Wednesday, February 10, 2016

St. Valentine's Song

Here's a poem I wrote all the way back in 2003. This was in the early age of my poetry, and so its sense of meter and word choice is perhaps not quite as polished as what I could throw together now (in fact, I've excluded about half of the original poem's stanzas, for the simple reason that they weren't very good). But, since Valentine's Day is in the offing, I thought it would be fitting to post what were my very first poetic musings on the subject. It was written while I was attending Houghton College, and as yet still single, so it has a bit of a reactionary impulse against the spirit of the holiday; nonetheless, I still think it's worth a reading.

St. Valentine's Song 

Romance is a gift from God,
A glorious offering of praise,
But it cannot be a substitute
For the passionate pursuit of grace.


We must hunt for joy,
And never give up the chase
To find in Him who made us
The love that floods this earthly race.

So I will fix my eyes on Him,
And He will take this humble soul
And He will break it and shape it
And will make it truly whole,

Until I can be the servant
Who for love gives up his life.
And then, perhaps, romance will come,
But not without the sacrifice.

Lord, grant me the grace
To lay aside my own ambitions
To embrace the race you’ve set for me
And seek my will’s submission.

No lesser love will I settle for
Than the love that Christ showed me,
And I shall not rest until that love
Is poured from this heart, complete.