This poem by CS Lewis has long been one of my favorites. It is a very 'Lenten' poem, and I offer it to you all, apropos of the season. . .
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As the Ruin Falls by CS Lewis
All this is flashy rhetoric about loving you.
I never had a selfless thought since I was born.
I am mercenary and self-seeking through and through:
I want God, you, all friends, merely to serve my turn.
Peace, reassurance, pleasure are the goals I seek,
I cannot crawl one inch outside my proper skin;
I talk of love - a scholar's parrot may talk Greek -
But, self-imprisoned, always end where I begin.
Only that now you have taught me (but how late) my lack,
I see the chasm. And everything you are was making
My heart into a bridge by which I might get back
From exile, and grow man. And now the bridge is breaking.
For this I bless you as the ruin falls. The pains
You give me are more precious than all other gains.
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Well, not a pick-me-up, but Sunday's a-comin!
ReplyDeleteWell, it gets downright hopeful by the end. But, it's always good to have a sober self-assessment, right?
DeleteFood for thought.
ReplyDeleteThen again, I know it's all about me.
Well, see, I thought he was writin' about me. . .
DeleteI wasn't familiar with this one, thank you.. excellent, and now I have to dig out my CS and do some more reading- so, thanks twice, it's always a pleasure to be reminded of old favorites
ReplyDeleteOne can never read too much Lewis. Or at least, so it seems to me. . .
DeleteWait, you mean he was as bad as the rest of us? Go figure ....
ReplyDeleteIt's in the fine print; nobody gets to be a saint unless they're a sinner first. . .
Delete;)
Every time I read something by him, I'm amazed by how much it reaches into my depths to pull up something I might not want to see (but which, by the seeing, I have an opportunity for improvement.) Thanks!
ReplyDeleteHis effect on me is similar. . .
Delete