Eternal: new poem by Pat Connors

Eternal

“…and grace will lead me home.”
Amazing Grace, John Newton

 

Under grey November skies
which winter follows close behind

the leader of the free world
will not admit he lost the election

the premier of Ontario sacrifices
our health to feed the machine

and a 12-year-old boy out with his mother
is shot dead in gangster crossfire.

For the love of God, which we can’t earn
we must resist the powers of darkness

until the end of their unfolding
becomes the beginning of true light.

In a world where a beautiful boy
paid for sins he didn’t commit

let us hold him close in our hearts
and leave the rest to the Lord.

 

Pat Connors’ first chapbook, Scarborough Songs, was published by Lyricalmyrical Press in 2013. His first full manuscript, The Other Life, is about to be released by Mosaic Press. He mentions several Ephesians passages as having influenced “Eternal” (1:7, 2:2, 4:18, 5:2, and 5:8).

 

first published in Poems for Ephesians poetry journal 

presented by D. S. Martin, McMaster Divinity College poet-in-residence

 

                                                             ~    ~    ~    ~

Patrick, thanks for sharing your new poem. Strong! Powerful! I like the simplicity of the two line stanzas.

Congrats on seeing your full length mss through to publication with Mosaic  :  )  I believe you are an important Canuck poet, one of the few true standard bearers of the People's Poetry tradition, in the spirit of Acorn, Souster, and Plantos. 

- Chris