The Wounds and the Inheritance

[ChrisTillinen]

That wretched inheritance of old
The self-wound of the fallen ones
Hiding from the light too bright to behold
Eye looks for dimmer light and succumbs

Living the destiny of aimless wander
No longer in the garden but fleeing still
Fighting for time but soon going under
Rebels in search of a cause for the kill

These daughters of Eve and Adam's sons
Concealing the desperate wish for exemption
On permafrost unfazed by thousand suns
The icy red crystals of their unredemption

Still frozen is the warmth that once was
Written on the heart now lying cold
Walking through thorns with fragile glass
Carrying the faint icebound memory of old

In fearful hiding from the fateful eternal bleeding
Frozen in dreadful unredemption would we still be
Had not Eternity entered time in the great interceding
Reaching arms in compassion to bleed for you and me

Not by fire nor sun but the Righteous One crowned
In thorns from the wilderness of affliction
Waters of judgement in righteousness drowned
Under mercy-filled words of his benediction

Giving new heart and enduring painful throne
The compassionate Word made the ones newly unfrozen
Once lost but forever found to be his own
The ones who came to be brought in and chosen

Now without thorns is the crown of glory laid bare
As in victory was this new inheritance gained
For the citizens of new hope to enjoy and share
Yet in nailwounds is the memory of price once paid

 

[ChrisTillinen]

Some parts of the imagery and symbolism in this one should be clear enough, but other parts may be a bit more obscure. Perhaps I'll post some commentary soon. Although I think there's also something to be said for reading a poem at least once without any pre-conceived ideas of what it's about.

 

[ebdesroches]

This is really good.

It was clear to me what you said.

 

[ChrisTillinen]

The beginning of the poem describes humankind in its fallen state. Not able to bear the unveiled glory and light of God's perfection and holiness, they had to flee. They are lost and left to wander aimlessly through a landscape of thorns (the consequences of the fall). The "self-wound of the fallen ones" affects everyone. Something was broken in us, in our relationship to God, and in our relationship to others. It is in some sense self-inflicted and in yet another sense inherited. And in some ways it even becomes our identity, closely tied to our "self".

The wages of sin is death. Death is signified by the shedding of blood. But as we are not able to atone for our sins, the consequence would be an all-consuming and endless "fateful eternal bleeding". That does not seem to be a workable solution for the fallen humankind. In our unredeemed state, "the self-wound" would eventually turn out to be fatal. Seemingly there is only one temporary solution available, which is to let one's heart be cold and blood be frozen so that it does not run and bleed ("the icy red crystals of their unredemption"). This will at least delay the seemingly inevitable destruction in "eternal bleeding". But of course, it cannot be a permanent solution, which is why people are in "fearful hiding" and there is a "desperate wish for exemption".

But rather than let us be consumed in the eternal bleeding, Eternity came here to bleed for us and on our behalf. Even though he is the victorious king, he had a crown of thorns and the cross was his "painful throne". In this way, he also embraced the suffering that is part of the fallen human predicament. The self-wound of the fallen ones was the old inheritance. Christ's crucifixion wounds won us a new inheritance. Consequently, we are destined to return to God's presence. Christ's crown of glory replaces the crowd of thorns as God's perfection and holiness is no longer a threat to us. While the crown of thorns is no longer there, the nailwounds remain and carry the memory of what it took to restore our relationship.

 

[ChrisTillinen]

Interestingly, I wrote most of this poem with the intention of making it's rhyme structure a rather ambitious "1-2-3-4, 1-2-3-4". That turned out to be too difficult and not even ideal (one would have to read really carefully to notice the rhyme going back 4 lines). So I changed it to "1-2, 1-2" type of structure. It required surprisingly little editing to what I had already written as often the lines worked even after having changed their places. While many of the other themes were somewhat clearly in my mind during the process of writing, the connection and contrast between the original "self-wound" and the crucifixion wounds of Christ was more of a new idea in a late stage of writing.

 

[ChrisTillinen]

Personally, I find the phrase "the icy red crystals of their unredemption" somehow quite impactful. I also like the image of "waters of judgement drowning in righteousness". The counterintuitive "drowning of waters" seems quite similar to "the death of death" which happened when Christ was victorious over death. Also the concept of "the self-wound" already appeared in one of my earlier poems. It may make more appearances still in some future ones.

 

[ebdesroches]

The beginning of the poem describes humankind in its fallen state. Not able to bear the unveiled glory and light of God's perfection and holiness, they had to flee. They are lost and left to wander aimlessly through a landscape of thorns (the consequences of the fall). The "self-wound of the fallen ones" affects everyone. Something was broken in us, in our relationship to God, and in our relationship to others. It is in some sense self-inflicted and in yet another sense inherited. And in some ways it even becomes our identity, closely tied to our "self".

The wages of sin is death. Death is signified by the shedding of blood. But as we are not able to atone for our sins, the consequence would be an all-consuming and endless "fateful eternal bleeding". That does not seem to be a workable solution for the fallen humankind. In our unredeemed state, "the self-wound" would eventually turn out to be fatal. Seemingly there is only one temporary solution available, which is to let one's heart be cold and blood be frozen so that it does not run and bleed ("the icy red crystals of their unredemption"). This will at least delay the seemingly inevitable destruction in "eternal bleeding". But of course, it cannot be a permanent solution, which is why people are in "fearful hiding" and there is a "desperate wish for exemption".

But rather than let us be consumed in the eternal bleeding, Eternity came here to bleed for us and on our behalf. Even though he is the victorious king, he had a crown of thorns and the cross was his "painful throne". In this way, he also embraced the suffering that is part of the fallen human predicament. The self-wound of the fallen ones was the old inheritance. Christ's crucifixion wounds won us a new inheritance. Consequently, we are destined to return to God's presence. Christ's crown of glory replaces the crowd of thorns as God's perfection and holiness is no longer a threat to us. While the crown of thorns is no longer there, the nailwounds remain and carry the memory of what it took to restore our relationship.

A real poet, images, words and the feelings of both!

I think i subconsciously copied the idea of the questions (wind in my sails) as you had in your poems, not realizing it until later!

 

[ebdesroches]

The beginning of the poem describes humankind in its fallen state. Not able to bear the unveiled glory and light of God's perfection and holiness, they had to flee. They are lost and left to wander aimlessly through a landscape of thorns (the consequences of the fall). The "self-wound of the fallen ones" affects everyone. Something was broken in us, in our relationship to God, and in our relationship to others. It is in some sense self-inflicted and in yet another sense inherited. And in some ways it even becomes our identity, closely tied to our "self".

The wages of sin is death. Death is signified by the shedding of blood. But as we are not able to atone for our sins, the consequence would be an all-consuming and endless "fateful eternal bleeding". That does not seem to be a workable solution for the fallen humankind. In our unredeemed state, "the self-wound" would eventually turn out to be fatal. Seemingly there is only one temporary solution available, which is to let one's heart be cold and blood be frozen so that it does not run and bleed ("the icy red crystals of their unredemption"). This will at least delay the seemingly inevitable destruction in "eternal bleeding". But of course, it cannot be a permanent solution, which is why people are in "fearful hiding" and there is a "desperate wish for exemption".

But rather than let us be consumed in the eternal bleeding, Eternity came here to bleed for us and on our behalf. Even though he is the victorious king, he had a crown of thorns and the cross was his "painful throne". In this way, he also embraced the suffering that is part of the fallen human predicament. The self-wound of the fallen ones was the old inheritance. Christ's crucifixion wounds won us a new inheritance. Consequently, we are destined to return to God's presence. Christ's crown of glory replaces the crowd of thorns as God's perfection and holiness is no longer a threat to us. While the crown of thorns is no longer there, the nailwounds remain and carry the memory of what it took to restore our relationship.

I needed the explanation after all.

Im bewildered! The explanation is as satisfying and pleasurable as the poem!