Poetry~ The hearts greatest joy

I know not how many of you are sincerely touched by poetry, though I myself could read it for hours. Poetry is a way of expression, not just a sentence of rhyming words. It can be light and senseless, deep and thought provoking, or a perfect balance of creativity and careful wording. I admire the many great poets of the olden day...Byron, Keats, Shelley, and Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. Their styles of writing are so completely different that its like opening a door into their life. Byron, for instance is obsessed with writing about love and sorrow, and little else. Too much poetry of that kind, I grant you is overwhelming at times, but it is also the depths of his heart from which he writes, so we may pay good heed. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow is brighter, more mysterious, and has an unrevealed aspect which tempts you to try and understand every word he gracefully writes.


The poetry written nowadays is nice and charming, but lacks the depth of the old poets. Someone might write a simple rhyme but what does it mean? Where is its expression? Can you decipher it, or find it's meaning?

Frances Havergal wrote her hymns and poetry with true spiritual intensity! You feel so refreshed after reading one of her thought provoking poems. She, as well as other christian lady poets of her day, had passion and pursuit when writing. Here is an example~


Frances Ridley Havergal~

Whose I Am~


Jesus, Master, whose I am,
Purchased Thine alone to be,
By Thy blood, O spotless Lamb,
Shed so willingly for me;
Let my heart be all Thine own,
Let me live to Thee alone.

Other lords have long held sway;
Now, Thy name alone to bear,
Thy dear voice alone obey,
Is my daily, hourly prayer.
Whom have I in heaven but Thee?
Nothing else my joy can be.

Jesus, Master! I am Thine;
Keep me faithful, keep me near;
Let Thy presence in me shine
All my homeward way to cheer.
Jesus! at Thy feet I fall,
Oh, be Thou my All-in-all.


Was that not beautiful, and well written? You need not be experienced to be a poet, but you need a purpose for writing. So that your poems are not shallow and meaningless. Someone who desires to express themselves through poetry must first start by asking themselves~ Is what I am writing something that will make people ponder and want to look in between the lines?


That is all for now my friends,

I must indeed depart!

Miss Lizzy