Arctic Signs of the Seasons

[ChrisTillinen]

Condemnation.
Dark ceremonies decorated with gloomy colors
Frosting the tears that hide last memory of life
Vanishing sounds of fading tomorrows
Swallowed by beast bringing the long dayless night

No escape from this judgment now for a time
Or endlessly if no end was ever decreed
Just deserts creating their crime for ones bound in need

Consequence.
Trapped in dark dungeons of our own making
Barely keeping heads above the freezing blue below
Sparing a hesitant thought amidst the aching
Shivering soul shroudedly longs for blue above's glow

Nature is humbled to its present verdict
Aligning hope to what may lie beyond
Longing for the one perfect to appear and cut the bond

Hope.
Season of darkness is overcome by first glimmers of light
Proclaiming the promise of a light greater still
First whispers of those in darkness regaining sight
Speaking of the coming warmth to bring end to deadly chill

Heaven's hope is found in its luminous proclamations
Nature confesses its need for mercy's warmth
Singing from above to all nations found by grace and transformed

Awakening.
Having believed itself deafened by the loudest absence
Conscience awakens to whisperings of new birth
Gentle touch brings warmth to icy blue within in fragments
Tidings of hope born for a world in wait of renewal's mirth

Creeks from soul's glacier are now gently melting
Stream's hidden longing now finds it voicing
Its melting heart heedfully helping to join in the rejoicing

Rejoicing.
New creation.
Living waters.
Old coming alive as new.

Coming alive for the new springtime
Fruit soon starting to ripen for the coming harvest
Victory of light began at the first turn of clime
Barely past the peak of the weight of darkness

 

[ChrisTillinen]

This poem is basically an attempt to look at nature and its seasons in the Arctic north and find in it echoes of spiritual metaphors from a Christian perspective.

 

[ebdesroches]

Meaning is clear!

 

[Pheobe]

Very thoughtful and true.

I particularly liked your closing section; awakening, rejoicing coming alive etc. For me, this section could probably stand alone: a beautiful poem in its own right!

You've looked many themes that I am also contemplating; very important precepts to my Christian journey.

I'm blessed by (and thankful for) your post 🙂👍!

 

[ChrisTillinen]

Thank you for your encouraging words. I'm glad you liked it.

 

[ChrisTillinen]

Oops, wrong thread (deleted).

 

[MukenyeDeogracious]

Trapped in dark dungeons of our own making

You were referring to" internal forces " here or our sinful patterns . Am kinda following your poems though they are so deep and hard to find firm answers .

 

[MukenyeDeogracious]

Your to dea

Condemnation.
Dark ceremonies decorated with gloomy colors
Frosting the tears that hide last memory of life
Vanishing sounds of fading tomorrows
Swallowed by beast bringing the long dayless night

You death or

Condemnation.
Dark ceremonies decorated with gloomy colors
Frosting the tears that hide last memory of life
Vanishing sounds of fading tomorrows
Swallowed by beast bringing the long dayless night

Here Hope You were writing about Death, fear and hurting memories left behind

 

[MukenyeDeogracious]

Meaning here ......

No escape from this judgment now for a time
Or endlessly if no end was ever decreed
Just deserts creating their crime for ones bound in need

Meaning here am lost

 

[ChrisTillinen]

In the Arctic north, the four seasons are very different from each other, for example there's very little daylight in the middle of the freezing cold winter, and during midsummer, there's almost no darkness at all even during the night. So this poem is basically an attempt to look at nature and its seasons and find in them symbols and metaphors for spiritual things. So it describes the seasons and their natural phenomena with language of faith and spirituality. But often it's speaking of two topics (the natural and the spiritual) at the same time, so it can be very hard to interpret.

Condemnation.
Dark ceremonies decorated with gloomy colors
Frosting the tears that hide last memory of life
Vanishing sounds of fading tomorrows
Swallowed by beast bringing the long dayless night

This describes late autumn/fall and expectation of the coming winter. Colors of summer and earlier autumn are fading away, leaves have fallen from the trees, and everything is becoming darker and more lifeless. It feels like a kind of "condemnation" after one has enjoyed everything that the summer had to offer. When you go very far north, the winter is basically a "long dayless night" as it's so dark even during the daytime.

No escape from this judgment now for a time
Or endlessly if no end was ever decreed
Just deserts creating their crime for ones bound in need

"No escape from this judgment now for a time" means that it will take months before the springtime will arrive and nature becomes more visibly alive again. "Or endlessly if no end was ever decreed" is just a way to describe our helplessness with what nature does. We know that this part of the year will be over in some months, but if it wasn't, there wouldn't be anything that we could do about it. So we are in that sense at the mercy of what has been decreed, and we can thank God when the most difficult months are over.

"Just deserts creating their crime for ones bound in need" can mean many things and it's hard to define the exact sentiment behind it. When thinking about the mindset of people who live far north and experience the dark, cold and difficult months, there may be a feeling that "we deserve this because we choose to live here" and yet there's beauty in this drastic change of seasons, so people may feel that they need it. This is roughly what it means when talking about nature, but like I mentioned, this poem also touches on spiritual realities. The sentiment "I deserve this because I choose it" may be part of some people's thinking when struggling with sin, addiction, etc. And often it's not so clear where the boundaries between crime and punishment (sin and its consequences) are. While sin is alluring, it can have its own built-in negative consequences, etc as sin can be very destructive to life.

 

[ChrisTillinen]

You were referring to" internal forces " here or our sinful patterns . Am kinda following your poems though they are so deep and hard to find firm answers .

So here it's also about both nature and spiritual things. We are "trapped in dark dungeons of our own making" in the natural world when it's cold and dark here and we need to stay mostly indoors to stay warm. But in a spiritual sense, the whole humankind is in a "dark dungeon of our own making" as a result of Adam's fall to sin in the garden of Eden. At a more individual level, people also become trapped in the "dark dungeons of their own making" when they dwell in their sin and cut God out of their lives rather than rely on his love and grace.

 

[ChrisTillinen]

Here's a new song version of this poem:

 

[ebdesroches]

Here's a new song version of this poem:

Mispronounced desert

 

[ebdesroches]

The background music does not have a worshipful tone….but that’s in the eye of the beholder. Some might love the background music

 

[ChrisTillinen]

Mispronounced desert

Hmm, is it mispronounced? After you pointed it out, I thought so first as well. However, it gets a bit tricky. The context is the phrase "just deserts". It's entirely possible (perhaps even likely) that I had a sort of double entendre in mind when I wrote that part, but still, it's primarily not a reference to a desert landscape. Instead, it's derived from something being a just and deserved consequence or punishment. So apparently, its pronunciation is also affected by that, even though the spelling is identical.

The background music does not have a worshipful tone….but that’s in the eye of the beholder. Some might love the background music

I agree that to an extent, it is in the eye of the beholder and tied to both experience and cultural assumptions. And sure, I also think that songs like this wouldn't qualify as what's typically though of as worship music. Nevertheless, I see no good reason why God cannot be glorified in various ways by all genres of music. I guess my basic criterion for what counts as "Christian music" more broadly defined (even if not worship music) is something like this: It should direct the listener's thoughts toward God and spiritual things in a way that is potentially beneficial.

 

[ebdesroches]

I try to stay away from or don’t like popular music as worship. Gregorian Chant, medieval like ubi caritas, 19th century a mighty fortress etc.

I dwell on worship music because it many times helps me being close to Him (He choses)
Often times as I worship He loves me and that is great pleasure. When He withdraws, I miss Him.

 

[ebdesroches]

I try to stay away from or don’t like popular music as worship. Gregorian Chant, medieval like ubi caritas, 19th century a mighty fortress etc.

I dwell on worship music because it many times helps me being close to Him (He choses)
Often times as I worship He loves me and that is great pleasure. When He withdraws, I miss Him.

I usually get English translations

Bach in particular had a huge heart for the Master