Blue_Halcyon

Jan 23, 2009 ⭐ View statistics (Premium feature)

Ancient Fire

Forced down from Eternity’s Mountain

You were misshapen into an image

By the hands of inferior, infantile souls,

Who were barren of your immortal wisdom.

They demanded your attributes

To be blackened by their own desires;

And these resentful, envious children

Placed pieces of your burning coals

Into pottery much too crude for your magnificence.

And Your glory faded into ashes.

They mixed you with their clay

Shaping you into a mask

For chosen ones to wear

Imbuing them with your characteristics

Elevating them to demigods

While rending unity from humanity.

Now,

I pursuit you in the masquerade

Chasing the enlightenment of you,

As it flickers like bits of a golden fleece

Stuck to the brambles of mankind.

I search for the unknowable answers

And seek out perceptive understanding

While wondering how the Creator

Became a creation…..

And I wonder if I will ever again

Recognize your face.

— Blue_Halcyon, Jan 23, 2009

About This Poem

About the Author

Region, Country: Florida, USA

Favorite Poets: Sylvia Plath, Rumi, Kahlil Gibran, Edgar Allen Poe, Lewis Carrol, Yeats, Bukowski, Langston Hughes, Johanne Wolfgang von Goethe, ect.

Critiques

Stella

17 years 4 months ago

Hi Blue Halcyon, I’m sorry

Hi Blue Halcyon, I'm sorry I haven't read any of your work until now because I love your use of language here! It's always a bit awkward to ask for the meaning behind a poem because it should speak for itself (or at least one's interpretation of it) but this does to me so I hope I'm correct to assume you're addressing God or a Higher Power here. Many great lines, "And your glory faded into ashes" is very strong. I would love to hear your sentiments behind this but understand if it's something very personal. Sorry, I'm rambling a bit ; ) I enjoyed reading this, thanks BH ~Stella

Ink Dragon

17 years 4 months ago

Blue Halcyon

you ask for constructive criticism...I cannot give it, because I cannot find anything to "construct". It is a powerful and imaginative poem. I enjoyed it a lot, Ink Dragon

Nordic cloud

17 years 4 months ago

Very special indeed

This poem has to be read, by me anyway, several times, each time more pleasurably getting entangled in the images and ideas, I look forward to a development of this theme from you in new poems as you have handled language and symbols in such a new startling manner. So exciting and fascinating, wonder-full. Respectfully Ann of Norway

weirdelf

17 years 4 months ago

you handle the ineffable with grace and style,

what more can one ask of pooetry? cheers, Jess

goatman

17 years 4 months ago

While wondering how the Creator became a creation…..

Yeah, hell yeah, it's out there; you want name it? You may know it as God, or maybe Science, but at an essential form it is creation- no capital c, it's just a describing word. 'what more can one ask of poetry?' speechless... .................................................................................. stop rambling about how things were perfect, are perfect or will be perfect. perfect is imperfect, and imperfect is perfect.

big-Alzer

17 years 4 months ago

ancient fire

Hi there thought i'd check out your work, i love this one, brush strokes of magnificence, and deep meaning. particularly in pottery much to crude for your magnificence. It has shades of treasure in earthen vessels i've read it several times and each time i get something new. God, creator, higher power. mystical and magical living with naughty children. I like this alot. blessings alzer.

Conect11

17 years 4 months ago

I've wondered and feared the same things

Much of the Bible talks about just what you've said here. I had an interesting thing happen to me once. I was on a train in Boston when a homeless woman came onboard. Mixed in with her rambling she said something to the effect of "I'm Jesus. I love you, but you don't love me." I dismissed her at the time, but isn't that exactly how mankind rejected Christ? "What you do to the least of these, you do to me..." Sadly, not only could we say our churches have made the "mask" out of God, we could say it has (with very rare exception) been that way through out history. The main thing I would say in regards to this poem is whom it is pointed to. You use the word "they" alot. WE have done this to Christ, take ownership of it. I think you'll find it resonates with an even stronger power than what you have now. Mark W. Galatians 5:22-23 "22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, and self-control. Against these, there is no law!" My favorite verse(s) in the Bible

Blue_Halcyon

17 years 4 months ago

I get what you're saying, Mark

If that was my original intent with this poem - which it wasn't. I wrote this after having the convo with elf about religion and reflected upon the input I received from both conversations as well as the poem on pg 90. The "they" that I question are those who put together the Bible and what I question is the accuracy of the Bible. At one point I was blindingly accepting of what it had to say and life easier that way. I don't have a beef with other Christians - I can say that I have observations about how the church operates itself but that doesn't concern me since I'm not involved with it now. In my pursuit of God I've lost my compass in a sense because the needle has been demagnetized. The secondary purpose in how I wrote this one - I really didn't want this to be exclusive to Christianity - that's why it's so metaphorical because it can really be applied to any religion if you wanted it to be. There is always going to be someone who wants to use a mask of god for their own purpose - whatever it might be. Religions have been used as a form of control by leaders in the past and I'm sure they will be abused in a similar manner again. It's really sad to think that some people do not have a sense of the sacred about them that they can do such things.