The poem, There is No Question, a Poem About Foundations, is found on page 3 in the book titled, Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges of Joy, Poems of Comfort and Hope, by A.E. Dozat.
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TITLE
I choose the title for this poem with irony since it opens with questions, and pursues those questions throughout the first half, but the title is really explained by the concluding line. (I can't give that away here, you have to buy a copy and read it).
STRUCTURE
This poem is 25 lines long and most of the lines are 4 to 6 syllables. It opens with the word, "Maybe" which is repeated in lines 1, 5, and 9. I admit using the word, "Maybe," reflects a soft voice which is reinforced with the words me and us but the soft voice is mitigated with the word, "certainly," at line 13. I considered changing the voice in the second half and it would have made sense for the second half but would have been distracting and cost the poem unity. The soft voice persists with the use of we and us but is dominated by word, "Certainly," line 13, 16 and 25.
The maybes are all solitary, especially the first,
"Maybe
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| Illustration There is No Question, A Poem About Foundations from the Book, Beyond These Dark Lands Are Edges of Joy © 2017 A.E. Dozat |
Through our desert."
The following two maybes are less dramatic but still expressions of solitude or estrangement.
The certainties contrast the maybes with expressions of God's communion.
WHAT IT SAYS
The maybes reflect our questions of why do we go through trials and problems. The reasons given include our rebellion, anger or stubbornness. There are many reasons we go through trials and there are times we just do not know why so it is all a bunch of maybes. But there are certainties "We must lean on God..." and "God is willing to reach to us and revive us ..." The concluding lines point to the ultimate Certainty.
MEANING
The message of this poem is simple. The point is God; that He is the ultimate answer to our questions and the ultimate source of comfort.
ILLUSTRATION
I drew the illustration of low hills covered with barren trees and a road leading to distant mountains. The barren trees reflect the maybes of the poem causing you to wonder why the trees are barren. The distant mountains are a classic device that represents God.
This poem, like most in the book, encourages you to have intelligent confidence in God during the dark times.
There Is No Question,
A Poem About Foundations
Maybe,
We each wander
Through our desert
To reach a point...
Maybe,
Because of our rebellion
Or our anger,
Or our stubbornness...
Maybe,
We must come to where
We cannot go on
And fall on our face.
Certainly,
We must lean on God
And just rest in him.
Certainly,
God is willing
To reach to us
And revive us
When we collapse,
So we can learn
Day by day
That
God is
The Certainty.
