"Paul, Called to Be an Apostle," poetry

First Edition: LukivPress (Victoria, BC), 2020.

Introduction

Probably during the last year of Paul's stay in Ephesus (1 Corinthians 16:8), he hears disturbing reports, from members of the "house of Chloe" (1 Corinthians 1:11), about dissentions between spiritual brothers and sisters in the Corinthian Congregation. Stephanas, Fortunatus, and Achaicus, visiting Paul from Corinth (1 Corinthians 16:17, 18), may have filled in details for Paul. He takes time out of his third missionary tour to write First Corinthians (about 55 CE), helping individuals serve Jehovah in peace and unity, and directing them about how to deal with unrepentant congregation members who are guilty of gross wrongdoing.

An excerpt, chapter seven

Must a man fly into heaven

Amongst eagles, that see

Shrews a mile off,

And falcons, that dive at

300 k like falling stars,

Or must he fly farther, to the

Great throne over every light

Beam that stretches our amoebic

"Home," gathering darkness

Into things grand, like

Nebulae and galaxies, or

Must he sail a ship across seas

To coastlines rocky, and loud

With spray,

To find the law of Jehovah

Clear and simple and clean?

Where is this law, firm like

A mountain and green like a

Cool valley? Here it is-

Says the man whose heart

Has been circumcised and

Whose tongue has been

Healed.

The author

Dan Lukiv is a poet, novelist, columnist, short story and article writer, and independent education researcher (hermeneutic phenomenology). His creative writing has appeared in 19 countries. Recently, he has been experimenting with temporal shifts and narrative strings in his haiku and senryu.