Of June

I wrote another poem. After the last one, I realized how much fun it was. I hadn't written a rhyme in years. Apparently, there's a distinction between "poetry" and "verse," the latter of which must rhyme. The poetry that doesn't rhyme often strikes me as very weird, anyway. Verse is the sort of thing that Rudyard Kipling wrote a lot of.

Here's my work, and I'll put an interpretation below. This dovetails nicely with my earlier entry about work.

Of June

June has brought cascading rains that clean the dusty air

Something tells me farmers will delight

My nose rejoices over that the pollen isn't there

It's getting washed away 'bout every night

Soon the star charts will proclaim that summer's finally come

The heat's already trying to break through

The soil enriched, rain fills the ditch. Our task has now begun

to work the yard again, but we are few.

Upkeep is a full-time task when you're the only ones

who, hands and feet, must daily work, and plan

to work some more until you've made a dent in all the tons

of things to do for each and every man

Seeing the fruit of your labor lets you silently rejoice

-- or loudly, if it happens to be your style

With satisfaction, head turned skyward, prayer lifts your voice

to thank God for another day worthwhile

Working is no curse if what you're doing is infused

with worth according to a divine end

The ability to tell apart bad things from good misused

separates the godly men from men

Rain in this life can at times be undeniably cruel

when instead of falling calmly, it monsoons

Because I don't see work and rain as goods instead of tools

I'm thus disposed to make the most of June.

I don't think it needs much explaining, but here's some background:
* The farmers will delight because it's critical for crops to get rain right now. Last year we had a drought.
* Prior to the rains, I was congested and sneezy. Now I'm nearly completely uncongested. Rain does have a cleaning effect on the atmosphere. It takes the dust particles that the droplets form around, and brings them back to the ground during the storms.
* By 'star charts,' I'm referring to the astronomical definition of summer as beginning June 20, which coincides with the solstice being June 21. We've had a few days of hot summer-like weather already in May, but the rains have cooled the temperatures a bit. It seems that this year, we're going to get the hot weather nearly right "on time."
* Working the yard refers to my immediate family taking time out of our week to maintain the house and property, which takes up nearly all the time left over when you're working full-time. I myself am still unemployed, but for me, looking for employment and otherwise working around the house is my full-time task. Our house is shaded by trees, so we get lots of stick litter to clean up.
* The fifth stanza refers to the article "Leisurely Labor" that I wrote about a week ago. Not all bad things are necessarily inherently bad. The realization helps to get more enjoyment out of work, which isn't being done for no purpose. See the image above. The sixth stanza wraps up this thought and asserts that with the proper perspective, I can enjoy the season. Those who are begrudgingly laboring might benefit from a change of perspective.

As a neat coincidence, the title I chose for the poem (which wrote itself) is the same as the title for Adam Young's (Owl City) first album, one he self-released. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Of_June) I figured that giving it this name would be a nice homage to Adam's music, which is itself an example of how a different perspective can give you much more enjoyment out of the simple, even mundane, things in life.

~ Rak Chazak

The Spoken Word

2 Timothy 4:2 "Preach the word!"

John 1:1-14 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. ... ¹⁴ And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

"Spoken word" is a new phrase I recently came across, and to my knowledge it means poetry, which largely rhymes but isn't necessarily in a consistent verse format. How fitting, then, that the two men below are not only performing "spoken word," but are "speaking the Word," the Word of Life? (Philippians 2:16)

Enjoy some Spoken Word

The names of the performers are, respectively, Matt Papa and Propaganda.

I leave you with this until I'm finished my finals. :)

~ Rak Chazak

Ode to An Outdoorsy Wife

This is original to me. Feel free to copy it but if you want to give attribution, use the title above and attribute it to Hakam Adam. I just felt a creative spark and wrote this this evening. I hope you enjoy it!

Come, let me read you a tale from the heart

And soon you will quite understand

How a person like me could consider it art

How the mind works inside of a man

Dusk, when the sun sinks below all the trees

Is my favorite time of the day

Why should it be that the sweet evening breeze

And the night sky incline me to say,

"God, I am thankful to be here this night

And I love what I see with my eyes. 

Please give me grace that I walk in the Light

And to not fail to strive for your prize." ?

Nature, I reckon, inclines me to worship

The One who created it all

One day, yet future, a songbird in courtship

My bride it shall also enthrall

For if we would ever be joined in one flesh

We can't be too different, you know

As husband and wife, our interests should mesh

And our differences help us to grow

No doubt, she'll be unlike myself in most ways

But I figure we both can agree

That a walk in the evening outside on most days

Will us both inspire genuinely

There's something quite soothing 'bout being outside

And it's something that I want to share

With a wonderful woman--my sister, my bride

I am anxious until I get there

For now, it's just me and my awesome Creator

Conversing on star-studded nights

The hills and the trees are a natural theater

The world is afire with lights

It is easy to see when the sun is up high

And the colors are vibrant and stark

But the light that I seek is a different design

It is one that will shine in the dark.

It is true that I'm never truly alone

My Savior is with me always

But until that day when He bids me come home

There's something inside me that says,

"Lord, let me grow and become a good man,

So that one day a woman will find

That our mutual love could be part of Your plan,

That I will be hers and she mine

Let her be someone who like me loves mountains

And let her also love You

Give me the strength to love like a fountain

Always outpouring anew."

I hope against hope that I'll find her one day

And that when I do, I don't miss her

So until I am ready, I still watch and pray

Until finally, I get to kiss her.

Artful, perhaps, is the mind of this writer

Full of God, nature, women and more

Against loneliness, romance is a fighter

But it's God who foreknows what's in store.

~ Rak Chazak