The Open Life

My Favorite Books of 2010!

2010 didn't turn out to be the maniacal reading spree that 2009 was. I didn't finish the mammoth Institutes, Great Ideas, or Debate on the Constitution as I had hoped. However, other goals were met and I still managed to finish more than two books per month. Here are my highlights, focusing on what influenced or impressed me the most.

Edited by Ryan Glomsrud and Michael Horton

This book did not alter any of my fundamental beliefs, but it greatly bolstered and clarified my position on the most important of all subjects: how is man reconciled to God? Through faith in Christ, or faithfulness to Christ? Read the longer review here.







I read this book while on my two-month bicycle ride down the Pacific Coast. It was like having a week with one of the wisest, kindest Christians ever. He seemed to anticipate and understand my theological mix-ups and questions. I wish everyone could be enticed to read what turned out to be one of the most densely practical and inspiring books I've ever come across. Owen settles the storms of confusions about what exactly it means to have a relationship with each person of the Trinity, and proves invaluable in his understanding of the Spirit. Read it!




The Great Conversation.
Robert M. Hutchins

If I had a million dollars, I would give a Benjamin to each person who reads this incredibly important book. I wish I had read this ten years ago. I was humbled and stirred to become educated and to educate others. I am convinced it is the duty of every person to the fullest of their ability, to understand and engage the great ideas of human thought. I am convinced the best path to achieving this is through study and discussion of literature, both theological and secular; that to understand the deepest questions common to men is to better understand ourselves, and our relation to God and His world. It is available in it's entirety online.
 


Two years Before the Mast.
Robert Henry Dana

This book might be the standard by which I measure all non-fiction narratives. The gist is that Dana, an Oxford educated twenty-year old whose sight is failing, is recommended by the doctor to get away from his studies for a while. He spends the next two years as a regular waterdog aboard a merchant ship off the coast of California. Based in the 1830's, the picture Dana creates of the life on the Western shore is both exotic, romantic, and yet realistically full of true sailor drudgery. Not every moment is as gripping as when the mad captain unleashed his wrath on an unfortunate mate, but to see an accurate, elegant description of that period, especially having been to most of the locations mentioned, was captivating. The motif itself is memorable, but I'll leave that to the reader.



Walden Pond.
Henry Thoreau

I read most of Walden while backpacking the wilderness coast of Washington State alone. This was appropriate as the book is the author's account of two years spent largely by himself in a hand-made cottage on the edge of a pond. In it he details not only the minutiae of his solitary project, but opens into one of the heights of transcendental philosophy. I anticipated Thoreau's seminal work was powerful, but actually reading it was electrifying. No, I didn't agree with all of his positions. At times he turns tricks of hollow rhetoric though his arguments are nevertheless beautifully constructed. Over all, though, I came away changed and recharged to live a life more essentially meaningful; to simplify my day to achieve goals that last while experiencing as much as possible in every moment. My love of God and Creation were renewed. Classic.



My First Summer in the Sierra.
John Muir

We have John to thank as the instrument behind our National Parks. His unparalleled zeal for nature, especially to observe it with a curious reverence, is legendary. This book is more or less a journal from the season he spent as a part-time shepherd in Yosemite Valley and surrounding high country. His attention to detail and skill for fluid, gorgeous description is terrific. Often his humor is first-rate and his ability to interweave scriptural metaphors is equal to Spurgeon and Bunyan. Unfortunately he seems to have been one of the Transcendentalists in terms of religion, but I can always go to him for a fresh enthusiasm to get out and explore God's good world.


Well, it turns out to be a top six, but these are the ones that impacted my heart, mind, or literary development the most. What are your top-reads of 2010?

Prayer for The New Year - Renewed Desire for God

The Almighty God of the Bible is the author of all beauty, truth, and good in the universe; the Artist behind every form and magnificent display of grandeur; the omniscient Mind from which materials and laws of physics derive being; the Heart from which all conceptions of love flow. Persons who desire beauty, truth, and goodness can find no greater source than Him who is the infinite fountain of these ideal characteristics.

Why do we seek from others what may be found in the Lord? David sang, "Whom have I in heaven, but Thee O Lord? And there is none upon the earth that I desire beside Thee." [Psa. 73:25] This same King, in a worse frame of heart, desired another man's wife. He tried to find heaven in earthly things, and found hell in his heart for it.

God, for 2011, I request a greater desire for Your pleasure and honor, upon myself and the Church at large.

BOOK REVIEW: Justified - Modern Reformation Essays on the Doctrine of Justification

SPOTTS VERDICT: ★ ★ ★ ★ ★

Several weeks ago Dr. R. Scott Clark quipped that for a limited time one could "get justified" for less than $10. Of course he was referring to the sale-price of a recently published collection of essays edited by Ryan Glomsrud and Michael Horton for Modern Reformation, simply titled Justified. The irony of the joke is that even to imagine purchasing acceptance with God at any price besides the freely imputed righteousness of Christ alone received by faith alone is ludicrous, and yet it is an idea all too pervasive in Evangelical and even formally Reformed bodies of professed Christians today. While one might not be so blatant as to offer God his Discover Card (which proves again to unacceptable everywhere), there is a widespread de-emphasis away from the once-for-all finished work of Christ as Substitute onto the "faithfulness" of individuals to respond in a way which puts the final ground of justification on their own infused sanctity. To combat this error, the editors have introduced an effective volume aimed squarely at informed laymen and pastors which is rich and scriptural without being overly technical or heavy-handed. Their goal is, "to present a few catalyzing arguments that have the potential to move forward what we think is a stalled debate in evangelicalism and the wider world of New Testament studies," concerning the nature of justification, while showing that "justification still matters."

Incorporating concise, erudite articles from some of the brightest Reformed theologians and teachers, as well as balanced contributions by Lutheran and Roman Catholic Scholars, Justified is a compelling and current treatment of the issues which confront the classic Protestant formula, sola fide, solus Christus. In the first chapter, which itself is worth the price of the book, Horton delivers a error-smashing opening blow to the nasal cartilage of convenantal nomism as put forward by N. T. Wright  and others in the New Perspectives on Paul. Horton informs readers that proponents of the NPP and closely-allied Federal Vision espouse a view that, "believers will be justified or vindicated on the last day on the basis of their cooperation with the Spirit.  For the record this is precisely the official Roman Catholic position.  It is not Pelagian, but it is also not Pauline."

With a dazzling display of academic footwork, Horton summons to court no less than eminent Jewish scholar, Jon D. Levenson, and Roman pontiff Benedict to make the case (from their own wings!) that there are in fact two sorts of ways God relates to man revealed in scripture, covenants of law and covenants of grant. Benedict goes so far as to affirm, "The covenant sealed in the Last Supper, in its inner essence, seems 'new' in the sense of the prophetic promise: it is not a contract with conditions but the gift of friendship, irrevocably bestowed. Instead of law we have grace." Unfortunately, both men confound their admissions by subsuming grace under Law. Benedict asserts, "the covenant with Moses is incorporated into the covenant with Abraham, and the Law becomes a mediator of promise...the law itself is the concrete form of grace. For to know God's will is grace." In his view, the New Covenant that is ratified at the Last Supper "is the prolongation of the Sinai covenant, which is not abrogated, but renewed". (Emphasis mine)

Horton responds, "The deepest distinction in Scripture is not between the Old and New Testaments but between the covenants of law and the covenants of promise that run throughout both.  The two covenant traditions are distinguished in form and content, even throughout the same unfolding history of redemption." Whereas covenants of law function bilaterally and require fulfillment of certain terms of obedience by the subject in order to receive the promised benefits, covenants of grant are purely one-sided. God takes upon Himself to ensure the reception of promised benefits to the one with whom such a covenant is made. In the New Covenant, the elect are assured everlasting life through headship of Christ received by faith alone. "Reformed theology has never argued that God's essential righteousness is transferred to believers, but that the complete fulfillment of the law by our covenant head becomes the basis for the imputation of righteousness...Jesus fulfill all righteousness on behalf of his co-heirs.  So we are saved by works after all, but by Christ's rather than by our own."

Other essays in this fourteen-hit combo-punch include Van Drunen's discussion of the nature of justifying faith; Gathercole's incisive treatment of whether faith means faithfulness; Sproul's criticism of the ecumenical documents, Evangelicals and Catholics Together; Hunsinger's insightful analysis of the tragic confusion introduced by Jonathan Edwards into the doctrine of justification; as well as many other excellent and understandable contributions. The whole volume is as warmly edifying as it is intellectually robust, and cannot fail to stir all but the stoniest hearts.

God granting grace, I believe the editors have succeeded in fashioning a tool capable of helping recover the importance of the classic Protestant understanding of the doctrine justification, if only enough persons can be enticed to discover and wield the truly good news it affirms. Wright, et al, are wrong and Modern Reformation is right: Justification through imputation sola fide still matters.

Why Men Often Seem to Grow More Attractive With Age

2010 - Oceanside, CA

A lady friend of mine, in her twenties, exclaimed with a sense of surprise how a certain celebrity singer seemed even more attractive, at age thirty-eight, than when he was younger. This situation, which is by no means uncommon, raises certain questions. Particularly, to what degree is physical attraction based on form, versus other factors which may be projected onto the overall aesthetic of a person to enhance their desirability? Into this discussion I bring limited data besides twenty-six-odd years of personal observation. My thesis is that mature women generally regard men as having reached their most physically attractive state between the ages of thirty-five and fifty. Now, is this because men are objectively most ideal specimens of form during those ages, or is something more at work beneath the hood, informing a woman's sense of attraction?

I suspect the degree of female physical attraction, if considered apart from emotional desire which stems from intimacy, rises in direct conjunction with a man's acknowledgment as having virtue. Power, if you will. Components of power, broadly construed, which may be projected psychologically upon physical form to enhance eligibility consist in such characteristics as skill, intelligence, economic stability, popular influence, or moral esteem. The period between advanced youth and old age is the season wherein men are most often said to "come into their own," in terms of power. They begin to round the ascending curve of their developing abilities, stability, and influence. And the more highly a man is appraised to possess respectable or prestigious traits, the more his appearance is subconsciously enhanced above its raw form in the estimation of women. 

To some degree this occurs for the opposite gender as well, though admittedly, men are less inclined to project layers of perceived virtue convincingly upon their physical appraisals of women, especially with whom they have no prior emotional intimacy or realistic expectations of long-term involvement. Perhaps this difference owes to a stronger drive in women to associate sexuality more closely with the exigencies of real life? At the end of the day, sex has consequences and they are often more costly for women. Loss of reputation, care of children, economic stability, and the unlikelihood of future commitment frequently come out as shorter straws in a woman's hand. Thus, at a subliminal level she is more likely to engage estimations of  the overall quality of potential mates, even those who are unrealistically detached from her, such as celebrities and fictional characters. I call this tendency the Imaginative Inclusion of Plot. Female inclusion of plot into physical attraction is most concretely revealed in the appeal which racy novels, with all of their complex back-stories useful for establishing the worth of the hero, hold toward women. By ascertaining some hope of a meaningful, or at least bearable, "ever after" scenario, women are more easily induced to entertain physical interest which would otherwise seem bland, troublesome, or threatening to their over-all well being.

By comparison, men are naturally more capable of compartmentalizing duties and consequences of actual relationships from their sexual appraisals of women. Unless a man is faced with a real and imminent possibility of long-term involvement, he may not feel so inclined to imagine any plot that takes into account a woman's personal qualities. He is able to restrict his fantasies to just those moments of physical exchange, and to imagine only those mutual feelings necessary to enjoy them. He does not need so much to be convinced that spending a significant portion of his lifetime with any particular woman would be feasible, in order to feel powerfully attracted to her body. It should be mentioned, however, that most men reengage their sense of reality when it comes to evaluating plausible mates. In that case, men will imagine what life might be like before and after their trysts and therefore incorporate all of a woman's virtues more readily into the sum evaluation. This is why, when it comes down to it, many husbands sincerely prefer the physical intimacy they have with their wives, whom they appreciate as companions, child-rearers, and helpers, above what could be imagined with celebrities. "It just wouldn't be the same."

Nevertheless, it is unfortunate that American males are too slow to incorporate virtue into our perceptions of our feminine counterparts. It creates a painful imbalance with the passage of time. Women of our society often feel pressured to cover the process of age with cosmetic disguises of youthfulness, like painted fruit which nevertheless rots from within, whereas men are generally granted the respect shown to hardwoods. The weathering of a man's appearance is thought to belie experience, and is therefore preserved and polished. His features somehow become more artfully embellished, his visage encrusted with the identification of his achievements over a patina of prestige. Men are disposed to entertain beyond reasonable age, fantasies of younger women. The common ideal of women, however, is not at last for sugary, boyish, cherry-cheeked men with reed-smooth skin, but for a substantial man; a blued steel truss of a man who has attained refinement of years and the sturdy mettle of experience; such a one as wears in crows' feet the impression of virtue. And this is why men often seem to grow more attractive with age.

Questions for Consistent Atheists

To date, I have not carried on extensive discussions with many self-professed and informed atheists. I am, however, interested to know their vantage on certain issues, and welcome any intelligent responses I may receive. No arrogance is intended here; I present serious curiosity regarding important issues. Please forward this note to such reasonable ones as you come upon. Thank you.

The Fundamental Right to Personal Property is Essential to Humane Prosperity and Charity

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I believe liberal education and assurance of entitlement to one's own wealth is, on the whole, the greatest motivator of economic productivity. Give men the intellectual tools necessary to view their work as dignified and artful; assure them of their right to the profits thereof, and the result shall be sustained increase in wealth.  Fear or greed may carry productivity forward in nervous spurts, but only those who are elevated to such views of individual human dignity are capable of the nobility of character which must stand in on behalf of the truly helpless minority in the world.

One who denies his equal right to posses for himself what he has earned, cannot truthfully uphold the rights of other individuals who, by principles of equality, must then also be shorn of their right to possess. Such a man, if he may be called a man, can only support the faceless hive; a hive which, in human society, is always discovered to terminate in the oppressive interests of an oligarchy. Neither can a man who disbelieves his inherent right to personal wealth give charitably of his own. For in his mind nothing is essentially his by right, but only by grant of the State. If his property goes out to others, it is not charity on his part, but forfeiture; for in his mind the property was never his own to do with wholly as he pleased. If man's wages may be taken compulsively from him in part, why may they not be wrested from him in whole? What is the fixed moral principle by which any wealth is assured to men, if not that they earned it with their own hands? Men who are by nature entitled to only half their wage are only half-men; half-man is half another's beast of burden. In this case, goods which the State permits their beasts to retain are only muzzles meant to keep them plowing silently.

One who does not grasp in himself the power to posses that which is his can not deny himself, in the noble sense, for one cannot deny nothing. What more is he without essential rights? If he is merely a serf of the State, what honor is there in him bestowing that which is demanded? Brotherhood and love are then deformed to a kind of stoic duty. Nobility is stripped from the species. But one who believes all humans are fundamentally entitled to the fruits of their labors, seeing himself so providentially blessed with an abundance of talent and fortune, is more likely to esteem the basic value of his less fortunate brothers. When he gives to the needy, he does so willingly and thereby spreads a sense of benevolence more charitable and humane than the cant dutifulness which necessarily permeates collectivist and authoritarian methods of wealth redistribution.

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© Michael Spotts:. 2010
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You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this article in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and that you do not charge any fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For printed copies, as well as web posting, please include the following statement:

By M. Benjamin Spotts:.
Copyright © The Open Life
www.theopenlife.com
Titus 3:3-8

POLL: The Estate Tax

I don't usually wax political on my blog, but when I'm peeved enough the keyboard comes out. Let's begin with a poll:

What do you think about the Estate Tax? 

A.) You are in favor of keeping, or even raising it. 

B.) You think it is Federal plundering at its worst. It is wicked and base. 

C.) You have no clue what I'm talking about, but you think Glee is pretty neat.

Friendship & Wisdom, divine gifts ~ Cicero

"Friendship may be thus defined: a complete accord on all subjects human and divine, joined with mutual goodwill and affection. And with the exception of wisdom, I am inclined to think nothing better than this has been given to man by the immortal gods. "~Cicero, c. 106-43 BC

When designating wisdom and friendship chiefest among divine blessings, Cicero could not have foreseen how in fullest form these would soon be expressed in the embodiment of Jesus Christ.

Preparing for Seminary

2010 - Oceanside, CA

For a long time I have been mulling over the opportunity to attend seminary. Naturally , I must ask myself, "what motives drive my desire for education? Am I looking to affirm what I already presuppose, or do I have a teachable attitude?" 

Dr. R. Scott Clark's blog series, Who Should Go to Seminary?, is helpful. He writes,

"Mature, patient pastoral ministry requires willingness to learn and change. It requires the ability to be wrong—to recognize when one is or has been wrong. It requires humility and the knowledge of what one is not and what one does not know. One who seeks confirmation of his prejudice is not committed to learning (or getting it right) but is only committed to “being right” and ultimately that is about power and not about truth. One who seeking power is not preparing for ministry. Jesus did not pick up a sword but wrapped himself with a towel." [1]

 [1] R. Scott Clark, Who Should Go to Seminary?, Part 2

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© Michael Spotts:. 2010

The Towering Fall on 9/11 - A layman's assessment of the outcome of that day

2010 - Oceanside, CA

I have heard persons lament how that, eighty years from now, Americans will have forgotten the tragedy of 9/11. Life will have moved on, they say. As with Pearl Harbor, we will honor such infamy with aggrandized, albeit poorly acted films or garish History Channel retrospects. Otherwise, the event will have all but passed from  its present meaningfulness to our collective conscience. I must doubt this projection. For reasons which put fire to my skin even to write of, I am lead to believe there will not be forgetfulness of the tragedy any time soon. The fall of the Trade Centers was no doubt a horrendous loss of life, worthy to be mourned and commemorated; however, I presume the more awful legacy of that destruction will be that it signaled the collapse of our National sense of security; it marked the fall of unquestioned individual privacy and mobility. Great towers toppled, and with them plummeted something of even loftier height and consequence: the sacred American presupposition of innocence and freedom for citizens of this Country.

Out of the rubble of 9/11 and the wake of paranoia which followed, has been erected an immense unconstitutional framework for unwarranted surveillance and prosecution by agents of the United States Government. A gnostic eye has been opened upon any and every person, under the guise of "preserving security" against the omnipresent bogey of 400 million potential terrorists.

The nature of terrorism is such that any person may participate with a minimum of resources and experience. Thus all persons might be suspected of the crime, if only the charge is levied with  secret phone calls or undisclosed emails. No obligation exists to require the sources of accusation to be named. A new and more fearful McCarthyism is upon us. The mere assertion of affiliation with terrorist plots is enough to strip citizens of their "inalienable right" to trial before a jury of peers. Suspects may be held indefinitely, so long as military or bureaucratic officials deem a person "potentially threatening." So-called "enhanced methods" of torture, previously anathema to the American conscience, are now legally sanctioned upon those unfortunate enough to fall under scrutiny. No law requires the detention of persons suspected of terrorist intentions to be announced publicly.

Opponents of freedom have seized upon the traumatized American psyche to usurp limitless means for silencing the voices of any deemed threatening or inconvenient to those who wield the power of accusation. Whether this political weapon of mass destruction has yet been wielded against Americans to the degree it was in the despotic hands of Stalin, Mao, Pol-pot, or Hitler, there is no doubting such absolute power is set and ready for the fist of new tyrants, waiting to seize their moment. For fear of terrors unknown, America has authorized her civil and military protectors to  kidnap, torture, and capitally sentence with inscrutable power; in essence, she has exchanged her several foreign threats of terror for an ever-present army of domestic ones.

Though the American Republic had for a long while been waiting the execution of her sentence for abandoning most ideal principles of justice and reason, the recent attack against the Trade towers was a visible severing of the head of Democracy founded in freedom and presumed innocence. It was the death-fall of the Noble Experiment from the gallows of puerile fear of the unknown. I am convinced that unless this abuse and usurpation is countered and repealed, and the unjust scepter of abject power wrested from the darkened hand of those who fist it, generations of Americans will come to remember September 11th as the day which precursed their existence under the stifling shadow of an unseen regime of inscrutable tyrants.

The Unlikely Key to Christian Love

Looking for the Key

Because of the indwelling Spirit, Christians share an innate desire to show love toward God and others. Sadly, however, we frequently fall short of the ideal. We find ourselves overcome with frustration, agonizing over why our affections suffer seasons of drought while the old river of selfishness surges on, seemingly with relentless vigor. At one time or other, we have all searched within ourselves to find the key to Christian love. In vain we sought means by which to overcome sin and open the door to practical holiness. Perhaps the problem was that we expected this key to be stashed inside a pocket of personal goodness, some last reserve of dutiful self-will which could be activated, once found. Did we ever think to look under the filthy doormat of personal guilt?

The Importance of Sensing Guilt

Guilt is almost a foul word in the minds of many today, who plant their feet firmly in the vacuous power of "positive thinking." Feeling guilty is damaging to the psyche, they say, and stunts one's confidence to live effectively. While professing to be teachers of the word, some even dare to omit all "negative terminology" found in scripture -- words like sin, guilt, and debt -- for fear these ideas will diminish their listener's confidence and faith, if not alienate them entirely. To such optimistic ignoramuses, the will to love comes in large part by telling oneself over and over that we ought to love, and can love, if only we believe in our ability. Believe that God believes in us! Believe in ourselves!

Thus it comes as a surprise for some to hear that acknowledging personal guilt plays a crucial role in Christian love. In fact, the matter is so essential to the life of faith, that we are taught in the Lord's prayer to confess our sins daily. (Luke 11:4) Fresh awareness of the "sinfulness of sin," as one Puritan author phrased it [1], should not undermine faith in the power of Christ's work, received through faith alone, but should underscore it. This is because, in the case of believers, the purpose of guilt is never to condemn, but to refocus our eyes back on the grace we receive freely and securely  in Jesus, our sufficient Sacrifice and Redeemer. 

The Key to Love

If the essence of practical holiness is love toward God and one's neighbor, the key to holy living is set forth plainly in scripture. "He who has been forgiven much loves much." (Luke 7:47) To the extent one feels his sins to be worthy of indefinitely extended punishment, and believes Christ to have finished suffering in his place, he will be empowered by the Spirit to rejoice in grateful love.  This is nowhere better illustrated than in the life of the Apostle Paul. This one-time Pharisee of Pharisees, who considered himself the very "chief of sinners," (1 Tim 1:15) became the Apostle who "labored above all others." (1 Cor. 15:9-10) What was his enabling motive? "Love compels me," he said. (2 Cor. 5:14) A deep sense of personal debt under the law, and of even deeper riches of grace given to him in Christ, inspired Paul to grateful service.

Growing in the Knowledge of Guilt and Grace

Devilish claims have been made by deluded individuals, that the way to grow in gratitude is to sin all the more, and so to increase one's apprehension of guilt and grace. Scripture condemns such wicked and unregenerate assertions. "Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid!" (Rom. 6:1,2) What we need is not more sin, but more sight, to see the disparity of our guilt in proportion to the holiness and goodness of God. Contrast is wanted in our hearts to greatly distinguish between the depravity of man and the greatness of our Lord against whom all sin is committed. To reckon sin in blacker shades, we must see Christ transfigured in the light of His infinite divinity, resplendent with glory and grace.

This sort of spiritual vision comes not by natural power, but through a Spirit-wrought increase of faith in the testimony of scripture. The ordinary means by which this spiritual work is accomplished are simple: word,  sacrament, and prayer. As we sit under the faithful preaching of the word, and receive by faith the gospel portrayed in the sacraments, we are enabled to apprehend more distinctly the wonderful grace of God. Instead of fleeing like burdened hermits to mournful isolation, we are called each Lord's Day to hear again the story of Redemption, to "taste and see that the Lord is good." (Psalm 34:8)

This three-fold harmony of guilt, grace, and gratitude, is the cycle of true Christian piety. We feel our guilt and weakness; we appeal to Christ and trust in grace. The result is gratitude and love. For the believer, love is an organism of gratitude, whose liveliness grows in proportion to his apprehension of guilt and grace. When at last we cease searching empty pockets of personal goodness, we find in guilt the unlikely key to love.

[1] http://www.monergismbooks.com/Sinfulness-of-Sin-PP-p-16239.html 

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© Michael Spotts:. 2010
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You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this article in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and that you do not charge any fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For printed copies, as well as web posting, please include the following statement:

By M. Benjamin Spotts:.
Copyright © The Open Life
www.theopenlife.com
Titus 3:3-8

SONG: Fire in the Air

"Fire in the Air"

I stand by a river at twilight,

__a glow at the end of a match in my fingertips,
__sighing for dusk to blush with a fire-crack kiss.

We count from five and then,
__racing eyes trace streaks up to the heights.
The heavens shout with rallies of bursting noise and light!

                  ~

A single spark appears,
__weaving slowly, green between the trees.
No blinding flash or peeling blast;
__the mere pulse of a bulb and whispering wings.

All that interests now are these live lights.
Emeralds that faintly fly through the smoke of a midsummer night.

                  ~

All that has me now are reflections,

__fireflies in your eyes;
__our hands as they intertwine.

We stand by a river at twilight.
No flame, no sound,

__just you.


NOTE: During the summer of 2005 I visited friends in Wisconsin. We spent a weekend at a cabin in the woods up north. It was a surreal time in life, a combination of love-sickness, first experiences, you know the stuff. The poem was first drafted on 19 August 2005, in Murrieta, California.

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© Michael Spotts:. 2010
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You are permitted to reproduce and distribute this article in any format provided that you do not alter the wording in any way and that you do not charge any fee beyond the cost of reproduction. For printed copies, as well as web posting, please include the following statement:

By M. Benjamin Spotts:.
Copyright © The Open Life
www.theopenlife.com
Titus 3:3-8