Dewayne Dulaney

Poem: The Spirit of Flight and the Flight of Spirits

Friday, April 18, 2008 3:30:18 AM

Christian poems, God the Creator, Spirit of God, seraphim, Holy Spirit, seraphs, Christian poetry, spirit beings, God's providence, cherubs, Creation, cherubim, nature, Ezekiel, Gabriel, Daniel, Yahweh

Dewayne Dulaney

Introduction

The following poem was inspired by several things: a dragonfly photo in National Geographic magazine, childhood memories of watching hummingbirds at my grandfather and grandmother Dulaney's house, walks in the nearby woods with my Dad, and a lifelong fascination with those awe-inspiring and mysterious beings the Bible calls angels. I hope, as the angels often reminded Biblical figures, and as my poem does, that you will see God our Creator as even more awe-inspiring. I hope you will praise and thank him for creating all those wonderful creatures, as well as ourselves.

Morning, and walking in God's forest

I pause seeing a dragonfly

Or mosquito hawk as some know it

On gauzy wings flit

and then thrill as

it lands on my hand.

Its jewel eyes gleam and glitter,

decorating its head,

twin pommels on the hilt

of its body,

An ornamental dagger.

Dragonfly and Man contemplate

each other solemnly

oh so briefly

And then, as though late

for an appointment

Mosquito Hawk zooms away

in search of breakfast.

Later, as I pass a vine

of honeysuckle that grows

over a fence supine

I spy a natural helicopter,

a hummingbird tasting nectar.

I stop, afraid to breathe

lest I frighten it away

and miss the second wonder

of this God's day.

Hummingbird hovers and

Happily drinks its fill

And then, as I am watching

Rapt and still

Flies away, satisfied.

As am I, that it I spied.

Seeing in such a way

The spirit of flight

on this God's beautiful day

brings to mind also

The flight of spirits

recorded in

the Holy Writs.

Over the waters primeval

Before mankind came

Even perhaps before Good

Had to fight Evil,

the Spirit of God hovered

Like a mother bird over

its young,

and worked his wonders,

inspired the heavenly beings'

hymn to be sung.

Over the waters of Jordan

again the Spirit moved,

came down on Jesus

in bodily form like a dove,

on Jesus, the Son God loved.

When penitent Daniel prayed

for his people and for

Yahweh's sanctuary,

that their wickedness be

forgiven,

their captivity be ended,

their temple be built anew,

Came to him Gabriel in swift flight

to give God's answer,

to grant wisdom and understanding.

Ezekiel, awed and overcome

saw the living creatures,

the cherubim spread their wings

and rise from the ground

carrying God in his chariot-throne,

his glory departing from the temple.

In Isaiah's great vision

of Yahweh

on his throne

he saw six-winged seraphs

flying and praising God,

then one

flew to him with a burning coal,

and brought cleansing.

Both the spirit of flight

and the flight of spirits

are God's wonders,

and so we should

Praise and thank him;

for both

Reveal portions of

his glorious truth.

—6/15/1999

Works Cited

Mac Gallery http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Ridge/1217/MacGalleryIndex.html (No copyright info listed): I found the "Made with Mac" banner here.

Microsoft Office Online: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/default.aspx (Clip art and photos). I found the image of the "Roman Librarian" (by the "You're Invited to Comment" statement) at this site. © 2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

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—Dewayne Dulaney