Thursday 3 July 2014

Poem Patterns by Rachel Timmins

The poem below entitled After the Gruelling, was written (sans edits) after a trying experience and while listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit.

After completing the poem, I noticed that lines two and four rhymed, and for no particular reason I started to write down the last word of the rhyming lines.  An interesting pattern emerged. The lines were all human-nature related things. 

I enjoy things like Biblical codes, so I became intrigued and then jotted down the non-rhyming lines separately.  All those words were things from God.  It gave me a joyous feeling of God’s involvement with me and care for me after the stressful experience and subsequent therapy of poetry-writing. 

I suggest reading the poem through without looking at the analysis in parentheses, and then read the analysis.

Try this exercise and any others you can think of, on any of your poems and see if there is a pattern from the Holy Spirit.  Or try writing one directly from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit’s voice right now. 

You may find you’ve written something with more than one layer of meaning, such as we find in the scriptures. 

You may even discover that you have created a numeric pattern that you weren’t attempting to.  If there is one, you could check the meaning of the numbers involved either online or by using a reference book such as Number in Scripture by E.W. Bullivant. Online:  http://www.biblebelievers.org.au/number01.htm

Perhaps you will experience as I did that analysing your poem in this way will help your faith or even give you a secret love message from the King; that He is involved in all the details of your life.  He is with you and He cares for you.


After the Gruelling

Shaken by triggers      (revealed by God)
Comfort in hot tea      (natural comfort)
The mad and the sane    (my sanity is from God)
Chatting around me      (natural discomfort)

Forgive and forgive     (with God’s help)
Patience then patience  (I choose to be patient)
Strong in His strength  (strength from God)
Rebuffing offence       (I choose to resist temptation)

God has His plan        (from God)
His path, His ways      (I choose to follow)
To learn to love        (lessons on love from God)
Refusing worldly sways  (I choose to resist them)



BIO

I am an amateur writer and I have been involved in a writer’s group for the past four years. I have had devotionals and poems published in the anthologies, Penned from the Heart, Footprints magazine, The Mozzie, The Voices Project, and a travel article for the Sunday Mail. Poetica Christi is to publish a poem of mine in their upcoming anthology A Lightness of Being. 

Many of my poems are cathartic or helpful to others relating to a background of abuse. As a Christian I believe God has healed me of trauma. I hope by writing to encourage other women to believe that healing is possible and that life is worth living.  Overcoming the past has been a long journey for me.


7 comments:

  1. Thanks for that Rachel. It's really interesting how God revealed that extra layer of meaning to you, showing you that he was of course involved all along. I've also found that some things I've written have had other layers of meaning that I didn't know where there at the time; sometimes prophetic. It's a great reminder that as we write, God is walking alongside and guiding us. Thanks for sharing.

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  2. Thanks for sharing your poem that meant so much to you, Rachel, and that God clearly used. I am currently writing another memoir and God has certainly used that to speak to me and help me delve deeper within myself. And I love your reminder that God is with us and around us and intrinsically involved in our writing--we are very blessed.

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  3. How richly blessed we are to discover the depths of God's love through the words He inspires. I love the way John was inspired by the Holy Spirit to reveal Jesus to us as The Word - from the beginning, through whom all things came into being, The Word Made Flesh - and how this very personal experience of our Saviour touches us moment by moment through the words He still inspires. Thanks for listening and for sharing what you heard.

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  4. That was lovely Rachel. Loved your poem and the way you have analysed it too. Isn't it awesome to discover the Holy Spirit at work? He never ceases to amaze me. I could fully relate to that poem by the way after being through a difficult year filled with losses. Thank you for articulating it so beautifully. Many blessings as you continue to write and to heal and help others through your writing.

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  5. Such a meaningful poem, Rachel. Poems seem able to reach us in a different and deeper way than writing alone. I guess because as the Lord guides, you compose what's directly in your heart and the emotion comes through.

    God bless you dear girl!

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  6. THANK YOU everyone for your very kind encouragements. What a lovely bunch of gals! I'm glad the blog was a blessing. It sounds like we are all listening to our Heavenly Father's guidance and aware of His presence. Blessings to you. Rachel

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  7. Really enjoyed your way of looking at this poem with God's help Rachel.

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