Poem August 29, 2005 Issue

Remembrance in Rock

Colleen Douglass

The Christian Science Monitor

America's canyons, Hawaii's lava beds, Lascaux's caves—
primitive man entrusts souvenirs of ancient past
to interpretation by future generations.
Petroglyphs and pictographs of bison, bears, and birds
texture imagination about lives
lived, while handholds and footholds evidence paths trodden,
and mortar minus pestle savors hints of grains
ground to flour then broken as bread.

How to interpret material memorials?
Are venerable vignettes man's solitary legacy?

We know little of hoary humans from impressions on rock faces,
portraits of pagan practices and brave battles,
of hunting and gathering—nothing of man's true heritage.
Spiritual understanding, not empirical observation, unveils
a birthright of life and intelligence in Spirit, not matter.
Which signs bespeak the true story?
Those etched on lava beds, caverns, and canyon walls?
Or those that rise above dust to reveal imperishable glory?

Timeless Master from antiquity left few material symbols,
instead, engraved eternal hope in childlike hearts.

Truth uttered: mountains moved, dead raised, lepers cleansed,
demons purged, loaves multiplied, storms stilled.
Love lived in Christ's way lingers on eternally
inspiring men to craft character after the great Exemplar.
Brightens salvation's path. Brings regeneration.
Ageless legacy sheds light on dark corners of all earth's ills
illuminating man's divine nature—
God's image and likeness.

—Colleen Douglass
Reprinted from The Christian Science Monitor

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