My brown eyes see blue and rose
the waters and the flora, the
profoundness and the near
I want to be a good person
but to be good is to be everything
I am nothing at all—but dust
that has hardened into bone, law
that has manifested into heart
I want to be a good person
but my blood stains; only His can cleanse
I am little in the presence of this love
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Some verses for additional context:
Genesis 3:19 - By the sweat of your face
you shall eat bread,
till you return to the ground,
for out of it you were taken;
for you are dust,
and to dust you shall return.
Romans 2:15-16 - They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.
1 John 1:7 - But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
I really enjoyed this piece. The opening stanza is absolutely brilliant. The movement of the poem is executed excellently, transitioning from the outward to the inward, and then to the upward. I particularly appreciated the contrast between "the profoundness and the near," which seems to establish one of the poem's central tensions: the coexistence of the immense and the intimate. As a result, the poem progresses from a desire for goodness to the realization of the impossibility of achieving perfect goodness through oneself, ultimately leading to a dependence on divine mercy.
The line contrasting "law" and "heart" is especially striking to me. The law is external, formal, and rigid, while the heart is internal, living, and emotional. The principles of the law are embedded in our hearts, and our conscience serves as a witness; thus, the inner self has the capacity to both accuse and justify itself. The Pauline epistles have always been a rich source of inspiration for me, so I was grateful to encounter that allusion here. This experience has left me with theological reflections and personal inspiration.
Thank you for this read.