Blend Of Fires: On Human Nature

This is a poem I wrote for one of my Master’s papers on the nature of humanity. I find that when I am writing raw poetry, I am able to say so much more with less words than when I am writing prose. In the film Contact, Jodie Foster’s character, seeing the beauties of the cosmic wonderland she touches, says “Poetry. They should have sent a poet.”

BLEND OF FIRES
On Human Nature

Blend of fires, earth and heav’n,
Beat within the mortal breast;
Transcendent love to hellish hate,
Vie in human souls on quest

Yet deep found love, and beauty’s taste,
Makes image shine though stained and quelled;
When fear and courage both require,
That finer features in us swell

And so today, this story grasped,
Means now I treat you as a flame;
That burns within the sacred breast,
Of he who gave you breath and name

If sweet redemptive voices called,
To wake your flesh from death to life;
Would you now hear celestial songs,
That lift you by their tunes so ripe?

Your nature true is divine borne,
Your eyes they glow with sparks beyond;
Yet stained and shadowed now you are,
In need of light to wave its wand

Be still and know that one who tends,
Such remedy is close and kind;
And if you turn your dimming frame,
Toward his cure yourself you’ll find

As nature starts, so it can end,
Though embattled is this coil;
For shattered images can mend,
When Love’s applied as healing oil.

Dan Wilt, May ’06

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Sheltering Mercy: Prayers Inspired by the Psalms

Sheltering Mercy, along with its companion volume, Endless Grace, helps us rediscover the rich treasures of the Psalms—through free-verse prayer renderings of their poems and hymns—as a guide to personal devotion and meditation.

The church has always used the Psalms as part of its prayer life, and they have inspired countless other prayers. This book contains 75 prayers drawn from Psalms 1-75, providing lyrical sketches of what authors Ryan Smith and Dan Wilt have seen, heard, and felt while sojourning in the Psalms. Each prayer is a response to the Psalms written in harmony with Scripture. These prayers help us quiet our hearts before God and welcome us into a safe place amid the storms of life.

This artful, poetic, and classic devotional book features compelling custom illustrations and foil-stamped hardcover binding, offering a fresh way to reflect on and pray the Psalms.