R.S. Thomas’ poems about God continue to fascinate me, particularly ones like:
MEDIATIONS
And to one God says: Come
to me by numbers and
figures; see my beauty
in the angles between
stars, in the equations
of my kingdom. Bring
your lenses to the worship
of my dimensions: far
out and far in, there
is always more of me
in proportion. And to another:
I am the bush burning
at the centre of
your existence; you must put
your knowledge off and come
to me with your mind
bare. And to this one
he says: Because of
your high stomach, the bleakness
of your emotions, I
will come to you in the simplest
things, in the body
of a man hung on a tall
tree you have converted to
timber and you shall not know me.
Younger I was fascinated with science, particularly with the way things seemed to fit together perfectly. I remember the magical moment when I first saw an award-winning science short which featured microscopic close-ups and telescopic shots of the universe, revealing remarkable symmetries. I used to belief the purpose of science was to reveal those mysteries, though in recent years it seems as if it serves very different purposes.
Although I’ve never been able to feel God as the center of my existence, I envy many who have felt that way. In fact, that might well be what I most admire about R.S. Thomas’ poetry.
Of course, it’s the third argument that’s most shocking, at least coming from the pen of a minister. I’ll have to admit that, though the statement rings true to me, I’m also dumb-founded by it, unable to put my own reaction into words.
I think all thinking Christians have crises of faith at sometime and I know that RS Thomas was no exception. I suppose if you are a minister you have more cause to question things than most people as you are trying all the time to convert your listeners to your particular brand of faith.
Loren – Thomas’s poetry can be brutally honest but at least he is also honest with himself. He certainly did have some crises of faith but I think that’s all part of the nature of being both human and Christian. I find it hard to believe anyone else feels otherwise, although I’m willing to acknowledge I could be wrong. Thomas ccan be outrageously bitter and angry in some of his verse but when he speaks like this I’m more than happy to listen. A very fine poet.
Great poem, Loren.
The beauty of it is that it puts us rightly in relation to God whose essence is holiness, something that calls us, as created beings, to praise and worship.
We experience God through prayer; faith is a gift, and not something we can produce by ourselves. He could have simply placed it in our hearts, but wants us to ask for it, to come to him as he reaches out to us. Thomas writes of the failure of humanity to recognize God in Christ, even when he came into our world and raised the dead, made the blind see, and walked among us after rising from the grave.
This poem left me wondering which (if any) of the three Thomas considered himself to be. Someone who knows more about him than I do might be able to hazard a guess.
I can’t help but think of Thomas’ bleak church at Aberdaron (www.st-hywyn.org.uk/), which I’ve visited a few times, when I read a poem like this.