THESE ARE THE GIFTS I ASK (A Poem by Henry Van Dyke)

 

THESE  ARE  THE  GIFTS  I  ASK

    (A Poem by Henry Van Dyke)

 

Henry Van Dyke (1852-1933) was an American clergyman, author and diplomat.  Between 1899 and 1923 , he was, for more than two decades, a professor of English literature in Princeton University. During the years 1908-09, he served as an American lecturer at the University of Paris. It was in 1913 that his former classmate, President Woodrow Wilson, appointed him Minister to the Netherlands and Luxembourg.

 

Henry Dyke is famous for a host of readable books like: The Story of the Other Wise Man; The Mansion; The First Christmas Tree; Little Rivers: A Book of Essays in Profitable Idleness; The Poems of Henry Dyke and the builders and other poem. All these books are still available all over the world.

 

Henry Dyke is also remembered for some of his wonderful quotes:  

 

“Time  is too slow for those who wait, two swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those wo rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.”

 

“A friend is what the heart needs all the time.”

 

“Some succeed because  they are determined to succeed, but most succeed because they are determined to.“     

 

“Some people ae so afraid to die that they never begin to live.”

 

“Be glad of life because it gives you the chance to love, to work, to play, and to look        up at the stars.”

 

“Happiness is inward, and not outward, and so, it does not depend on what we have, but on what we are.”

 

             “THESE ARE THE GIFTS I ASK” is one of the best-loved poems of Henry Dyke.  It is very short, but very significant. Its text reads as follows:

 

            THESE are the gifts I ask

            Of Thee, Spirit serene:

            Strength for the daily task,

            Courage to face the road,

            Good cheer to help me bear the traveler’s load,

            And , for the hours of rest that come between,

                          An inward joy of all things heard and seen.

              These are the sins I fain

              Would have Thee take away

               Malice and cold disdain,

               Hot anger, sullen hate,

               Scorn of the lowly, envy of the great,

               And discontent that casts a shadow gray

               On all the brightness of the common day.

                                      

Anthologists  have appropriately included this poem in the ‘Faith and Immortality’ section. The poet’s prayer here is addressed  to God , Spirit serene’. He wants Him to grant some gifts. Before we proceed further, let us note that gifts are not rights. They come to us as tokens of love or boons and  benedictions which you can turn into your natural attributes, and can use them,  as in  this poem,  to get rid of such behavioural infirmities which succeed in  robbing  you of your much-needed  serenity in day-to-day affairs,

 

In the first stanza of the poem,  the poet seeks from God the qualities of an upright, strong man who can firmly discharge his daily duties, bear the burden which a traveller has  carry on his head while walking on the tedious road of life. The journey is long, but dotted   with intervals,  during which the poet wants ‘An inward joy of all things heard and seen.’

 

According to the poet, the serenity sought by him cannot be obtained , if by  the blessings of God, he does not liberate himself from the evils of malice, cold disdain, hot anger, sullen hate, scorn of the lowly , the envy of the great and the discontentment which turns a bright day into a shadowy one.     

             

            The central idea of the poem is that we inevitably need divine help both in acquiring cardinal virtues and abandoning deadly vices.      

 

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30 July 2021                                                                                    G.R.Kanwal

OPPORTUNITY

 

     OPPORTUNITY

                       A Poem by the American poet Walter Malone (1866 1915)

 

This highly significant poem with a message of endless hope in the mercy and generosity of God needs to be read by every individual, both innocent and guilty, though more by the obstinate guilty who frequently promise to lead a holy life but  go on re-living   the life of habitual viciousness. 

‘Opportunity’ is also a poem of faith in God’s boundless as also ceaseless kindness towards behaviourally irresponsible individuals. One may even go to the extent of calling  ‘‘Opportunity’’ a motivational poem that succeeds in uplifting  us  when we are  deeply  depressed and pessimistic.

 The gist of  the poem is that it is never late to mend because the hospitable doors of God ‘s house are never closed upon any one who comes with a  repentant heart.   

                                   

This is what  the poet says in the ultimate stanza of the poem :

                                   

Art thou a mourner? Rouse thee from the spell

                                    Art thou a sinner? Sins may be forgiven;

                                    Each morning gives the wings to flee from hell,

                                    Each night a star to guide thy feet to Heaven.

 

It is pertinent to ask here who in this world is not,  or has not been,  or will not be a sinner? There may be some rare exceptions, but the general fact is that:

         

To err is human; to forgive, divine.

 

The full text of the poem reads as follows:

 

They do me wrong who say I come no more

When once I knock and fail to find you in,

For every day I stand outside your door

And bid you wake, and rise to fight and win.

 

Wail not for precious chances passed away,

Weep not for golden ages on the wane!

Each night I burn the records of the day;

At sunrise every soul is born again.

 

Laugh like a boy at splendors that have sped,

To vanished joys be blind and deaf and dumb;

My judgments seal the dead past with its dead,

But never bind a moment yet to come.

 

Tho’ deep in mire, wring not your hands and weep;

I lend my arm to all who say, “I can!”

Not shamefaced outcast ever sank so deep

But yet might rise and be again a man.

 

Dost thou behold thy lost youth all aghast?

Dost reel from righteous retribution’s blow?

Then turn from blotted archives of the past

And find the future’s pages white as snow.

 

Art though a mourner? Rouse thee from thy spell;

Art thou a sinner? Sins may be forgiven;

Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell,

Each night a star to guide thy feet to Heaven.

 

            The poem is so simple and so easy with a message of regeneration, even rejuvenation, that it needs no further explanation or interpretation.  What it says to every reader is that repentance over the past misdeeds that may lead to hell is needless because the scope for undoing their hellish effect is always existent for one who really wills to have such a transformation.

                        “Each morning gives thee wings to flee from hell,

                        Each night a star to guide thy feet to Heaven.”  

  

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25 July 2021                                                                G. R. Kanwal

A CREED

 

A CREED

“A Creed” is a very short poem  written by the popular American poet Edwin Markham (1852---940). He became internationally famous as the author of another poem “The Man with the Hoe.”    

The text of A Creed reads as follows:

THERE is a destiny that makes us bothers;

None goes his way alone;

All that we send into the lives of others

Comes back into our own.

 

I care not what his temples or his creeds,

One thing holds firm and fast----

That into his fateful heap of days and deeds

The soul of man is cast.

 

            The word ‘creed ‘ is defined as a set of principles or a system of beliefs, which in the under- or un-enlightened minds takes the shape of a dogma or a rigid article of faith.  It then becomes divisive and exclusive; and tends to encourage differences rather than similarities.  This transformation , in its own, generates hazardous  separatism. Edwin Markham does not support such a narrow creed. He boldly says: “I care not what his  temples or his deeds are” because there is a destiny which makes all of us ‘brothers’. He  thus lays emphasis on the unity of mankind. According to him, though people act individually, they are not independent of each other. “None goes his way alone’ and  “All that we send into the lives of others/Comes back into our own. “ There is thus a God-ordained co-operation among the followers of  different creeds and specific places of worship.

 

            In modern parlance, let us not interpret the poem as a plea for secularism.  It  is much more than that. According to Markham : “One thing holds firm and fast---That into his  fateful heap of days and deeds/The soul of man is cast. “ The word ‘soul’ here implies the animating principle created by the Supreme God.  It is due to this very principle  that  we feel the unity of mankind and the Unity of God Himself.

 

            Before I conclude, let  us see  the following words of  Rabindranath Tagore from his book The Religion of Man (Unwin Brothers Ltd., Great Britain, 1931): “…on the surface of our being we have the ever-changing phases of the individual self, but in  the depth, there dwells the Eternal Spirit of human unity beyond our direct knowledge. It very often contradicts the trivialities of our daily life, and upsets the arrangements made for securing our personal exclusiveness behind the walls of individual habits and superfluous conventions.”   

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22 July 2021                                                                            G.R.Kanwal

 

MY COLLEGE DAYS

 

MY COLLEGE DAYS

From school to college was a big change. It was a movement from a big campus to a bigger one; from an enclosed atmosphere to an open and liberal environment, and from the status of kids to that of young adults. The behaviour code was also in tune with one’s adulthood of legitimate freedom. The school kept me under thumb and to some extent restrained my developmental instincts whereas the college encouraged them, and allowed me to unfold myself with full potential in both academic and co-academic areas.

I realised that college faculty was more humanistic and progressive. It believed in opening up the minds of the students and make them forward-looking. It was a dedicated lot itself and  loved to create the  same spirit of dedication among its students.  It felt proud of abandoning the outdated methodology and infrastructure as quickly as possible to meet the demands of the fast-changing intellectual and technological world  of today.  This was my most inspiring experience during the whole period  of my college days.    

My first interaction with the teaching faculty of my course of study was very delightful. I found that  every teacher was highly learned and efficient and  measured up to the great expectations of the students. Each one of them was well- equipped with the latest teaching skills, and apart from upgrading himself day in and day out, spared time to  monitor the progress of the students almost religiously. This created  among the students a passion for more and more learning. There were also frequent question-answer sessions where differences of views and personal originality of students was welcomed rather than discouraged.

            As for my peers, they belonged to highly cultured families, believed in exchanging and sharing notes , were both competitive and co-operative. The finest thing was that   whenever we met as  peers groups, we talked less about studies and more about the funny things of life. This helped us in forming permanent friendships which we will continue to cherish  throughout our  life.

            The college  had  a good variety of sports; sports teachers took care to keep the sports rooms full of sports items demanded by the students. Personally,  I felt that whenever I took part in my favourite game…………..my whole body got its due gratification and made me realise that a complete man does not read only books but also plays games.

            Besides sports, the college provided in many other co-curricular activities like debates, painting, dramatics, music , dance, outdoor excursions and competitive activities suggested by the teachers or groups of students.

            As regards placement, as the final year course was about to reach completion  , there various private and public organisations to select the personnel required by them. The calibre  and ranking of the college was very high, so every student was lucky enough to be picked up. I got placement in__________where I had the very first gratifying  administrative experience  due to my superiors and  the congenial working environment.

Though the distance between my residence and the first ever workplace  was very long and physically tiresome, nonetheless it was mentally and emotionally; and I will never forget because it was my maiden  professional love affair.

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THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SQUIRREL

 

THE MOUNTAIN AND THE SQUIRREL

 

The mountain and the squirrel,

Had a quarrel,

And the former called the latter “Little Prig”;

Bun replied,

“You are doubtless very big

But all sorts of things and weather

Must be taken in together,

To make up a year

And a sphere.

And I think it no disgrace

To occupy my place.

If I’m not so large as you,

You are not so small as I,

And  not half so spry.

I’ll not deny you make

A very pretty squirrel track;

Talents differ; all is well and wisely put;

If I cannot carry forests on my back,

Neither can you crack a nut.

 

COMMENTS

 

This is one of the most popular poems written by the American poet Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882). Emerson entitled it “FABLE” and so it is. It is often shared with children in their native languages all over the world. Indian poet Sir Muhammad Iqbal (1877-1938)  translated it into Urdu and included it in his very first anthology “Bang-i-Dara “(The Call of the Marching Bell), for the delightful instruction of kids. 

 

            As a literary term, ‘fable’ is derived from Latin fabula, meaning ‘discourse, story. A fable is thus a short narrative in prose or verse with a moral intent. Its characters are non-human creatures or inanimate things, as squirrel and mountain in Emerson’s poem. According to A Dictionary of Literary Terms by J. A. Cuddon, Clarion Books, 1980, the presentation of human beings as animals is the characteristic of the literary fable and is unlike the fable that still flourishes among primitive peoples.

           

             Emerson like Walt Whitman is a democratic poet.  He believes in inclusiveness. The small like the squirrel and the big like the  mountain are the essential components of the totality called the world.

 

Unity is a cumulative result of many diversities. Look at the following lines from Emerson’s concept of the ‘oversoul’ which reflects an organic synthesis of all the diverse elements that go into the making of the world.

             

            “There is one soul,

            It is related to the world.

            Art is its action thereon.

            Science finds its methods.

            Literature is its record.

            Religion is the emotion of the reverence that it inspires.

            Ethics is the finding of the soul by individuals in each other.

            Society is the finding of this soul by individuals in each other.

            Traders are the learning of the soul in nature by labour.

Politics is the activity of the soul illustrated in power.

Manners are silent and mediate expression of soul.

 

After reading these lines, recall what the squirrels said to the mountain:

           

            “You are doubtless very big;

            But all sorts of things and weather

            Must be taken together

To make up a year and sphere.

 

The squirrel proudly tells the mountain:” And I think no disgrace/To occupy my place.”

Smallness has its own beauty and value which the mountain lacks.  The mountain is a beast of burden can carry forests on its back, whereas the squirrel is an active agent. It is not still and stationary.  On the contrary, it is playful and nimble. She asserts that that the function allotted to her by the Creator is individualistic. The mountain is intended to carry forests on its back, while she is ordained to crack nuts. These roles are not interchangeable, but the neither is less important than the other.

           

            The central moral of this fable lies in these words:  Talents differ; all is well and wisely put.

 

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16^th July 2021                                                               G. R . Kanwal                     

 

THE HIDDEN LINE

 

THE HIDDEN LINE

   (The Destiny of Men)

 

 

There is a time, we know not when,

A point we know not where,

That mark the destiny of men

To glory or despair.

 

There is a line by us unseen,

That crosses every path;

The hidden boundary between

God’s patience and his wrath.

 

To pass that limit is to die,

To die as if by stealth;

It does not quench the beaming eye,

Or pale the glow of health.

 

The conscience may be still at ease,

The spirits light and gay;

That which is pleasing till may please,

And care be thrust away.

 

But on the forehead God has set

Indelible a mark,

Unseen by man, for man as yet

Is blind and in the dark.

 

And yet the doomed man’s path below

May bloom as Eden bloomed;

He did not, does not, will not know,

Or feel that he is doomed.

 

He knows, he eels that all is well,

And every fear is calmed;

He lives, he dies, he wakes in hell,

Not only doomed, but damned.

 

Oh! Where is that mysterious bourne

By which or path is crossed;

Beyond which, God himself hath sworn,

That he who goes is lost.

 

How far may we go on in sin?

How long will God forbear?

Where does hope end, and where begin

The confines of despair?

 

An answer from the skies is sent;

“Ye that from God depart,

While it called, repent,

And harden not your heart.

 

COMMENTS

 

The author of this poem, Joseph Addison Alexander, was born in the United States on 24^th April 1809 and died there on 28^th January 1860.  He got education at The College of New Jersey, became a clergy, and as an author wrote an all-time  popular book : “The Acts of the Apostles explained”, which is selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is  part of the knowledge base of civilisation.

           

The main title of the poem, The Hidden Line, arouses a curiosity  about its intended meaning,  which the sub-title The Destiny of Men resolves to a large extent.

  

In the very first stanza , the poet says: There is an unknown time, and an unknown location,  that marks the destiny of men to glory or despair.

 

Shortly thereafter in stanza five, he says the hidden line ,that is the indelible mark, has been set  by God on the forehead, unseen by man, for man as yet is blind and in the dark.

He then points towards the invisible sinful nature of man. Man commits sins,  the ugly effect of  which is not seen in his external appearance. His conscience remains at ease and he continues to feel that all is well.

This is however an illusion. In fact, he is not only doomed but is also damned ----  condemned to death.

 

Finally, the poet warns that God’s forgiveness has an invisible end point beyond which He has sworn “That he who goes is lost.”

 

In this context, let us also look at the last two stanzas:

 

            How far we go on in sin?

            How long will God forbear?

            Where does hope end, and where begin

            The confines of despair?

           

            An answer from the skies is sent;

            “Ye that from God depart,

            While it called today, repent,

            And harden not your heart.”

 

Thus, the divine remedy for a sinner is in repenting, in controlling his heart from further hardening,  and  not in ignoring the call of the skies which tell him to give up sinning.

 

As a tailpiece, here are three quotes , one each on destiny, guilt and repentance:

 

(i)                  That which God writes on thy forehead, thou wilt come to it. ---The Holy Koran

 

(ii)                Nothing comes to pass but what God appoints---Our fate is decreed, and things do not happen by chance, but every man’s portion of joy or sorrow is predetermined. --- Seneca, Roman philosopher, died C . 65-AD.

 

(iii)              When the soul has laid down its faults at the feet of God, it feels as though  it had wings. ----E. Guerin, French author (1805-1848).

 

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8^th July 2021                                                                            G.R.Kanwal

 

               

           

 

 

 

 

UP-HILL : A POEM BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI

                        UP-HILL : A POEM BY CHRISTINA ROSSETTI

                        Christina Georgina Rossetti was born on 5^th December 1830 in London.  She died an invalid maiden on 29^th December 1894. Her siblings were great poets like Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Michael Rossetti and Maria Francesca Rossetti. Her father Gabriele Rossetti was also a poet and  her mother Frances Polidori was a scholar of sorts.

                          

                        Though not unromantic, Christina was predominantly a devotional poet and believed that it is dangerous to fall a prey to earthly temptations.  This is ,indeed, the soul of her  famous poem “Goblin Market”.

                         

According to a most  acceptable judgement , Christina was a great Anglican poet who expressed simple thoughts in simple language. At the same time, she was an inspired genius, in whom an exquisite sense of art was charged by a throbbing passion. Sometimes she sings of love, sometimes of religion; but always with pathetic loveliness.  

 

What follows is the full text of “UP-HILL” with a brief interpretation:

 

“Does the road wind up-hill all the way?

                                    Yes, to the very end.

Will the day’s journey take the whole  long day?

From morn to night, my friend.

                       

                        But is there for the night a resting place?

                                    A roof for when the slow dark hours begin.

                        May not the darkness hide it from my face?

                                    You cannot miss the inn.

 

                        Shall I meet other wayfarers at night ?

                                    Those who have gone before.

                        Then must  I knock, or call when just in sight?

                        They will not keep you standing at the door.

 

                        Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?

                                    Of labour you will find the sum.

                        Will there be beds for me and all who seek?

                                    Yes, beds or all who come.”

           

Up-Hill is one of the most beautiful poems written by Christina Rossetti. Its theme has universal appeal. The poem is a dialogue between an ignorant traveller and a knowledgeable guide. The dialogue happens on a road, symbolically the road of life. The traveller is a new journeyman. Fortunately, he gets an authentic guide who answers all his vital questions. However, the road is not an ordinary road and the journey is not an ordinary journey.  It is a journey of a passionate spiritual seeker, not on a level road, but on the one which is up-hill, immensely difficult, dangerous and tiresome.  It is also quite lonely. The traveller can find company only when he reaches the top of the hill where earlier travellers are already resting in an inn.  These former travellers are not dormant, but fully awake, and immediately notice a new comer for whom they always keep the door  open.

           

The guide also tells the traveller that his tiresome journey will end in comfort, in a resting place, and in the company of those who have reached the hill before him. In other words , his spiritual labour will not go unrewarded.  However, it will  not be according to a random yardstick. Its measure will be in proportion to the spiritual effort that he has put in.

 

Look at the traveller’s question:

              

“Shall I find comfort, travel-sore and weak?”

 

And the answer:

 

“Of labour you will find the sum.”

 

Isn’t it a fair game? In the material world as also in the spiritual one, man the harvester, reaps only  what he sows and reaps only as much as he sows

 

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1^st July 2021                                                                                        G. R. Kanwal