The Gift of Poetry

Thank God for Poets

“Poetry is essentially a really sophisticated way of experiencing the world.  And it is much more than mere words and stories.  Poetry is to the human condition what the telescope and the microscope are to the scientist.”

                                  V.V. Raman (Physicist and Author)

“If the world were only pain and logic, who would want it?”

                                  Mary Oliver (from ‘Singapore’)

         I have been reading the book, Einstein’s God, which is a series of interviews with respected scientists and physicians about the crossfire between science and religion.  Each interviewee has made clear that there is no conflict between the two.  Both enrich and inform life, and speak to the same realities in different ways.

 

         “Science enables us to understand the laws and principles by which the universe is constructed, its functions.” (Raman)  Poetry distills life down to its essence and gives us its deeper meaning.  Science speaks to the mind, and poetry speaks to the heart.  Yesterday in church, we sang the song, Morning Has Broken:

         “Morning has broken,

         Like the first morning,

         Black-bird has spoken,

         Like the first bird.

         Praise for the singing!

         Praise for the morning!

         Praise for them springing

         Fresh from the Word!       (Eleanor Farjean, 1881)

         Who needs a translator for that?  And whose heart does not thrill to the song?  Think how dreary life would be without poets. 

Do we want to do away with the scientists who can tell us, mathematically, the approximate time and means of creation?  We need that knowledge, too.  Scientific advances are, in many ways, the crowning achievement of humankind.  But how much more beautiful it is to read:

         “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

And the earth was without form and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep.

And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.”

(Genesis 1:1-2; New Oxford Bible)

         Science and poetry deal with the same mysteries using different languages.  Both are necessary for a rich and vibrant life.  I hope you take time to read some poetry today.

                                  Blessings,

                                  Jane