George Herbert has Jesus’ words in mind in his poem: “Suffer the little children to come unto me, and hinder them not, for of such is the kingdom of Heaven.”
Word & Song is extraordinary, like a rare jewel found in the midst of the "thrashing floor," that brings peace, nostalgia, hope, love, charm ... faith ... think I will listen to Holy Baptism many more times. Thanks so much, will share this treasure with those who "have eyes to see, ears to hear"
What a very kind comment. Thank you. We spend many many hours a week on this project, and we do want to reach a wide readership, so we value every share!
Team Esolen knocks another one clear out of the park! I love this poem now, which I did not know before, and I love your remarks upon it. Can I posit that the professor was early introduced to the world of rhyme, because his family tree produced 'dozens of cousins'?😊 God bless those people we knew, way back when. What treasures we had!
Crucial, I think, was the presence of orderly Time: time to sow, time to grow, time to know. Stillness, though they were working all the while.
You warm my heart with this comment. As a matter of fact, the professor had for reading material in his home a Bible, a set of Childcraft books, and the TV Guide. He taught himself to read at about age three, and did not meet up with poetry for quite awhile. His church "went mod" in the 60's, sad to say, so he had to meet me (raised in a very traditional SINGING Methodist church) to be introduced to traditional hymnody. I actually have Tony beat on the first cousins! In toto, our combined grandparents on both sides had the very same number of grandchildren, and to our amazement (when we first "compared notes" on our large families), we had the same number of cousins AND of aunts and uncles. My mother was the ninth child and youngest girl in her family of 12 siblings. My cousins were a bit more spread out -- though I could walk to ONE house where lived five boy cousins who filled the role of brothers to me -- and as in Tony's family, my grandparents' home had a swinging door. I knew whenever I went there that it was more likely than not that other of my cousins would be visiting. And we went there all the time. Childhood was quite different back then. But I was an only child, also an early reader, but my parents noted that and filled the house with books, which I chewed up forthwith. I got my first taste of poetry really in my public high school, which actually had a broader and much fuller English program than did Tony's parochial school. But both Tony and I had traditional college English programs, and we read it ALL. Then on the graduate school, where poetry reigned. And we both had studied grammar thoroughly in grade school, and studied foreign languages in high school, and for Tony -- the poetry entered his world -- partly because of his love of the mathematics!
When I met Tony he had stacks of unpublished poetry. I began to be his agent, sending it out here and there, and by our second anniversary I had gotten 100 of his poems published, and also entered his work into the running for a New Poets Award, which he won that year, along with the prize of a publication of his first volume of poetry, "Peppers." He still has a long poem from that era which was published in excerpt, but which has not yet been published at a full poem. He thinks of it as juvenilia now, but I know better! I had studied enough literature to know fine poetry when I saw it. Coincidental to my work getting Tony's poetry in print, I was on the editorial board of the Emrys Journal, and was seeing first-hand was "acclaimed" poets of the time were publishing. It was just junk. Junk. And did I mention "junk"? It's been my mission to encourage Tony to get his work in print, but he was doing most of his best poetry in the form of translations of classic works -- for 15 years. Finally he went back to writing his own, and The Hundredfold was the outcome. IT has reached a very small audience, and largely because readers -- even Christian readers -- have no experience reading poetry at all, nor are they sufficiently grounded in the Scriptures to do it. The work has been treated like a "first effort," when it really is the outcome of a lifetime of study of poetry, language, Scripture, and great epic poems. You have heard of being born "before one's time"? Tony, sadly, was born AFTER the time when his work would have been read and lauded by everyone.
Holy Baptism the initial sacrament was traditionally received within the first week of the newborn's life. Godparents were chosen to insure that the child was raised in the faith, a beautiful christening gown (often hand made) was worn, and a celebration followed. The child was welcomed into the Church community and according to custom was given the name of a Saint as a model for life. This poem by George Herbert encapsulates the journey of both flesh and soul.
When it comes to sacred lyric poems, George Herbert can't be beat, Elizabeth. He compresses so much into a short space, and he places every word perfectly and often even has the very lines and look of his lines mirror his words. This is a remarkable poem.
Beautiful poem! Your introduction reminds me of Bruce Springsteen's On Broadway version of My Home Town that he performed at the 2018 Tony Awards which gets to me every time as I also grew up with parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas, and a church family. My children grew up with their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, although fewer in number., and a smaller church family My grandchildren too, although fewer yet in number, and although the size of family and church has diminished, and I feel a bit sad for them not having the same as I did, I think that they too treasurer their childhood, their church, and their family
Unless they are forced otherwise, children come by their innocence naturally, and their wonder in the world. I was like Tony as a child, not anxious to grow up .. and kind of sad when I began to mature physically. It's hard in our times to keep the debased world away from children. We did it by homeschooling our kids, in large part to make a real childhood possible for them, so their homeschooling friends were kind of a fill-in, and the families intact and like-minded. We were able to recreate childhood experiences in the extended family, and on my side, at least, many of my aunts and uncles stepped into those roles for our kids, and my cousins' kids became like first cousins to ours. Still, we didn't live in close proximity and so the meetings were fewer and farther between. But my cousins and aunts and uncles were real presences for our kids, and a great part of their lives. What we couldn't do was fix the larger society .. and that's where we are now, with prospects rather grim going forward. Tony and I have no grandchildren, a situation which was unthinkable to us back in our homeschooling days. Our children were raised is a fine church and have retained the faith. What they lack is a coherent society to live out their lives in. We are sad for them, and for ourselves, too.
We share much of your good times---and the sad times also, culminating, so far, in the
suicide of a grandson. "But here we have no abiding city." However, our sweet Lord never fails us. It's so important to hold that close to our hearts---and give thanks!
Word & Song is extraordinary, like a rare jewel found in the midst of the "thrashing floor," that brings peace, nostalgia, hope, love, charm ... faith ... think I will listen to Holy Baptism many more times. Thanks so much, will share this treasure with those who "have eyes to see, ears to hear"
What a very kind comment. Thank you. We spend many many hours a week on this project, and we do want to reach a wide readership, so we value every share!
Team Esolen knocks another one clear out of the park! I love this poem now, which I did not know before, and I love your remarks upon it. Can I posit that the professor was early introduced to the world of rhyme, because his family tree produced 'dozens of cousins'?😊 God bless those people we knew, way back when. What treasures we had!
Crucial, I think, was the presence of orderly Time: time to sow, time to grow, time to know. Stillness, though they were working all the while.
Amen.
You warm my heart with this comment. As a matter of fact, the professor had for reading material in his home a Bible, a set of Childcraft books, and the TV Guide. He taught himself to read at about age three, and did not meet up with poetry for quite awhile. His church "went mod" in the 60's, sad to say, so he had to meet me (raised in a very traditional SINGING Methodist church) to be introduced to traditional hymnody. I actually have Tony beat on the first cousins! In toto, our combined grandparents on both sides had the very same number of grandchildren, and to our amazement (when we first "compared notes" on our large families), we had the same number of cousins AND of aunts and uncles. My mother was the ninth child and youngest girl in her family of 12 siblings. My cousins were a bit more spread out -- though I could walk to ONE house where lived five boy cousins who filled the role of brothers to me -- and as in Tony's family, my grandparents' home had a swinging door. I knew whenever I went there that it was more likely than not that other of my cousins would be visiting. And we went there all the time. Childhood was quite different back then. But I was an only child, also an early reader, but my parents noted that and filled the house with books, which I chewed up forthwith. I got my first taste of poetry really in my public high school, which actually had a broader and much fuller English program than did Tony's parochial school. But both Tony and I had traditional college English programs, and we read it ALL. Then on the graduate school, where poetry reigned. And we both had studied grammar thoroughly in grade school, and studied foreign languages in high school, and for Tony -- the poetry entered his world -- partly because of his love of the mathematics!
When I met Tony he had stacks of unpublished poetry. I began to be his agent, sending it out here and there, and by our second anniversary I had gotten 100 of his poems published, and also entered his work into the running for a New Poets Award, which he won that year, along with the prize of a publication of his first volume of poetry, "Peppers." He still has a long poem from that era which was published in excerpt, but which has not yet been published at a full poem. He thinks of it as juvenilia now, but I know better! I had studied enough literature to know fine poetry when I saw it. Coincidental to my work getting Tony's poetry in print, I was on the editorial board of the Emrys Journal, and was seeing first-hand was "acclaimed" poets of the time were publishing. It was just junk. Junk. And did I mention "junk"? It's been my mission to encourage Tony to get his work in print, but he was doing most of his best poetry in the form of translations of classic works -- for 15 years. Finally he went back to writing his own, and The Hundredfold was the outcome. IT has reached a very small audience, and largely because readers -- even Christian readers -- have no experience reading poetry at all, nor are they sufficiently grounded in the Scriptures to do it. The work has been treated like a "first effort," when it really is the outcome of a lifetime of study of poetry, language, Scripture, and great epic poems. You have heard of being born "before one's time"? Tony, sadly, was born AFTER the time when his work would have been read and lauded by everyone.
Thank you so much for this.
You are welcome, Lucy, and thank you for accompanying us at Word & Song!
Holy Baptism the initial sacrament was traditionally received within the first week of the newborn's life. Godparents were chosen to insure that the child was raised in the faith, a beautiful christening gown (often hand made) was worn, and a celebration followed. The child was welcomed into the Church community and according to custom was given the name of a Saint as a model for life. This poem by George Herbert encapsulates the journey of both flesh and soul.
When it comes to sacred lyric poems, George Herbert can't be beat, Elizabeth. He compresses so much into a short space, and he places every word perfectly and often even has the very lines and look of his lines mirror his words. This is a remarkable poem.
Beautiful poem! Your introduction reminds me of Bruce Springsteen's On Broadway version of My Home Town that he performed at the 2018 Tony Awards which gets to me every time as I also grew up with parents, cousins, aunts, uncles, grandmas, and a church family. My children grew up with their parents, grandparents, aunts, uncles and cousins, although fewer in number., and a smaller church family My grandchildren too, although fewer yet in number, and although the size of family and church has diminished, and I feel a bit sad for them not having the same as I did, I think that they too treasurer their childhood, their church, and their family
Unless they are forced otherwise, children come by their innocence naturally, and their wonder in the world. I was like Tony as a child, not anxious to grow up .. and kind of sad when I began to mature physically. It's hard in our times to keep the debased world away from children. We did it by homeschooling our kids, in large part to make a real childhood possible for them, so their homeschooling friends were kind of a fill-in, and the families intact and like-minded. We were able to recreate childhood experiences in the extended family, and on my side, at least, many of my aunts and uncles stepped into those roles for our kids, and my cousins' kids became like first cousins to ours. Still, we didn't live in close proximity and so the meetings were fewer and farther between. But my cousins and aunts and uncles were real presences for our kids, and a great part of their lives. What we couldn't do was fix the larger society .. and that's where we are now, with prospects rather grim going forward. Tony and I have no grandchildren, a situation which was unthinkable to us back in our homeschooling days. Our children were raised is a fine church and have retained the faith. What they lack is a coherent society to live out their lives in. We are sad for them, and for ourselves, too.
We share much of your good times---and the sad times also, culminating, so far, in the
suicide of a grandson. "But here we have no abiding city." However, our sweet Lord never fails us. It's so important to hold that close to our hearts---and give thanks!