It's all in the eyes. or "I" as the case my be

These next two posts are two that I wrote a bit ago, but I managed to hit the save button instead of the post button.


Hatred and Vengeance, My Eternal Portion

By William Cowper


Hatred and Vengeance, my eternal portion,
Scarce can endure delay of execution,
Wait, with impatient readiness, to seize my
Soul in a moment.

Damn'd below Judas: more abhorr'd than he was,
Who for a few pence sold his holy Master.
Twice betrayed, Jesus me, the last delinquent,
Deems the profanest.

Man disavows, and Deity disowns me:
Hell might afford my miseries a shelter;
Therefore hell keeps her ever hungry mouths all
Bolted against me.


Hard lot! encompass'd with a thousand dangers;
Weary, faint, trembling with a thousand terrors;
I'm called, if vanquish'd, to receive a sentence
Worse than Abiram's.

Him the vindictive rod of angry justice
Sent quick, and howling to the centre headlong;
I, fed with judgement, in a fleshly tomb, am
Buried above ground.



Where to start?

We reviewed this poem in class today, and it is probably a good thing because I wouldn't have paid much attention to it other wise. I never would have read it with enough care and consideration to find the understated italicized "I" in the last line; The one word the entire poem rests on.



The topic of religion seems to be a particularly touchy one for this class, an interesting point considering that we're studying poetry, an art form that supposedly transcends boundaries, speaks truth, and connects the varying existences of those who read it. I think the concept of listening without judgement and with the intent to understand can go along way in alleviating the perceived offences on this subject.

The interesting thing about this poem is the perspective it is written from. Whether you believe the Bible is just a story or the absolute truth, you have to admit that there's some very interesting concepts in their, like someone willing to sacrifice their self for the good of everyone, and this is the first thing I've read that explores this particular angle. The speaker in the poem is Jesus and he is very clearly articulating this concept from his side. Not as martyr, but as man facing a painful fate from which he will not turn away in order to give the gift of life to those who will never understand him, in fact to those who are destined to betray him.

Real or not, it's still a very powerful idea.