"Love! Do you know the meaning of the word?" 'How should I not?' said the Lady, 'I am in love...in Love Himself.'
~C.S. Lewis
The Great Divorce

Friday, December 4, 2009

C.S Lewis the Poet

Well known as an apologist, literary critic, and author, few know that C.S. Lewis was also a poet. I recently came upon a work of his (printed below) that I had never seen. It seems to me an excellent reflection on Rom. 8:26b: "but the Spirit itself maketh intercession with groanings which cannot be uttered."

Prayer

Master, they say that when I seem
To be in speech with you,
Since you make no replies, it's all a dream
-One talker aping two.

They are half right, but not as they
Imagine; rather, I
Seek in myself the things I mean to say,
And lo! the wells are dry.

Then, seeing me empty, you forsake
The Listener's role, and through
My dead lips breathe and into utterance wake
The thoughts I never knew.

And thus you neither need reply
Nor can; thus, while we seem
Two talking, thou art One forever, and I
No dreamer, but thy dream.

3 comments:

  1. This is absolutely beautiful. Thanks for posting it here for us to read.

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  2. Hi Mr. Jenkins,

    This is Teresa Anthony (Mary Kate's mom). I hope you don't mind me reading your blog. I happened to notice the web address below your email to the kids to remind them about their costumes. As this is a rare moment where no one is hollering for my attention, (actually the five oldest are at a birthday party), I linked on over.

    Great blog entries!! I love C.S. Lewis, had no idea (though not really surprised), that he wrote poetry, and thought this selection was beautiful. I also enjoyed reading what you wrote about cell phones. As Mary Kate is my oldest, and I am just beginning to coach a teenager through these years, I have been thinking a lot about how to help her use the current technology prudently, and not allow it to transform and consume her. I've said many of those things about cell phones and texting in particular to her, and I look forward to showing her the blog entry later when gets home. My other BIG problem with current technology is digital photography in general, and cameras on every cell phone in particular. It's a case where I do appreciate the gift of digital cameras, they save me quite a bit of money in only ordering the pictures that I want. And I love capturing the memories of our growing family in pictures. But I think that the spiritual danger of promoting narcissim is pretty intense. It's easy to see in every little kid (including my own), who immediately clamor to see the picture of themselves that was just taken, and its particularly worrisome in all the teens and young adults who routinely take 30 pictures of themselves in various poses with their own cell phone and post them on their Facebook page. (My husband has been a youth minister for 18 years.) Anyway, that's my other pet peeve, that Mary Kate has heard a lot about :)

    Thank you as well, for sharing your thoughts on healthcare; Michael Card's (one of my favorite Christian artists!) song "Joy in the Journey"; and I really liked the homily that you posted about the transformative power of the Eucharist. That was very powerful, and I plan on sharing that one with all three of my oldest kids.

    I know blogging can feel a bit lonely at times - throwing your words out into the wind - but thank you for making the effort to share your thoughts, I truly appreciated them.

    I hope you have a wonderful final two weeks of Advent, and a Merry Christmas! I'm so thankful that you are at Christiana!!

    God Bless,

    Teresa Anthony

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  3. Hi Teresa,
    I love being at Christiana. It's been a great three months. Thanks for reading and commenting on the blog. I'm glad you found useful material here.
    Peace be with you!

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