This page contains poems written by members of the TFC community.
Virgin bride from Virgin Mother
Raise thine eyes to Lord and lover
Bloom made pure by Blood of the Lamb
Grafted to Him, the Great I AM
Toss thy rags, and don thy linen
Fair and free, thou born of women
Washed in pure water, raised anew
Because He gave His life in lieu
Oh, daughter by Him desired
Enflamed with the fiercest Fire
One flesh with Him, formed from the two
His Body thine, blest marriage due
-Seth Berry
In that dungeon which is my mind,
As the last brick was about to be set,
The one which would close my cell about me,
I heard a voice as loud as a whisper,
Which saved my soul from death.
It bade me throw off my fetters,
And turn my prison into a home
It guided me to make the change
Which would give life to my little room
It showed me how to open windows of light into my home
The first was emotion,
Facing to the clear Northern sky
A large bright window, of stained glass,
Beautiful, but stunning to the dark ‘customed eye
The second window was Love
Facing East, toward the rising Sun
Of the clearest rose-pink glass,
It shines upon me, showing the light of my Savior
The light of Heaven, my promised joy.
The third was Hope,
A tiny window, facing West,
Showing only one narrow road
A path which I will one day follow,
Toward the destiny which awaits.
The fourth, and final window is Wisdom,
Clear, but steely grey, it stands facing South,
Toward tall, towering mountains,
It is a window of strength, focus, power,
It is intimidating, even fearsome,
But I know that it is perfect,
A window to let in the light of Truth,
And the beams of Knowledge,
Lighting my tiny mind with the cold, pure light
Which I once tried to find with the yellow glow
Which artificially lit my simple mind,
The logical, yet unfeeling electric light.
The pure and wise is my strength
The tiny gleam of hope my joy
The light of Love is my solace
And the Rainbows of emotion are my inspiration
And never again will I be tricked
By that cold-false-dark and failing light
For how can it be
That having seen the Truth
I should ever be content with ought
But pure and perfect light?
-Seth Berry
Why do you tantalize us with a beauty we could never know?
An echo of perfection in this dark and dreary sea
I never knew what beauty was or why it does impart
Upon this darkened world such brilliant glow.
And knowing not, I overlooked thy wondrous art.
They say that beauty is a product of its beholder’s eye
That loveliness does from a true love grow
But beauty true does not accept the judgment of mankind,
Or suffer us to taint her with our jealousy.
The fairest is not fair because we see her so,
She never bowed to narrow mortal mind,
Or changed her nature to accommodate a lie.
For doing so would force a truth to die.
Indeed the cold unseeing eye cannot true beauty see,
Without the aid of some more perfect truth combined.
The fairest is not fair alone in mind’s imperfect eye,
But in the deepest recess of the human heart
She is the product of a spirit true and free.
-Seth Berry
In that book which tells the quiet tale
Of hope and fear, with such poignant detail,
The memory of life and love retold,
The spool of Clotho’s silver thread from old,
There is a chapter, which with joy decries,
That moment when, on thee, I first laid eyes
When you, as angels do from heaven high
--Descending to the gloomy earth they fly--
Appear to us arrayed in mortal form
To bless us with their noble light so warm.
So you appeared, as though from heaven’s realm,
And by your beauty all was overwhelmed.
Thy beauty which-- full force withheld--
Until, in memory of it, I dwelled.
At last the anthem’s faultless timbre swelled.
A cherished thought, that long I’ve held.
That moment (with such joy replete)
First fell on me thy gaze so sweet.
(‘Twas then I knew that this was God’s design)
For In your eyes a thousand stars do shine
To show the beauty of thy mind
The meek and gentle heart refined
As silver is by smithy’s skill made pure
—Until, at last, it shines with such allure—
So your Refiner cleansed you by His grace
And fashioned you, ‘the fairest of thy race.’
To me you are, of all the works He wrought,
--When from the crucible He brought
That molten substance which in form perfect
The face of the Creator did reflect--
The one whose precious form I value best,
For by your soul’s sweet presence I am blessed.
-Seth Berry
An odd little paradox
Past, present, future
Destiny and chance
Losing and finding
Starting and finishing
Each following each
Life, cupful by cupful
Constantly changing
Certainly moving
Coming and going
Going and coming
All at once.
-S
There is no surer way to know
The nature of the Father’s love for me
Nor to fathom why His Power thus does flow
In breadth and depth like mighty roaring sea
Than by the feeling in my heart which poundeth so
In answer to the love I have for thee
By teaching me the reason why my heart doth glow
It gives direction to the need I feel to be
A mirror that His image clear can show
My feeble love has now become a key
To understanding why He did bestow
His infinite eternal, saving gift so free
It was His own heart caused Him to forego
His status equal with the Godhead three
To take on mortal flesh and bear our woe
That we may boldly for His pardon plea
And bear a fruit from work which He did sow
-Seth Berry
I seek you as silver
For you are a promise and a blessing from the LORD
You impart strength from your innermost being
And courage radiates from your soul
You wear honor like a cloak
Wisdom you wear like a veil
Knowledge is the crown on your head
And your feet are shod with peace
Truth flows from your lips as from a clear spring
Love rains upon you from the heavens
Reason is the staff in your hand
And your feet stand
Upon a Sure Foundation of Stone
Your mind dances to the melody of the universe
And your heart beats to the rhythm of its song
Since your finger rests on the pulse of life
Your eyes pierce to the heart of a matter
For you perceive beauty and truth everywhere
Your radiant smile mutes the noble light of Apollo
Your dazzling beauty shames the splendor of Helen
You are a rose among thorns
A wellspring in the dessert
For the riches you seek are Wisdom and Truth
Oh that mortal man could look upon you,
Jewel among jewels,
And gain some insight
Into thy Creator’s perfect Will
Your worth is immeasurable
For you are called to be His
-Seth Berry
It has wasted long
In cold dark halls
In scarce remembered song
Where now it calls
Echo of its former strength
From where it died
Recalled at oh so great a length
At this new tide
Arisen to awaken laughter
This was its goal
And bring us wisdom and knowledge after
It is my soul
- Seth Berry
Beating each for each
Sharing together a perfect rhyme
An uncommon union
A Severe Mercy
Concealed by a lovely chaos
Unique to its bearers
Gently entwining
Merging their wills
-Seth Berry
Alone in the darkness I hide
Alone with the pain I bear
A gnawing fire burns within me
From which there is no release
I long to escape, but the darkness holds me in
I scream with all my might
Into the infinite void around me
The night mocks my pain,
Echoing back my feeble voice.
I am consumed from within,
By a violence which I despise.
Despite by best efforts,
I constantly seek that which will destroy me
I am the darkness, and it is my own heart which I crush
-SDB
My fingers played o’er the keys,
Like a newborn foal first rising.
Knowledge I had long wished to seize
The effect of the note vibrating.
The sound resonated throughout
The emotions were swelling to full.
Their rhythm, could not be in doubt
And from a most beautiful pool,
A geyser long dormant could spout.
Pandora’s Box had been opened;
The dormant emotions unburdened.
Tentatively my fingers hastened
Each new combination to try.
Feelings both pleasant and painful,
Cast their intricate harmonics,
Into a mind long devoid of soul.
My understanding of meaning deepened,
I was,
Like a taut string,
Though longing for more,
Putting all resources toward expanding
I could spare neither time-
-Nor a dime,
For aught but my desire to teach
My fingers their joyous strains to reach.
So many new things I had to experience.
Defining a new limit,
Creating a new self,
Unhampered,
Unmarred by stoic philosophy,
Freed from false formless fear.
I had to find,
Something:
Something:
Elusive.
Something:
Elusive that I longed for,
A skill that must be learned.
To awaken a nature
Full of love and life,
Limited only by the bounds I set,
Creative and free to explore, yet
Mindful and thoughtful to set-
-At ease…
-Seth Berry
Time spent, toiling down tiresome roads
Struggling, sorrow, a severe grace
Minds and matter and mad regret
Fleeing forever, from who knows what
Hope sprung, heart stung, and health shattered
Darkest desires, deadliest foes
Alone, against them, adrift in time
No one knows what my nature corrupts
Telling me tremulous, terrible lies
Who is willing to whisk me away?
Righteous, rejected, His rod scorned
Blood poured, by Man, the better pain
Unknown, undeserved, yet unrelenting
My own mind seeks to mask Heaven's cure
Devil's desire, to deftly obscure
Light, and Life, as His Love is outpoured
Pursued patiently, my past far removed
Joy in justice, in Jesus' name stand
Pride and petulance, perdition damns
Burned, yet, begetting better reward
Freely forgiven, forever restored
-Seth Berry
In the midst of death,
I saw a tree
And it was white with flowers.
The sun reflected off the flakes
As white as April petals.
And on that tree a promise made
That soon would come to pass.
The cold still death that reigneth now,
Is but a skewed reflection.
My beacon burning bright as day,
Was truth rightly displayed.
As life brings death
So death brings life.
The circle quite complete.
-Seth Berry
The floor tiles rattled, and the stars reeled past.
A massive structure, the most intricate ever,
The work of man,
Of man’s hands, his mind, his wish, his dream.
The roar of the engines surrounded me
Like an iron fist.
The fist of progress
With sinews I strung myself
The strength, I gave it,
A life of its own
Its future is in the stars
At its birth this was determined
As I shattered the bottle
And christened the work of my hands
The horse has his bridle
The sea ship its rudder
But what have I?
I answer to no one
As I hurdle through space
The universe is my playground
The galaxy my home.
But I have nowhere to rest my head.
I claim no planet, I have no land.
I orbit bodies,
I cross vast gulfs
-With nothing-
But space and one small
Speck I call my own.
Is earth so small and life so short?
That I pay my share of both?
Are nebulae and stars
And planets so dear
That I seek them as
That youthful fountain?
Will Andromeda make me young again?
Will Mars give me back my youth?
I chose a path so far from home
I spent the time, the money, the energy
I am a starship captain
I pilot through the depths of the void
Space I have in abundance
But where went time?
-Seth Berry
Now say, oh Muse, how I may clearly speak,
(A task for which I feel so terribly weak)
About the wondrous aspect in her eyes?
About the depth of joy which in them lies.
Shall I compare them to a mountain pool,
In which the clouds and sky are shown in full,
Its depths contain the vastness of the earth?
Would that come close to telling of her worth?
Or would it be more right for me to say
That in their deepest depths, her eyes display
The kindness and the joy that’s in her heart?
The strength and virtue which she doth impart?
The soothing light which from her flows?
Pray, Oh muse, some better way propose.
To speak these things aloud for her to hear
That may, to me, her heart endear.
For, in that book of memory so clear
These things are surely writ in words so near,
But only I can open up that tome
And through its multitude of pages roam.
So I must try, however well I may,
The things I read therein to her convey
-SDB
The bravest and most noble anywhere in the world
A huge warrior indeed, and in the prime of life
Donned his war-gear, indifferent to death.
Fitting the clumsy helmet[] just in time,
To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.
This is our high place, our sanctuary, our hill.
Yes, it is already garrisoned.
All stood together on the deck,
Yes; quaint and curious war is!
Calling for pomp.
-Seth Berry
Sir Gawain pg. 19
Sir Gawain pg. 59
Beowulf 1443
Dulce et Decorum est 10
Ulysses 70
Paradise Lost Book V 732
Hamlet Act IV scene 4, 25
The Rime of the Ancient Mariner pg. 18
The Man he Killed 17
The Death of a Soldier 6
*from “War is Kind.”
Her features so flawless, her skin so fair,
Grace was in all her steps; heav’n in her eye.
Her mind was thoughtful and her manners sure.
Only a sweet and virtuous soul,
Larded with sweet flowers.
Her virtue and the conscience of her worth,
Higher than the soul can hope or mind can hide,
It has no need to falter or explore.
So soft, so calm, yet eloquent,
And faithful instruction is on her tongue.
A mind at peace with all below,
That looks on tempests and is never shaken.
-Seth Berry
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight line 1761
Paradise Lost book VIII line 488
Beowulf line 1928
Virtue by George Herbert
Hamlet act IV scene 5 line 40
Paradise Lost book VIII line 503
I Carry your Heart with me by E. E. Cummings
Mind by Richard Wilbur
She Walks In Beauty by Lord Byron
Proverbs 31:26
She Walks In Beauty by Lord Byron
Let me not to the marriage of true minds.by William Shakespeare
*from Proverbs 31