The Sunday Sermonette – Two Ladies I Know.

My love of poetry began in the 1st grade at Biloxi’s Fernwood Elementary School. For a talent show, I ran around the stage in a boy’s nightgown and nightcap, holding a candle made from two toilet tissue rolls painted white and yellow. I recited this poem: “Wee Willie Winkie runs through the town, Upstairs and downstairs in his nightgown. Tapping at the window, crying at the lock, “Are the children in their bed, for it’s past ten o’clock?”

Sixty-six years later, I still enjoy reading poetry. A chilly, rainy night, a hot cup of cocoa, an old quilt, and a book of poetry help pass the hours. Do you recognize some of my favorite poems?

“By an unfaltering trust, approach thy grave, Like one who wraps the drapery of his couch about him and lies down to pleasant dreams.”

“And the lamp-light o’er him streaming throws his shadow on the floor; And my soul from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor, Shall be lifted—nevermore!”

“Twas brillig, and the slithy toves, Did gyre and gimble in the wabe: All mimsy were the borogoves, And the mome raths outgrabe.”

“Any man’s death diminishes me, Because I am involved in mankind, And therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; It tolls for thee.”

“But the Master comes, and the foolish crowd never can quite understand. The worth of a soul and the change that is wrought by the touch of the Master’s hand

The lush language and evocative words of poetry are as vibrant today as they were when poems were first written over 2,000 years ago, the oldest of which is the Epic of Gilgamesh. Whether you are a regular poetry reader or not, chances are, at some point in your life, you have read poetry during times of change.

Joyful or unhappy times, like birthdays, funerals, or weddings, can find us reciting or recalling a favorite poem. Poems can help us express our emotions during happy moments and those that are overwhelming or burdensome.

During past times of despair or those current, I turn to one of my favorite poems, which a dear friend introduced me to years ago: Robert Hamilton’s “Along the Road.”  

“I walked a mile with Pleasure. She chattered all the way but left me none the wiser for all she had to say. I walked a mile with Sorrow, and ne’er a word said she; But oh, the things I learned from her when Sorrow walked with me!”

As you stumble or waltz along Life’s highway, would you rather walk with Pleasure or Sorrow? Most people would rather laugh than cry, right? However, these are not God’s thoughts on the matter. The Book of Ecclesiastes states, “Sorrow is better than laughter: for by the sadness of the countenance the heart is made better.”

Laughter and its sidecar companion, Pleasure, is, of course, more pleasant than Sorrow. Still, Life’s lessons are more quickly learned from Sorrow than they are from pleasurable amusements.

Sorrow molds us and teaches us how to better navigate Life’s bumpy lanes and highways. It also helps us to be better servants of Father God as we help those in need. Sorrow produces empathy for others.

So, does this mean that Pleasure is evil or harmful? No, not at all. It simply means that from Father God’s perspective, Sorrow is a much better teacher; her lessons last the longest and eventually can be pleasurable, keeping us from evil and harm.  

Even King Solomon, who ran around with Pleasure for much of his life, spoke bluntly about her. Ultimately, he found her mirth and merry-making to be empty and hollow, producing nothing but a longing for more of all the “pleasurable” things in Life—a never-ending, futile cycle.

Ponder this and go forth.