This poem, He Who Works, A Poem about Your Plan, is on page 5 of my book, Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges of Joy, Words of Comfort and Hope.
I wrote this as a poem of reassurance of the loving purposes of God on your behalf.
TITLE
The title, He Who Works, A Poem About Your Plan, is in contrast to the poem. A reader may think it is about their own plans by the words, "about your plan." However, when you read it you find it is not about the plans you have made, but they involve another one.
MY CREATIVE PROCESS
I often start with an image or word picture of something and weave my message into it. This one began with the desire to say something particular. First, I wrote it out as a simple statement, then tried for days to come up with imagery to explain my thought but nothing fit. I tried different rhythms but felt the message was diluted by too much structure. I returned to the original thought and kept rewriting each section until it said what I wanted.
STRUCTURE
This poem is so simple it is barely a poem at all. It is in a free-verse style and has only 20 lines forming five sentences. Some of the line breaks are one or two words long. It starts out conversationally with two "they say," and "you ask" statements; this brings us to a question that sets up the poem's concluding narrative.
WHAT IT SAYS
It starts with, "They will tell you God is good..." This is what people of faith say to encourage others in their times of difficulty. But lines follow that ask, "You say, 'where is the good...'" The poem acknowledges the pain "Yes, it hurts..." Then offers an explanation, "but God is working." The last five lines are an affirmation of God's love and goodness.
WHAT IT MEANS
We have a different perspective of God's goodness when we experience trials than when we are at ease. When we question God's purpose we may not get an explanation that satisfies us, but there are reasons to trust God and to hope during these times.
ILLUSTRATION
The poems in this book are illustrated. A theme in many drawings is of a road leading through a landscape, some of the scenes are pleasant and others are barren. I choose a pleasant scene for this one, with a cart full of flowers beside the road.
You can read this poem on page 5 of the book.
I wrote this as a poem of reassurance of the loving purposes of God on your behalf.
TITLE
The title, He Who Works, A Poem About Your Plan, is in contrast to the poem. A reader may think it is about their own plans by the words, "about your plan." However, when you read it you find it is not about the plans you have made, but they involve another one.
MY CREATIVE PROCESS
I often start with an image or word picture of something and weave my message into it. This one began with the desire to say something particular. First, I wrote it out as a simple statement, then tried for days to come up with imagery to explain my thought but nothing fit. I tried different rhythms but felt the message was diluted by too much structure. I returned to the original thought and kept rewriting each section until it said what I wanted.
STRUCTURE
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| A drawing of a wheelbarrow with flowers © Illustration of the poem, He who works from Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges Of Joy © |
WHAT IT SAYS
It starts with, "They will tell you God is good..." This is what people of faith say to encourage others in their times of difficulty. But lines follow that ask, "You say, 'where is the good...'" The poem acknowledges the pain "Yes, it hurts..." Then offers an explanation, "but God is working." The last five lines are an affirmation of God's love and goodness.
WHAT IT MEANS
We have a different perspective of God's goodness when we experience trials than when we are at ease. When we question God's purpose we may not get an explanation that satisfies us, but there are reasons to trust God and to hope during these times.
ILLUSTRATION
The poems in this book are illustrated. A theme in many drawings is of a road leading through a landscape, some of the scenes are pleasant and others are barren. I choose a pleasant scene for this one, with a cart full of flowers beside the road.
You can read this poem on page 5 of the book.
© Adron 3/21/18
