“Poetry is truth in its Sunday clothes.” So said Abbe Joseph Roux, a French Catholic Parish Priest and literary philologist. If what he said is to be believed, then one might say that the art of poetry brings out truth unconstrained, certainly at least in grammatical terms, thereby enabling that same truth to be expressed in its most liberated form. I think that poetry can certainly assist in bringing out truth in all its forms, and it is to this end that this poem has been written. That is to say, that the truth of the gospels, varied as they are according to their respective authors standpoints, all point to the same end, that is the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus and the salvation that is available to all who believe in and accept His ministry for the whole of humankind.
My own poetical leanings, I suspect, first became evident during my primary school days. I recall the class teacher asking us to write a poem about any subject that we wanted, and I recall writing about the end of war in very general terms. It had but three verses each with four lines, each one ending with the line “The war is over.” This was in fact the poem’s title. I do recall, in all modesty, the teacher liking my work, written in my exercise book, and which of course is long since dust. These leanings remained dormant really until about six years ago, when I used to attend some quiet days at what was once Burrswood Christian Hospital in Groombridge, Kent, when I was a day visitor and Fellowship Member, having received much in the way of healing both there and also at the Beauty From Ashes ministry in Hadlow, Tonbridge. During this fruitful time, both in terms of healing and poetry, I sensed within me the need and desire to write something of a very substantial magnitude. I had long been a fan of Iambic Pentameter blank verse, certainly in the works of Christopher Marlowe and William Shakespeare for instance, and had heard about the poem “Paradise Lost” by the puritan John Milton at an early age, although I had never attempted to read it! Call me old fashioned, but I have always been a great believer in poetry having a proper meter which, in my view, will allow the poem to flow properly. The complexity of “Paradise Lost” may well have put me off at that time in my childhood! It was to my great surprise that, when I picked up a copy of Milton’s work several months ago now, it was written in the same meter as that of Marlowe and Shakespeare. Milton had brilliantly, and with considerable imagination, covered the biblical texts concerning the fall of humankind in the first Adam, but also the defeat of Satan in the wilderness by Jesus, the second Adam in “Paradise Regained”. His use of invented scenarios and conversation greatly appealed to me. As Cardinal John Henry Newman wrote in his hymn ”Praise to the holiest in the height”: “A second Adam to the fight and to the rescue came.” Despite their being poles apart spiritually, both Milton and Newman pointed to these two crucial facets of salvation history. I decided to read “Paradise Lost” in its entirety, without going into any great depth as far as the classical references were concerned, in order to seek inspiration for the work that I was about to embark upon. Despite not being trained in the classics as Milton was, nevertheless at certain points I found the inspiration that I needed, duly jotting down my thoughts as I continued to read. At that point, poetic work on “Triduum” began.
My offering has been written with a specific aim in mind: to bring the message of the gospels unfettered by any constraints to you, the reader. Not only that however, but also to try and portray the mental suffering endured by the Lamb of God, whom Jesus is referred to consistently throughout the work. This poem is therefore, quite unashamedly, a ‘missionary’ effort in every respect. I have, wherever possible, tried to merge the gospel texts to try and make it read as one continuous whole, and have amplified the speech text in particular, where possible, to make it more conversational, but taking care to keep the actual meaning intact. This was particularly challenging as far as John’s Gospel was concerned, some of the spoken text having to be omitted as this would have resulted in a lack of consistency. We may never know the sum total of all that was said by Jesus to his disciples, his mother and everyone else with whom He came into contact, so as John Milton used the full scope of his imagination in both “Paradise Lost” and “Paradise Regained”, so in my own “Triduum” I have endeavoured to open up and extend dialogue to make conversation more engaging. My own setting of scenes is evident, to aid the poetical storyline and to give you, the reader, a mental picture in which you can try to live out the story in your imagination as it unfolds in your mind. This has been a real journey for me personally; there have been tears and joy, times to think and reflect, times to stop and pray, as well as finding myself being mentally alongside certain characters in their respective journeys. As you read the poem, let your mind be transported into the entire setting, focussing entirely on that as it unfolds before you, giving thanks to Yahweh God for all that He has done for each one of us through Jesus. Much has been said and doubtless will continue to be said about the truly horrid and excruciating physical suffering that He underwent, but little, I would suggest, about the mental picture. This is why the serpent, Satan, appears frequently throughout the text, especially in the section entitled “Black”, in Part One. He is the tormentor of human souls, the one who whispers lies to human hearts, especially when they are at their weakest and most vulnerable. This only shows the cowardly nature of the serpent, whose days are numbered and whose end, according to Revelation, will be endless torment throughout eternity. Both now and at the climax of human history, truth will hold sway over lies. Death will be swallowed up in victory and life eternal, upon the shores of Paradise, will be the reward of all those who have chosen salvation through faith in Jesus.
In conclusion, may I express my deepest gratitude to members of the Third Order of the Society of St. Francis, whose gentle encouragement has meant so much to me. In particular to my fellow members of Provincial Chapter TSSF past and present. To Revd. Richard Bellinger TSSF and to Revd. Charles Hadley TSSF, my spiritual director, for their influence and encouragement. Above all, let us give unending praise and thanks to the Triune Deity, certainly in Newman’s hymn referred to earlier and from the depths of our hearts, for the gift of eternal life through faith in Him who died and was resurrected to set us free from sin and its consequences. Praise Him and magnify Him forever.
Pax et Bonum,
Peter Thompson TSSF
Dominus-Iesus-est 