A Pentecost Banner at St. Michael 's Bartley Green
Continuing in my cycle of sonnets for the Church Year this is a sonnet reflecting on and celebrating the themes and readings of Pentecost. Throughout the cycle, and more widely I have been reflecting on the traditional ‘four elements’ of earth, air, water and fire, considering how each of them expresses and embodies different aspects of the Gospel and of God’s goodness, as though the four elements were, in their own way, another four evangelists. In that context I was very struck by the way Scripture expresses the presence of the Holy Spirit through the three most dynamic of the four elements, the air, ( a mighty rushing wind, but also the breath of the spirit) water, (the waters of baptism, the river of life, the fountain springing up to eternal life promised by Jesus) and of course fire, the tongues of flame at Pentecost. Three out of four ain’t bad, but I was wondering, where is the fourth? Where is earth? And then I realised that we ourselves are earth, the ‘Adam’ made of the red clay, and we become living beings, fully alive, when the Holy Spirit, clothed in the three other elements comes upon us and becomes a part of who we are. So something of that reflection is embodied in the sonnet.
As usual you can hear me reading the sonnet by clicking on the ‘play’ button if it appears in your browser or by clicking on the title of the poem itself
Pentecost
Today we feel the wind beneath our wings
Today the hidden fountain flows and plays
Today the church draws breath at last and sings
As every flame becomes a Tongue of praise.
This is the feast of fire,air, and water
Poured out and breathed and kindled into earth.
The earth herself awakens to her maker
And is translated out of death to birth.
The right words come today in their right order
And every word spells freedom and release
Today the gospel crosses every border
All tongues are loosened by the Prince of Peace
Today the lost are found in His translation.
Whose mother-tongue is Love, in every nation.
Delurking to say how very, very much I enjoy your poetry. This is beautiful – thank you for sharing it. Also – that button in your sidebar is by far the best take I’ve seen yet on the Keep Calm poster!
Thanks Joanna
Oggi sentiamo il vento sotto nostri ali,
Oggi la fontana nascosta zampilla e gioca,
Oggi la Chiesa finalmente spira e canta,
Quando ognun fiamma divenga una lingua di lode
Questa è la festa del fuoco, dell’aria, dell’acqua
Che nafta, spira e accesa la terra.
La terra se stessa si alza al suo Creatore,
Tradotta dalla morte, ed è nata.
Le parole giuste sono giustizia, libertà.
Oggi il Vangelo traversa ognun frontiera,
Ogni lingue sono sciolte dal Principe della Pace.
Oggi in ogni nazione i perduti sono trovati
nella Sua traduzione, da Lui a chi
la lingua materna è Amore.
Julia this is wonderful, and you did it so quickly, I am honoured to have my sonnet sounding a new music in una altra lingua di lode!
As usual I love it, and especially liked the play on the phrase “lost in translation” in the second-last line.
Your preface reminds me of a Jewish discipline where so many different paths have to be navigated, but the arithmetic is wrong, and doesn’t add up until you realise you’re already on path number one – earth.
Thanks, glad you liked the play on ‘lost in translation’ its an interesting comment on my predace, are you thinking of the paths between the Sephiroth in Kaballah?
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