"The Look" by Sara Teasdale

"Stephen kissed me in the spring,

Robin in the fall,

But Colin only looked at me

And never kissed at all.

Stephen’s kiss was lost in jest,

Robin’s lost in play,

But the kiss in Colin’s eyes

Haunts me night and day."

— Sara Teasdale (The Collected Poems of Sara Teasdale)

Contrast of Essayist Matthew Arnold and Hymn Writer Augustus M. Toplady

Matthew Arnold and Augustus M. Toplady were men who were very prolific writers. Although they were not contemporaries, each man addressed serious issues of his day. Each differed in their upbringing and circumstances, had different writing styles, and held vastly diverse beliefs on the subject of reliance.

Arnold was a man who lived entirely in the nineteenth century, and became the Inspector of Schools for the British government, whereas Toplady lived completely during the eighteenth century and was a well-known hymn writer. Although they each reached different audiences, cultures, and time periods, each man’s writing technique was fruitful given the setting that the Ultimate Story-Teller had placed them in.

Arnold wrote poetry during the first few years of his writing career and later focused mainly on literary and social criticism, whilst Toplady only wrote hymns. Arnold is most known for his poems Thyrsis and “Dover Beach,” and Toplady for his beloved hymn, “Rock of Ages, Cleft for Me.”

Both men each held a different belief when it came to the subject of reliance, and to be more specific, upon whom or what they relied on. Arnold believed in self-reliance and finding one’s self, as reflected here in his poem “Self-Dependence”: “O air-born voice! Long since, severely clear, A cry like thine in mine own heart I hear: ‘Resolve to be thyself; and know that he, Who finds himself, loses his misery!” Although he recognized that the literature of his day was immoral, he did not acknowledge religion to be the answer, and called religion nothing more than “morality touched with emotion.” How more effective he would have been as a writer had he acknowledged, like Toplady did, the need for the Savior, and the change that can only come from a life that is being transformed by Him! Toplady recognized his desperate need for the Lord as his refuge, and penned the following words: “While I draw this fleeting breath, When my eyes shall close in death, When I rise to worlds unknown, And behold thee on thy throne, Rock of Ages, cleft for me, Let my hide myself in thee.”

While diverse writing styles and circumstances are usually wonderful things to celebrate, Arnold and Toplady both had very dissimilar views on the imperative topic of reliance. It would not be fair in the least to say that they both were amazing men who had perfect views in their own ways. No, truth is never relative; therefore, Toplady, though a mere imperfect human being, just like the rest of humanity, was most in the right, as he recognized that apart from God, we can do nothing (see John 15:5), unlike Arnold’s view of self-dependence. When comparing and contrasting, one must recognize the Truth, and look upon everything else from that viewpoint.

Newspaper Clipping

SELF-PORTRAIT
by Zozan Hawez

Born in a safe family
But a dangerous area,
Iraq,
I heard guns at a young age, so young
They made a decision to
raise us safe
So packed our things
And went far away.

Now, in the city of rain,
I try to forget my past,
But memories never
fade.

This is my life,
It happened for a reason,
I happened for a reason.

Driving Through the Black Hills in October



Black Hills, South Dakota, USA~2010



Driving through the Black Hills in October 

I look out, and see the autumn colors



And sip my coffee and gaze at the snow

That adorns both the ground and pine trees' gold.

The heater's warmth and voices conversing

Blending together with pine trees's scent

Create a beautiful memory here

As we go through the Hills in October.



~2010~this was inspired by a car ride that I went on during the day in October last year... :)







"Where I Am From" Poem

I've come from many a place
Yet I don't consider them my home
I am but a traveler here—
Why would I need an abode?
Ah, here I was born and raised
Sioux Falls is my dear hometown!
A blessed young woman am I
Living where such freedom abounds!

So my longing is indeed
To see all captive set free
And through the art of writing
Encourage humanity
To break away from apathy
And promulgate liberty
Memento mori!*

And so I've decided
To become a paradox
Responsible vagabond
Company to Wanderlust
I will set off with my trunks
Filled with sweet memories!
Remembering from where I've come
And making room for new scenes!

In my bags, I've packed away
‘Storehouses of memories’—
As my grandma used to say.
How I loved those summer days
Spent with my grandmother playing
Guess Who, Sorry, and Scrambled Eggs!
And the food that she prepared—
Those creamy banana shakes!

Oh, the aroma of her
Tuna gravy was amazing!
And our fun games of Scrabble—
Her ‘new words’ made me smile.
And her laughter so sweet,
Made small ripples on her cheeks
Yes, we were the best of friends,
Age is nothing, I tend to think.

We would share special moments, when
We'd cry and she'd hold my hand
'Love you, Jenna-girl!' she'd say
And I knew it'd be okay...
These times I carry with me,
Knowing I'm so blessed to be
Here on this path traversing
Moving, hardly stopping

Growing up I've exchanged things
Much more than monetary!
Like Disney World for Vladi,*
‘Hide and seek’ for archery,
Reading instead of TV,
Coffee without much cream…
While interests are shifting,
I pray not love and sympathy!

--jenna


*Memento mori: Latin for “remember that you must die.”
*short for Vladivostok, Russia. Locals simply call Vladivostok, ‘Vladi.’