The Poem, Asking, a Poem of the Second Answer, is found on page 25 of my book, Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges of Joy.
I wrote this poem because I hoped it would encourage people in a certain way.
TITLE
The first part of the title is just the word, ASKING. When you are going through dark times, there are many questions you ask yourself and God. It was for those times that this poem was written.
The second part of the title is A Poem of the Second Answer. This is to make you think that we must keep on asking because there is more than the simple common answers that we at first find.
STRUCTURE
This poem is 25 lines long, and each line is four to six syllables long.
The first four lines introduce the question of "why?"
"The question of "Why?"
Is a heart-scream of pain."
Lines 5 through 10 acknowledges how hurtful our pain is.
Lines 11 through 17 tell us that pain is real, legitimate, and should be faced.
Lines 18 to the end tell us that there is another question to ask and it may be the most important.
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| The Fork in the Road Illustration for the Poem Asking from Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges of Joy |
MEANING
There are times in our lives when we are faced with pain, and that pain is so deep that it causes us to doubt God, life, and anything good. It is in those times that we ask the big questions. Pain starts a process in our lives and souls, but we must be sure it is only a start and that we do not stay in the place of pain. Sometimes we need to be intentional about moving on.
SCRIPTURE
The accompanying scripture is from Job, “The righteous keep moving forward, and those with clean hands become stronger and stronger.” Job 17:9, NLT
ILLUSTRATION
The illustration I drew for this poem is of a road going through the countryside, and the road divides in a fork going two opposite ways.
