Like tearing of the nets

Two poems by Jonathan Taube

Song of Songs 2:4

“His banner over me is Love”
and so to sit and ponder this thought
The warmth of the sun is on my back
and still my eyes squint from its strength
I’ve found this love that covers all my sin
And I seem to be swimming
in an ocean of beauty

Like a bird,
bathing itself in a puddle after a fresh rainfall
Or like walking through a parking lot,
reading a lovely book–getting lost in it all

I rejoice in simple things
Yet I am fearfully and wonderfully made
How sweet a thought it is
How lovely a burden, and how fitting
for a young man to bear the Lord’s yoke
To sit quietly and wait for the day of the Lord’s salvation
And His banner over me is Love.

Voices

In the stillness I can remember
My strained memory,
like the tearing of the nets in the early morning light.
The smoke on the shore
That simple breakfast
passed between the hands of brothers
And also, painfully: “Do you love me?”
But again - from the beginning…
When you spoke
your voice cut through the white noise of our crippled religion
You bid men out of their tombs
Out of their self-made-hells of false righteousness
Like a prophet
long after the light in the temple had gone out
And the hem of your garment
like Elisha’s bones to a dying generation
If our filthy hands could only touch your robes,
I’m sure we’d be healed
Under the weight of such astounding clarity
all my stones slipped from my hand
And then:
“Come, pick up your cross…”

Poet: Jonathan Taube, 22, is a full-time student living in St. Charles, Illinois, USA where he spends a lot of time planning his wedding with his beautiful fiancée, reading, and listening to music. He plays guitar with The Singing Company, and also sometimes writes poetry.

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