September 15, 2012
Vol. 12, Issue 3
It’s all about…The Lamb
Maude Carolan Pych/Quarterly Poetry Letter
“Worthy is the Lamb
that was slain to receive power and riches
and wisdom and
might and honor and glory and blessing.” Rev 5:12 NASB
It’s
all about…The Lamb is a quarterly
publication for lovers of the Holy Lamb of God, who also enjoy poetry. The
purpose is to magnify our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and inspire an
ever-deepening relationship with Him, the lover of our souls…
WELL, THE LONG HOT,
HOT, HOT SUMMER’S OVER. It was a busy season with a few trips and lots of dips
in the Totowa (NJ) pool. I also spent intense, yet enjoyable hours editing and putting
the finishing touches on my manuscript of poems about pilgrimage to the Holy
Land. It’s titled, The Pilgrim’s Pen,
and spans three exciting, worshipful and life-changing trips to Israel. Now I
must prayerfully determine what to do next. Should I try to find a publisher or
should I create another chapbook, here at my desktop, as I’ve done several
times before?
WEDDING BELLS RING TODAY for Pastor Tom Smith, whose poems have previously appeared in
this publication, and for his lovely bride, Debbie. Congratulations! And may
the Lord bless your marriage and your ministries.
TWO FEATURED POETS:
E.J. EMERSON AND JOHN
VIGREN
In
this edition of It’s all about…THE LAMB, I
am pleased to feature two fine poets, my friend, E.J. Emerson and the newest
member of my writing group, John Vigren.
Rev. E.J. Emerson’s
poems
have appeared in this publication before. She is pastor of Richfield Church in
Clifton, NJ. A wordsmith by profession and inspiration—poet, writer, French
translator, teacher and preacher EJ is also, by the grace of God, a walking
miracle. Four years ago she was diagnosed with stage IV of a very rare blood
cancer; and she was literally healed overnight only hours into the first round
of chemotherapy. Knowing it was impossible for any of the initial treatment to
have brought remission, one oncologist exclaimed, “There’s no explanation for
this!” EJ responded, “Oh, yes there is,” throwing her arms heavenward, “I don’t
know if you are men of faith, but I invite you to give thanks to God!” And the
other oncologist enthusiastically added, “Amen!”
EJ
and I send poems to one another from time to time. A few weeks ago, she sent
one she had just written. The title is “Distressed”. It moved me greatly with
its element of surprise. As for one whose prayer list for cancer victims is way
too long, it jolted me on first reading. Even more so, when it comes to the
plight of children my heart becomes wrenched in my powerlessness to do anything
other than call upon The Name of The Lord, which I do without hesitation. I
asked EJ to tell me what inspired this poem. Her reply follows:
“Sitting
in an Irish pub style restaurant waiting for lunch to arrive, I looked around
at the décor, enjoying the Celtic cutout motifs in the metal window grill where
I sat. What popped into my mind was the word ‘distressed’, applied to
fashionable decorative metalwork and pieces of furniture. Then blue jeans. Then
the rest just tumbled out onto the page of the notebook I had brought with me.
It wrote itself, taking me completely by surprise when ‘distressed’ became
‘dis-tressed’ and I anguished over the many children, including my step-niece,
who have succumbed to cancer.”
I met John Vigren in June at a meeting
of the North Jersey Christian Writers Group (NJCWG) in North Haledon. A poet, this was the first NJCWG meeting
he attended. He presented me with a copy of one of his two chapbooks, To Name the Hope. I read it during the
summer, and asked John if he would permit me to publish, “No Deal”, in this
publication. He gladly agreed.
John
was born in Flushing, NY, in 1954. He started writing poems suddenly in
October, 2010. He won the Founder’s Prize in the Utmost Christian Poetry
Contest, and first place in the Christian Publishers Poetry Prize competition.
Both contests were based in Canada in 2011. The poet produced a chapbook, What He Has Done, earlier this year, in
addition to the book previously mentioned and he’s currently working on a pet
memoir. John is also a landscape photographer. I went to his website and was
mightily blessed by his amazing photographs. Check it out at: www.peacefuleye.com
John
told me, “’No Deal’ was inspired by a relatively inconsequential adversity. I
was saved in July, 1997, at age 43, when my addiction recovery blew to pieces.
I reached out to a Christian friend, who suggested I open the Book of John.
When I did, I received the Holy Spirit with power. My poetic agenda is to plead
Christ’s case by describing His matchless power in everyday situations.”
John
lives in Hope, NJ, with his wife, Elizabeth.
+++ THE POEMS FOLLOW
+++
DISTRESSED
Distressed
wood
Distressed
metal
Distressed
jeans
Latest
gotta-have trends
At
the check-us-out chic
Main
Street Antiques
Online
boutiques
* * *
Dis-tressed
children
Distressed
parents
Distress
calls hurled skyward
Propelled
by pain
Despair,
disbelief,
Disjointedness,
With
those everyday
Take-it-away cries
Rock by rock
We build our own
wailing wall
Maranatha.
© E. J. Emerson
August 19, 2012
NO
DEAL
Climbing
metal steps, I now recall
the
times that I was blessed in doing good.
And
I recall the blessings I’ve forgone
by
not deliberately blessing those
around
me. That is, in the same moment,
not
waiting for the next mission trip.
And
other times I thought if I do this, I will
be
blessed. Oh what a tiring thought:
If
I do this I will be blessed. A little
more,
a little less, the world’s most insipid
vending
machine. But now like one awake
and
throwing off a dream, despising it,
mad
passion comes: No deal. I will do it
anyway.
I will pray and give without
a
reason. And I will get nothing back,
just
as You gave all for me, full knowing
I
never could or would repay. Or, even
like
most, thank You. And in deciding this,
and
only then, joy fills me. I will make
no
deal with man or God to bless or praise.
©
John Vigren
2011
Permission to forward or copy is automatic and encouraged as
long as credit is given.
Comments are welcome and appreciated.
A FEW CLOSING WORDS…
Dear Subscriber,
Have a glorious autumn! Any day now,
the Master Painter is about to astonish us with His vibrant color spectacular! I
hope you get the opportunity to walk through piles of crunchy leaves and
perhaps pick a pumpkin or a basketful of apples. My husband’s mouth is watering
for a homemade pumpkin pie.
To my Jewish friends and subscribers, with Rosh Hoshanna and Yom
Kippur right around the corner…May your name be inscribed!
…And as a reminder to all email
subscribers, when the link appears in your email box, December 15, 2012, just a
click of the mouse will bring you to “Maude’s
Poems “and the next edition of It’s
all about…The Lamb. Till then…
God be with ewe,
Maude
After God’s Own
Heart Publishing
P.O. Box 2211, Woodland Park, NJ 07424
