(select section to jump forward)
Jump to Ch.2 ·Jump to Ch.3 ·
Jump to Ch.4 · Jump to Ch.5 · Jump to Ch.6 ·
Jump to Ch.7 · Jump to Ch.8 ·
Jump to End
TO ROME
King Agrippa Arrives
N Roman path, Agrippa, King, takes route
To Festus, who his many fin’ries flout.
Now, both the rulers speak with confidence,
But ever seemed poor Festus in suspense
With thoughts of Paul’s peculiar, sharp appeal.
This much to kingly ear he would reveal,
“A matter curious has met me, here,
As fast as I took office, it appeared:
Imprisoned under Felix was one Paul
Who somehow o'erfilled Jews with anxious gall,
Jerusalem will speak not of his crime
But only begs his end be made in time.
I bid them here to testify against,
But, leaving proof, they brought but anger hence.
All I have heard for certain is his claim
That life rekindled rebel Jew of fame,
Who suffered under Pontius Pilate fore
I came to here; I’ve not heard all the lore.
Yet how this is the fuel of life and death
I cannot from these men gain proving breath.
Appealed he to Caesar in the heat,
And now I have the Roman law to meet.”
Agrippa listened with experienced ear
And then declared, “Enlarge this charioteer
Who pulls the Roman reigns to where he will
I’d like to hear the man explain his fill.”
St. Paul's Meeting with King Agrippa
And, eager for such festive friendship met,
A meeting time the governor has set.
And Paul in hope of Caesar’s arbitrate
Another royal Roman now awaits.
Yes, night must come and stars hold sway o’er sky,
Until the morning star creeps rosy nigh.
And purple hue, with orange, tints fleeing clouds
As sun o’ercrests the hills, and night enshrouds.
So, lift the cloudy veil, blazing star,
Make dark dim constellations nebular,
Let light send glimmer on Bernice’s jewels
And light the feet of king in vestibule;
Now, show the gold and glitter what they are:
A thousand riches, borne here from afar.
Do not neglect to show their royal robes
And dress and chains with gleam th’eye rare probes.
Oh, brilliant star, do justice to their all,
For though the city’s highest come to hall
In all their best attire, they’re ashamed
Before this King and Queen, in purple framed.
Yes, glowing sun, now all have seen your art:
Their niceties are naught if you depart.
But enter prisoner, in tunic brown
Which served two years for day and evening gown
Whose hands and feet are grubby from his time
But with his face aglow in hope sublime.
Created sun, now shine beyond your flame
On he, and fill the royal-clad with shame.
Pontius Festus Introduces St. Paul
Now, governor gives memorizéd speech
“This man is Paul, whose death the Jews beseech.
On him, no charge of crime has yet been laid,
And, yet, appeal to Caesar has been made.
If I must send, I send without a crime
No crime, no reason, and but wasted time.
And so, I beg your Kingship to divine
What charge against him I can justly sign.”
King Agrippa and St. Paul Speak about the Way
The King Agrippa knew all Festus’ mind,
To flatter him to friends' alliance kind,
Yet ne’ertheless, Agrippa sought to know
The reason Paul designed to Rome to go.
“And speak, you Christian citizen, what you
Have done particular to jolt the Jew?”
St. Paul Testifies
Then, Paul in glorious-beaming joy and breath
Saw royal Roman’d heard the words ’gainst death,
“These brothers mine who so condemn my life
Have known its every hour, all the strife
It lent unto that Royal Christian Church,
And all the days I gave to Scripture’s search.
For, since my youth, my every hope I’ve laid
In promise of Messiah prophets made.
Likeminded, all of us were meant to be:
The first to Him should be the Pharisee.
It happened hope of mine was not so shared
And for the plan of God, we weren’t prepared.
No, Moses and the Prophets were our all,
And Christ's right teaching through it was our fall.
So was my mind, and so were theirs, but so
Was not the Sower’s, making vineyards grow
In rocky ground, much like my heart before
He turned the soil, and sent the Counselor.
So was my mind, when set on fiery church
Both near and far, I hunted where it perched.
And on my way, God cast such brilliant light,
The sun seemed dim, though even at its height.
My eyes were dark for blazing radiance.
Then blew from heaven voice of dominance
With clarity that echoed, ‘Saul, speak why
Does Pharisee assault me, and defy
The goads you choose to kick so hard against?’
And, even knowing answer, I commenced
To ask: ‘Who are You, Lord?’ And He, ‘I am
The King named Jesus Christ, the spotless lamb
Who you directly persecute. Arise
And stand; for now, don’t trust your eyes,
But turn your feet to where I say to go.
Then, witness to the world what I shall show.
In My Own Way, I’ll rescue from the Jew
Or Gentile cruel that might my knight pursue.
So, never fear: through you I’ll open eyes
And breath a light to darkness and baptize.
Redeem the followers of night’s false light;
Returning them to King, as you’re my knight.
And you shall see their sinful stains removed,
More by my love than by high priest’s reprove.
For I have Kingship over this whole earth
And all are subjects to a King by birth.’
Since then, Agrippa, faithful following,
I bore that gospel banner of my King
To Athens and th’temple, Gentiles, Jews,
And ever I proclaimed just Moses’ news:
See: all I tell the world, did he predict
And, but for timing, we would not conflict.
Thus, joyful, I can speak my Jesus’ name
The first of resurrection Law proclaims,
The One whose blazing light shines o’er the sun
Enthroned to lead the world that He has won.”
Festus Disbelieves Sr. Paul
Small Festus interrupts, and speech assails.
At Paul’s fine words of other King, he rails,
“You’ve taken leave of your quite ample wit!
Your study great has turned and backward bit.”
But King Agrippa follows argument
And looks to Paul for answer eloquent.
Poor Festus’ mind had been but civil trunk
And happy Felix was to purse debunked,
But King Agrippa’s was more honest made
Who ne’er was bought by flatt’ry nor gold paid.
St. Paul Appeals to King Agrippa
“My governor, I beg you, be assured,
Of senses and of wits, there still is lord.
The king is well acquainted with the texts
I reference, and prophets won't perplex.
Agrippa, you believe the prophecies,
Don’t doubt their Answer with the Pharisees.”
Bedecked in gold, the king refused to melt,
Turn malleable, though heaven’s heat he felt.
“And do you think in such a narrow day,
That you shall win me over to your Way?”
And Paul replied, while filled with Holy Ghost,
“Perhaps not think, but still I hope, foremost.
But I, indeed, do hope one day you’ll stand
In Christ, like I, though lacking pris’ner’s band.”
King Agrippa's Verdict
Such saintly speech has due impressed the King,
Who speaks with governor, conjecturing:
“There is no crime to hold the man in jail.
He could go free, should his appeal fail.
But, off to Caesar, he indeed must go
And strongly on those sails, may God blow.
He'll spread his message all the Way to Rome,
To capital from brightened catacomb.”
Chapter 2
In Which St. Paul Takes His Quest toward the Royal City of Rome
St. Paul Prepares to Begin His Journey
Now, Paul must change his chain for prison bar
Through which he slips some notes to churches far.
And prays, and thanks the King that Rome should come
On one soon day to welcome Christendom.
Oh, day — Arrive! Fill up, and overflow!
For long have you usurpéd been to woe.
Long last, the morning dawns upon a ship,
The agent of th’crim’nal's Romeward trip.
The hope of Paul does speed him to the sea:
Those ships would bear his mission odyssey.
That way with Paul came Luke and several more.
The Ship in the Storm
Rise, sea, you subject to the King of lore
And bear the vessel, bear the knights unslayed.
Yet, rebel! Sudden gales tenacious swayed
The vessel’s sail near in twain: they've failed
To keep their course to Cnidus. But, they've sailed
To Crete, along the rugged coast to bear,
Arriving at Lasea’s havens fair.
St. Paul's Warning to the Captain
The sea did churn and building gale blow
Until Paul warned his Roman guard, “To woe
This expedition quickly turns unless
You heed my urging strong: we must regress!
Let us not voyage on for goodly while.”
The pilot scoffed that words of saint were vile,
Assuring that but harm would come Paul’s way,
And they would soon arrive and find safe stay.
But, other winds caused Paul’s bright head to shake
In light of captain’s overproud mistake.
The pilot said that wind would bear them all
Wherever he desired, despite our Paul.
Along the Cretean coast they sail at length
And what had seemed a matchless breeze gains strength.
That pilot might have trusted Paul much more;
Soon, many times, he’d rue his scorn of shore.
A fresh storm swept across the nearby land
And tore their ropes and grapples, every strand
Did struggle hard against it, doomed to fall.
“Let us not fight against the wind!” called Paul
Above the sudden gale. “Give way and let
It take us where the mighty will is set!”
The Captain Changes his Mind
The pilot now obeys Paul’s voice, which flew
Through blasting winds which tore the nerves of crew.
Beneath its gale, they first were stupid brave
And tried preserving loads with rope, but waves
And wind so beat that they no more delayed
Relinquishing the fruitless things that weighed
Them down. But sea will not so quickly sate;
The day to follow, they eliminate
The tackle of the ship. Through night and day
The sea torments their cow’ring hearts, as they
Recall the weight of men. Past week of fright,
Imprisoned Paul is drawn awake by light
Amidst the wind and rain. (No others slept.
All crewmen on the deck are fearful kept
Awake while Paul alone, and Luke, take rest.)
The Angel's Message
In answer to the cries of those distressed,
Who shout for help from Ruler only guessed,
An angel comes, so sent to comfort all
But none was still and peaceful save for Paul
To see the angel with eyes spiritual.
“Be not afraid. You still must stand and tell
To Caesar what the Lord has done for you.
By God’s good grace, no soul among this crew
Or passengers will come to harm, although
This ship will not survive the galesome blow.”
The Crew Cannot Await the Promise
With angel’s exit, Paul told all he knew
To comfort both the criminals and crew
With these prophetic words of close at hand
Deliverance. When fortnight more has spanned,
A single sailor on the deck at night
Perceives the sound of waves (to his delight)
Against the rocks of land, a welcome sound
To lost and hungry crew. His fellows bound,
And weighed their anchor in the dark, so light
Of dawn could show the land and no more spite
Would meet them. Paul does hear the anchor splash
The sea which rustles him, asleep. Another clash
Awakens him, and Paul now hears the cries
Of sailors' flight. The Spirit makes him rise
To warn the guard of their aband’ning crew,
And Paul, still drudging, starved for sleep, spoke true
“Centurion, the Spirit wants you warned:
The crew escapes, and leaves the promise scorned,
The prophecy is gone if we disband.
I recommend you keep them from the land.”
The Deserters are Stopped
Our Paul returns to sleep when he has spoke
The message, while the Roman fast awoke.
Accompanied by all his men, he sped
To deck, equipped by words of God and dread,
Arriving just in time to see them tasked.
“What bear those ropes within th’sea?” they're asked.
They answer, “Only anchors,” but they lie.
But, those who heard the Spirit’s word soon spy
Escaping boats, all tethered down below,
And cut the lines off, so that none could go.
The boats escaped unmanned. The penalty
Could have been more severe in its degree—
But God with six and se’nty, hundreds two
Did vow not one would die, including crew.
St. Paul Advises a Feast
So fates of all the men are intertwined.
Before the sun arises, crew combines
Around our Paul who won them to his side.
“Let’s eat that which our holy God provides
For fear has kept you starving far too long,
The Lord preserves your every hair from wrong,
At times, by what He gave you all along.”
So, Paul breaks bread and eats, and they, as well,
And when they're full, the rest to water fell,
This way, less weighed, they’d haul more close to shore
(Though shore unknown: none recognize their moor.)
Chapter 3
Of Those Mysterious Things Which Happened on the Island
To Land
Still, land was blesséd land, and sailors tried
Their storm-tossed, rugged, broken ship to guide,
But failed for structure’s broke integrity
And broke on sand-bar, cloistered by the sea.
The pris’ners casted longing looks of awe
On freedom’s shore, until the soldiers saw
Their roving gaze and drew swords ”gainst their flight.
But sharp centurion fears threat to knight.
On hearing metal blades’ bloodlusting call,
He stopped them fast, for well he knew that Paul,
This prisoner, who held with God some pact,
Would not be spared in such a desperate act.
Their ship so bound to land would not reach shore,
It soon would sink. They all must swim, before.
They Abandon the Doomed Ship
The brave and cowards swam, and Paul went last,
When he had taken care that all safe passed.
Ashore, at last, all shout to gods their words
And some praise God of Paul, of whom they heard
So much of care in wind and waves most cruel.
In midst of choral calls with centers dual,
The trees nearby betray approaching sound
All hope but Paul’s and Luke’s most quickly drowned.
The soldiers, fearful of new foes, drew swords,
Again (now, joined by bravest guard’s accord).
The crew and guard a moment breathless spend
Made long by fear, as baffled men who sent
Anew their praise to God of Paul ‘gan wonder
If joy was premature, until from under
The brush immerged a dozen civil men.
They carried food and gear brought from their glen.
A Miracle on Malta's Shore
By night when more was brought, a fire roared
Upon the shore of Malta, joy restored
As Paul gave praise to God for grace, he vowed
To fire’s unending burn, ne’er dim allowed.
But worldly forces sought his acts to break
And as he brought more wood, an umber snake
Lay waiting near yet not among the flames.
A broke tree-branch into the fire aims
Saint Paul, in hopes to make the brilliance spike,
While serpent seeks its chance, then sudden strikes.
It seizes Christian hand and fangs rend deep.
Stunned islanders exclaim, and distance keep
While worm-injected poison fills Paul’s veins.
The islanders in shock exclaim, “What pains
The gods did take, this judgment to perform.
The gods first sought to kill him in the storm,
But only now does justice him befall.”
The crew did glance concern, but knowing Paul
Enough, they doubt the venom’s victory.
Paul shook the snake away, near casually,
And set another log upon the fire
To purge the snake and let the flames mount higher.
How the Natives of Malta Misapprehended
The natives, watching Paul, expect ahead
The gruesome sight of swells or dropping dead.
When neither come, another side they see
Supposing, “He must rather some god be,
That the raging sea and serpent’s venomed jaw
Could harm not him.” And with a new-found awe
For crew which brought such being to their shore,
They lead the men to isle official’s door.
How the Roman Governor Felt God's Aid
The governor from Rome convenes with crew
He welcomes with a gentle hand, and true,
But when for all three days of their short stay
He rare was seen, Paul asked him on third day
About his absence, to receive reply,
“My father, ill in bed, seems soon to die.
The greatest doctors tend to no avail
Against the ceaseless fever-forcing ail.”
Paul asked that he might fevered fellow see
And entered in and prayed hymn heavenly
And plead for soulful, then for bod’ly, heart.
He laid on hands, and both the men depart
In matching health, and word was swiftly spread.
Soon, Paul sees all of Malta’s invalids.
By prayer, the Holy Spirit heals all.
Each miracle was dang‘rous, grieving Paul
When they should call him “god”, he’d chide severe
And preached the Truth to everyone who’d hear.
But fringes cannot be the journey's end
The central city must the King befriend;
Good Lord, flood lifeblood all the Way to Rome,
To kingdom heart from knightly catacomb.
Chapter 4
In Which the Banner-Bearer of the Lord Reaches the Heart of the Empire
A Ship Takes the Castaways
At last, a foreign ship the winds afford.
And that ship takes the castaways aboard.
The grateful islanders make them supplied
And see their healer leave, some brighter-eyed.
To Rome! To lifeless heart at last arrives
Our tale of knights in whom the Spirit thrives.
Like mythic men, they cross Aegean sea
And, beaming, fiery Paul comes finally
This way to Rome with helpful wind in sail.
St. Paul Enters Rome
Along the way, the church of Rome did hail
Approach of Paul. They praise the Kingly plan
At knight's approach who brightens their dim land
How long he's waited for this day! Such years!
Age past, in Corinth, he had breathed, “From here,
On to Jerusalem and thence to Rome.”
With joyful heart, he turns toward the home
Of heart-felt aspiration God enthralls.
The sun shone bright upon the way of Paul’s
Approach, because he shook away the snake
And nothing now could stop the fiery wake
From spreading through the empire of Rome,
And making of the realm a Christian home.
Within the city gates, th’conqueror strode,
The wind was at his back, and there abode
No ill-spread curse against his name — not yet.
In Rome did none suspected him blust’ring threat.
An Unforeseen Danger to the Dark
And so, to hear his words the Jews were drawn.
“Dear brothers, how the days have come and gone
Since temple charged my name with blasphemy.
The blame of those who hope can never see
Now bind my hands, but unbound lips can say
The holy law and prophets point the way
Already trodden by my King who came
To earth, and taught and died, and rose to claim
Our souls from putrid death, t’ascend to sky,
He reigns enthroned above! May none deny
The prophets preached my Christ of Nazareth.
But Jacob’s sons, preferring death to breath
Have cast Him to the ground, and raise the King
To die upon a tree, that prophets sing
‘You always hear,
Yet you are deafened ever
And ever seeing,
Yet perceiving never.’
And now to Gentiles, God has sent His grace
And they will not, like some of us, turn face.”
At first, they contemplate the truth at hand
But for that final statement, few could stand.
So, Paul relinquished those to darkness base,
Continuing to preach the Romans grace.
In house arrest in Rome, Paul still could teach
And bear the flame of truth to those he’d reached.
God's Rome
Oh, Days —Arrive! Fill up, and overflow!
For long have you usurpéd been to woe.
But now, the breath of love shall waken all
The world through God's good use of wise saint Paul.
Yet, Rome ne'er welcomed knight of God with peace,
But war, like bright Aeneas, foe of Greece,
Who came to Rome and fought those there for bride.
Alike fights Paul, with bride of Christ allied,
And, gospel sword in hand, he drives off death
And brings the bride to God’s indwelling Breath,
And spreads the blazing truth to Roman core
Espousing Royal Way with holy lore.
Here, Paul, long-suffering knight, can teach such truth
And rapt’rous insights that the aged and youth
Alike will wonder how a man can speak
With blustering voice ’til sometimes, vessel weak,
He'll choke and tear up at the Words he’ll breathe
And, overcome, o’ercame words to ensheathe
The overwhelming sword of Word in hearts
Of men who'll melt before these sacred darts.
A veil will lift; Saint Paul, made weak, behold
In mind a shard of God's land, rich past gold,
A place past Roman borders far and far,
Holds Love that moves the heav’ns and farthest star.
Just so, floods lifeblood all the Way to Rome,
To kingdom heart from knightly catacomb.
THE STORY CONTINUES IN PART VI BELOW
THE STORY CONTINUES IN PART VI BELOW
#online #literary #magazine #journal #fiction #nonfiction #magazines2020 #nashville #publication