The imprint of poets and dreamers can be found throughout the Bible, and especially in the Psalms and in the prophets. Maybe that's because more than us ordinary people, poets and prophets recognize that beauty and divinity are all around us all the time. In some ways, the principal work of the Almighty is to open the eyes of God's people. Jesus, God incarnate, came and dwelled with us that we, too, would see that we are loved by God, and free to open our eyes to the beauty and wonder of our lives as it unfolds moment by moment.

This fanciful talk of wonder, divinity and poetry arose from an interview on National Public Radio with the 82-year-old poet Jack Gilbert, who had won yet another literary prize. But NPR weekend host Debbie Elliott pointed out that Gilbert was never much impressed with prizes, and she let the poet himself outline the priorities that drive him:

ELLIOTT:  Jack Gilbert never owned a home, drove a car, or had financial security, but ask him if he's happy:
GILBERT: I'm very happy. I've been happy almost all my life. I've been poor, I've been cold, I've been scared and all that stuff, but just to be allowed to be alive,  to me is such amazing richness ... What a wonderful privilege to be allowed to breathe, to see, to feel, to smell, to love. It's baffling the sweetness of what we're allowed.

Listen to the whole interview from the NPR website, http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5370284, and you notice in Gilbert's voice the sincerity , the peace, the wisdom, the contentment.  Although he is not known as a Christian poet, a clearly religious element runs throughout the poems featured on the interview. As he reads his poem "A Brief for the Defense," Gilbert acknowledges that world is full of sorrow, and adds:

But we enjoy our lives because that's what God wants.
Otherwise the mornings before summer dawn would not
be made so fine. The Bengal tiger would not
be fashioned so miraculously well. The poor women
at the fountain are laughing together between
the suffering they have known and the awfulness
in their future, smiling and laughing while somebody
in the village is very sick. ....

Jesus saw the sorrows of the world and did not shield his eyes. Jesus knew the hardships and the injustices of life, and yet he never succumbed to despair, bitterness or cynicism. Jesus modeled his teaching that we are to look for happiness beyond our treasure and the barns we raise to keep it in. And that is precisely where we will find true happiness. It's a stewardship message embraced by poets, prophets and holy people of every age. Including ours.

--Rob Blezard, Webmaster and editor
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