Bits and Pieces
Sometimes who we are lies just betweenthe surface and the unseen...
like crumbs in the breakfast
table crack that must
be picked out with a folded piece
of paper scraped along the crease.
But often we ignore what’s there.
We tidy up and brush off care
for fear what else we’ll find
in bits and pieces left behind.
And there’s the rub, if truth be told,
there’s peppered grime and mold
beneath the luster of the wax.
The fallen parts of us are in the cracks.
.
© Copyright 2007, Patterns of Ink
posted by .Tom Kapanka | 8:13 PM
7 Comments:
another thought provoking poem...
interesting... layers, layers, and more unseen layers! I really think all of my layers are out there for all to see and I kinda pride myself with "what you see is what you get"! Genuine, that's what I hope others see too! Have a great weekend and thanks for sharing.
It is a wonderful thing to be genuine. I try to be authentic in life, too, but I'm sure I have room to grow. Our mutual blogger friend Jody calls it being "real."
These lines were less about that kind of "being real" and more about the reality of our fallen broken nature as a human race (and as individuals).
As is usually the case when I work through some slightly obscure images and words in a poem, they are shaped by little reminders that we are broken people living in a broken world. ("9-11," and "Still Loved" are examples of this in the archives.)
The "fallen parts of us" refers to "the fall," (as in the gap between us and God caused by sin) That's the part of mankind that needed picking up--but not the kind of picking up that man can do for himself. Mankind tries to dress things up, brush off the surface, and put some luster on life (take Oscar night for instance) as if to say "We're not only good at what we do--we're pretty darn good period." And then he extends that false sense of "goodness" onto the race with thoughts like "man is basically good except when something goes wrong and makes him do bad things."
People who eventually see a need for the Savior to take the truth of His word to clean out the cracks, at some fork in the road of life see the cross (hinted at in the picture), and understand why He had to come. Those who choose to believe man is basically good have a much harder time with His message in the links of "All Else" two posts below.
Knowing you just a little bit through your encouraging blog and comments, I'd say that your desire to be genuine is shaped by an understanding of your relationship to God and the fall hinted at in these lines.... which hopefully make a more sense now that you know what I had in mind. Thank you for your genuine spirit and kind comments here (and for your patience if you read this. :)
http://patternsofink.blogspot.com/2006/09/9-11.html
http://patternsofink.blogspot.com/2006/04/still-loved.html
Tom...thanks for your added insights in your comments here. I have been in the process of allowing God to pick up the 'pieces of my broken life' since the young age of four. Only in recent years have I begun to 'see' how God truly is the Master crafter and that those 'cracks' in my life are the very spaces that others have engaged others (outside my faith) the most. As a follower of Christ, especially in the culture of the society in which we live, I am seeing that God displays Himself and receives the glory through those 'ugly' spaces I used to try to hide from others. There is a growing need for more of us to be 'vulnerable' to the world, to be truthful in our shortcomings, and to point out that our brokeness is exactly the place where God wants to meet us. The very purpose of the cross was to allow Jesus to 'become broken for us' in order that we might be healed through Him. What a poignant little piece you have shared with us in this post. I am humbled everyday, that God reaches down to 'little me' and cares about the cracks in my life enough to use His power and His Spirit to put the pieces back together in a new and beautiful way. I have prayed, especially since our tragedy, that God would be glorified in my brokeness. It's sometimes overwhelming that He has given me such comfort and peace, and that His promises have been true to me and my family every step of the way.
I wouldn't 'wish' brokeness, the way it has come to us, on anyone...but can honestly say that God is at work and very near...and because of THAT, I would wish that everyone would recognize their brokeness and seek God for His healing and grace.
Again, here I am getting a bit long-winded, but appreciate the space here to ponder and share.
Jody,
Like Nancy's thoughts, yours have reminded me that the useful thing about "images" and metaphor is that they can be interpreted in different ways. Nancy saw a need for authenticity--and heaven knows we need more of that. Then you've added this perspective about the broken bits of us left behind after shattering experiences.
I'm going to tell you something because your thoughts here (and your recent posts) helped me remember it. These lines started in my mind Wednesday morning when I read an article about a couple in the UK whose child nearly died and the mother said "We were just in bits. We didn't know what to say or do."
I thought, "just in bits" was an interesting way to say they were emotionally shattered. Then I wanted to use "bits" in a short poem (a sort of sonnet) about both our brokenness and our fallen condition and how (as Paul says in Roman's 7) we're always struggling with the old nature no matter how we gloss ouselves up. So that night I wrote it.
I try hard not to be pushy in my writing--I'm struck by how Jesus used word pictures so well in His parables. He was not pushy. People coud think about what He told them or they could walk away and scratch their heads. It's sort of like the parable of the soils in Matthew 13.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Poetry is not my strong suit nor are symbols. Coime to think of it I don't have a strong suit / I do really appreciate your explanation. This seemed to be a week when A number of the blogs I read looked at sin.
Dr. John,
I don't know you, but your profile tells me you're a Yooper, and I feel like I am getting to know you through both your posts and those who read them. I just spent time reading a person's thoughts whom you encouraged about the nature of "fear" and the value of friends. I appreciate that you are neither glib nor pushy about faith, and it's clear that many look to you as a bright spot in their day.
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