Beginnings
[Sorchar nan Ruel “Lightener of the Stars”
- a poetic name for Jesus Christ - Scots Gaelic]
Sorchar nan Ruel,
Once I met this man
well groomed and polite
who spoke of his life
yet touched on his past.
Points he made quickly
with a wound in his heart:
Sorchar nan Ruel
His eyes withered with sadness
gripped mine with an emphatic smile:
“I study light in the darkness
gauge a star's brightness,
watch eternity grind its teeth:
stellar explosions,
the death of stars.
the birth of starlight.
What came before is but dust to me
and poetry that tells of my ancestors past
what is that to me? They were poor,
signed their names with an X,
bathed in undignified sweat,
bitter the graveyard
their honour defamed:
Wrenched off their land,
struggled in the mines,
fodder for war.
And they named me Y.”
Sorchar nan Ruel,
hardened by his past
his heart still weeping:
“Never shall this be again,
our children shall do more than survive.
I am a son of Enlightenment
by reason alone agony defied.”
Sorchar nan Ruel,
His mind destitute to Your light,
proclaims a secular creed:
“What is there to give thanks for?
Enlightenment for sure,
the concept ‘truth’ is absurd,
creates tyrany abroad.
My faith, modern logic,
the goddess of reason,
an advancing evolution
- humans reformed.”
Sorchar nan Ruel,
seasons passed
yet we met once more.
One thing stands out -
Your light had ignited
his spiritual womb:
“Vigorous my wonderment
at the death of black holes,
bewilderment startles me
in the birth of a star.”
He said,"In all my life’s work
darkness never overcomes light.
Such a mystery restores
hope to my life. Now,
reason must explore
the dawn of my heart.”
© Craig A Roberts, 2023
Sorchar nan Ruel: Scots-Gaelic “Lightener of the Stars” - the poetic name of Jesus Christ.
Photo: Shutterstock
