work making biblical language materials accessible to the blind. Dr. McAllister sees his blindness as an opportunity to more deeply see the beauty of God's love and guide others to do the same.
Photo by Andreas Klassen on Unsplash
Further Reading:
A Spectrum Interview with Dr. Ray McAllister
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