jLife

*Every week I send a goofy email out to an e-list for my Christian fellowship. Since some of the stuff in them is somewhat funny, I thought it would be worth posting them on here. Note that names have been changed to preserve privacy.

Table of Contents

I. What I Missed in School

II. She is a Woman, Therefore to be Won

III. The Winning Haiku

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I. What I Missed in School

We set out from home

Early one morning

We, my love and me

Walking along

We, birds and the bees

Trees of the forest

You know, I never did take Astronomy while at school, and I probably won’t get the chance. I can’t tell you which star is the morning star or evening star – and that is a crying shame. I don’t even know what metal to add to tin to make bronze. Four years of school and I haven’t learned a single thing!

Hi, this is jPothen. I like to attend Navs on Fridays and send out weekly emails regarded by some as belles-lettres. Some people read them, others trash them, and most are too lazy to filter them (despite the fact that I once provided instructions).

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II. She Is a Woman, Therefore to be Won.

**Warning! Poetry Ahead!!!!!!!!!**

He would declare and could himself believe

That the birds there in all the garden round

From having heard the daylong voice of Eve

Had added to their own an oversound,

Her tone of meaning but without the words.

Admittedly an eloquence so soft

Could only have had an influence on birds

When call or laughter carried it aloft.

Be that as may be, she was in their song.

Moreover her voice upon their voices crossed

Had now persisted in the woods so long

That probably it never would be lost.

Never again would birds’ song be the same.

And to do that to birds was why she came.

Robert Frost

There is something about Woman – the feminine ideal that stops a man in his tracks. Eve was created as the crown of creation, the most beautiful thing God ever made. Man bears the divine image in many ways – but it is in Woman that the beauty of God, the gentleness, and soft eloquence of being is revealed.

Men know this. When we see a beautiful woman our breath stops for a moment, and we realize we are unworthy of beholding such a picture of the divine. John Rhys-Davies (who played Gimli in the “Lord of the Ring” films) described it like this: “She was so beautiful that you felt ashamed of your ugliness.”

Men have been writing poetry about women for years because they know that somehow, wrapped up in the beauty of a woman is the divine. It is a clue, perhaps God’s greatest hint that He (pardon the pronoun) exists and is the most wonderful and terrible thing man could ever hope to find.

The heart of men is often reflected in our video games – full of violence and courage and honor. It is not a bad thing to have that in our hearts. But the feminine heart is much needed – the sweetness of a woman’s laugh, the beauty and mystery as she tosses her hair, and the undeniable and God-blessed sexuality she adds to the world.

She is Adam’s muse. She sparks the creative impulse and causes man to paint and make gardens with fertile soil. She mothers not just her children but all the weary and tired. She provides joy and laughter. It is a fortunate thing she tolerates us men.

Indeed, there is something refreshing about a woman’s company – like a warm spring shower on frozen ground. You have a group of men together and there is a certain vibe. But add just one woman into the mix and the atmosphere changes. There is a restraint, a respect, a sense of awe. All who are there know that they are in the presence of something divine.

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III. The Winning Haiku

glimmer of warmth exists

the clouds part, sun comes again

come home to us spring

[DS]

My fellow Navs, poetry writing is harder than most of you think. I was underwhelmed by the responses I received. I suggest you all turn to DW for lessons!