Symphony of the Heart

By Peter Donaldson

In this poetic analysis of the human response throughout the journey of life, Peter Donaldson unveils his examination of human behavior in various circumstances and in response to a variety of topics, including love, faith, politics, relationships, and black history. He offers this literary exposition of the nature of the human heart and the intriguing emotional reactions we express towards the obstacles, successes, and failures of life, hoping to leave readers refreshed by a complete showering of poetic utopia.

Although largely influenced by a Christian perspective, the philosophical ideologies presented here aim to stimulate deep thoughts in the minds of both the believer and agnostic alike. Symphony of the Heart presents an expression of lyrical artistry that surveys a journey into the uncharted waters of faith and unbridled emotions. In the dialect of poetic lingo, Donaldson intends to spur discussions concerning the controversial issues of life with language creatively written in such an untailored fashion as to create a sentiment of tranquil literary bliss.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Feb 21, 2011
• ISBN: 9781450276627

Peter Donaldson

Peter E. Donaldson currently resides in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

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Copyright © 2010, 2012 by Peter Donaldson

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

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ISBN: 978-1-4502-7661-0 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4502-7666-5 (dj)

ISBN: 978-1-4502-7662-7 (ebk)

iUniverse rev. date: 6/1/2011

Contents

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

CHAPTER 1

THE INNER PERSON

Now I Know

Solitude

I Cried

Transition

Emissary

Greatness

CHAPTER 2

THE LANGUAGE OF LOVE

Amore

Love Is

Reciprocity

Walk Of Serenity

It’s Not You, It’s Him

The Search Party

Optasia

My Queen

Her King

Virtue Defined

Loving Patiently

Cardiac Arrest

Things I Learned While Falling

Ignesco

Adam’s Rib

Chapter 3

FAMILY FUNCTION

Single Mama

Tales From The Crib

Broken Pieces

Letter To Daddy

I Spell Mother This Way

Cradle 2 The Grave

Chapter 4

SAVING GRACE

Nemesis

Freedom Cry

Conversations

Best Friend

He Saved Me

Treasure Chest

Good Shepherd

In The Name Of Religion

Chapter 5

COPULATION

That Thing

Kryptonite

Jezebel

Prison Break

Eros

Chapter 6

FRATERNITY

Boys To Men

The Game

The Bachelor

The Godly Man

Chapter 7

DIASPORA

Majesty

False Identity

Enemy

Black Man, Take A Stand

Nubian Tribute

Good Hair

Jamaica-Land We Love

Sound The Alarm

Resurrection

The Vindication Of Liberation

CHAPTER 8

THE ISSUES OF LIFE

The Balance of Life

Buried Treasure

Playground

Uninvited Guest

Ball ‘Till I Fall

Illuminated

Last Days

Goodness

Motives

Chapter 9

SOLDIER OF PROVIDENCE

Manifesting Purpose

Chronos

The Fight

Shadow

Sunrise

Promise Land

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Firstly, I give honour to the intelligent designer and orchestrator of my life, who I prefer to call God. I transfer all glory to my Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ, as I endeavour to continually abide under the shadow of his wings. Lord without you, I am nothing and because of you I am able to accept the reality of the limitless potential that you have deposited within me. My prayer is that you continue to fuel the passion for the manifestation of destiny in my life and that you continue to grant me wisdom so that I may be able to wisely select the council of only those who hear your voice.

Secondly, I am grateful for a loving and unique family. Where would I be without you? I am thankful for supportive parents who have endured the adversities of life and have kept on pushing. I am thankful for a caring mother who has shared the weight of my sorrows over the years. I love you mother and you are blessed with a heart of compassion. I am thankful for a hardworking father who has laboured vigorously throughout life to accomplish his goals and has demonstrated through example that I can achieve anything if I simply work hard enough for it. I love you. Although life has thrown you some heavy blows, just continue to rise above the dust, God will be your deliverer and if you let him, he’ll lift you up each time that you fall.

Of course the word family extends beyond just my parents and grandmother who I love dearly; I am also grateful for my extended family and I thank you all for your love and support. In particularly, I’m grateful to my cousin Julia who has always believed in me; I love you Julia, thank you. I also extend special thanks to another wonderful cousin of mine, Kaydia; who although has resided far away geographically, you have been near and dear to my heart over the years and have constantly lifted me up in moments of need during those heartening correspondence. Thank God for the capability of technology in this new world that we live in, which allows us to still be able to connect. Thank you Kaydia, I love you so very much.

Now to my adopted family who others may call friends, I am grateful to you for keeping me focused on a goal that has been in my mind for a few years. To Stephanie Duff, I say thank you for your sincere support. You have a pure heart that has been displayed in a transparent manner throughout the few short years that I’ve known you. We hardly ever see each other, but you have sat and listened to the majority of my poems when I’ve called on you to be the voice of critique. Each and every one of those moments has been greatly appreciated. Thank you for your words of encouragement.

To Revlon Stoddart and Michelle Esdaille, I thank you for your assistance in editing this book and also for your other acts of assistance within this process. Revlon, your candidness and integrity has been refreshing, which is why your constructive critiques were always well received. Michelle, you have been such a positive inspiration to me, I am grateful to have met you. Thank you both.

To Elizabeth Gibson: This may come as a surprise to you, but not because it is undeserving, because you are indeed a priceless friend; but it will be a surprise to you simply because you do selfless acts without the expectation of gratitude or accolade and that’s why I love you. Liz, you are a special friend. Your unwillingness to give up on me when almost all others seemed to have done so will be remembered for the rest of my life. You helped to rescue me during a season when I was drowning in a sea of sorrow and had almost completely lost all desire to even reach for a life saver. You dived right in and through the leading of God’s Spirit you helped to pull me right out of the sorrows of depression and defeat. I love you Liz, don’t ever change.

To all other friends and loved ones, I thank you all for your support.

Last, but not least, to you dear reader: Thank you for allowing these few words from my heart to be received on the canvas of your mind. My prayer is that Symphony Of The Heart will be received as more than just another poetry book, but that it will impact your life in a magnificent way, as you move throughout the pages and find a sense of illumination amidst these words of life. Please receive not only my gratitude but also the blessing of The Everlasting Father and may His peace continually surround you. Be blessed.

CHAPTER 1

THE INNER PERSON

Now I Know

I never knew silence until I heard the noise of confusion.

I never knew joy until I felt the gruesome pangs of pain.

I never knew faithfulness until I felt the betrayal of separation.

I never knew the bliss of peace until I felt like life’s trials were driving me insane.

I never knew true love until I was introduced to the passion of hatred. I never knew grace until I found out I was a sinner and needed to be exonerated. I use to think I was insignificant, thought my life was being wasted, but I didn’t know that I could be great if only on my purpose I really concentrated.

I never felt alive until the paroxysms of death came knocking at my door. I never believed in destiny until my past I began to ignore. I never knew that within my purpose I could launch out and accomplish so much more, until I began to look around and realized I had only been drifting along the shore. I had been drifting along the shore, only getting my feet wet…standing in the outer-court of promise because my purpose wasn’t actualized yet.

But now, now I know I can do all things through Christ and now I know I can succeed; but with the manifestation of destiny there comes a price. But regardless of the obstacles, we must proceed.

Now I know that in the confusion of my trials the Lord speaks to me and says: Be still.It’s in that confusion that I found silence in the peace that he alone instils. Now I know that during life’s battles when I sometimes endure some pain, it’s at the end of each battle that my confidence will remain. Unspeakable joy will be mine to share because he’ll never put more on me than I can bear.

Now I know that in the solitude of desertion I can find a faithful friend; one that will stick with me through the storms, the rain, the sickness, and the pain. It is this friend that I can trust to never betray me, on this friend I can depend.

Some friends will come and some friends will go, but this friend will be there until the end.

Now I know that there isn’t really a thin line between love and hate. They are two extremes that are miles apart. It’s the love of God that causes me to be patient with those I would otherwise not relate. Now deep within me a warm pulse exists inside a previously callous heart.

Now I know what it means to be forgiven because I’ve lived a life of sin. Now the essence of grace is no longer hidden as I’ve now become humbled within. Now I know exactly how to forgive because the debt of my own faults has been indemnified. In those sins I can no longer abide because the love of Christ has taught me how to live and it causes me to relinquish my pride.

Now I know the real value of life; I assessed that value during a pestilent night and for the breath of life I began to fight. As I gasped for air on the way to a hospital bed, thoughts of eternity were in my head. I could then remember the words that the preacher said. I wondered: What if this was it and life would end right here? Would a life of bliss in heaven with my fellow Christians I would share? Or was an eternity in hell now drawing near? So I shed a few drops of tears: One drop for the pain, one for the uncertainty and one drop for the frustration I felt inside of me. I was just too young to face eternity. Why did I have to endure this pain and why is sickness such a horrible reality?

But grace prevailed and I am standing here amongst the living. Now I know that I am alive, now that I know life is worth living. Now with purpose I don’t compromise, now that I know of the grace I’ve been given.

So the next time you sit back and begin to ponder on the negative, try instead to flip the script, count your blessings and focus on the positive. We’re all here because the God who created us blew breath into our mortal lungs. So in turn we must live a life pleasing to him; he gave us his only begotten son and from a bloody cross on Calvary for us that son hung. So let’s live our lives so that we may live again. Eternal life has been given by our faithful friend. For when he died, he paid the price for us all. When he rose, he lifted us up from the fall. The fall of sin had crippled us and separated us from his glory, but now we rejoice in the knowledge of the redemption story. So simple, yet so powerful is the good news of his shed blood. He tore the veil of partition when they nailed him with those studs.

They tore his skin with many stripes; they bore his side and pierced his brow. They spat on him and mocked him saying: If he is divine why does he allow? Save yourself! These words they cried, mocking his deity; but he took the pain and instead saved me. For in his death, burial and resurrection, I now have life eternally. Over sin and shame I now have the victory. So if you didn’t know…now you know.

Solitude

Sometimes the solitude is what I need because it’s where I breed the seed of creativity and it’s where I lock away from unproductive minds that try to lead me astray. But it’s also where I’m sometimes found in silent dismay. But this safe haven of solitude is where I sometimes go to protect others from my attitude. It’s where I can chill, relax, concentrate, and rejuvenate, instead of being rude. It’s where the burden of the test can be released and it’s where I can find peace and where I allow my anxiety to decrease. In the solitude, there seems to be a bit less stress, it’s where my sense of tranquility is at its best. It’s where I can separate from the rest and forget about all the day’s mess, in the solitude. Too many minds cluttered together create a social atmosphere that equates to bad weather; because although great minds think alike, unproductive minds cause great strife; and when the heat rises, it’s on each other that they begin to strike. To me, that sounds like such an unfulfilling and cantankerous life. Yet, so many of us continue to surround ourselves with others who we do not trust, even though we know they do not wish us the best. They wouldn’t mind if we chose to place our purpose on a shelf, as we aimlessly with them exist in a state of unrest; because misery loves company.

But in the solitude…in the solitude you can be who you want to be. You can make all your dreams a reality. You can run passionately in the direction of your destiny. But hey, I’m aware that no man is an island. Indeed, no man stands alone. But before you proceed to take refuge in a friend when you’re in need, and walk with this friend hand in hand, take heed and remember never to stray away from God’s divine plan. Because at the end of the day, we will all get our just pay and we can only reap what we have sown.

So never criticize the realm of the solitude because it’s sometimes a threshing floor for your purpose. So while you stand alone, instead of wallowing in disgust, try instead to regain your focus. There is great mystery inside of thee; you are more than what the eyes meet. The inner person that we cannot see is a treasure chest of destiny. But the treasure can sometimes only be unlocked, in the solitude, where peace, contentment and creativity, all drive on the same street; and like the instruments of a symphony, they all move to the same beat. So if you’re searching for me, in the solitude is where I’ll be, fulfilling my destiny, in the solitude.

I Cried

I sat one night contemplating my spiritual fight.

I sat contemplating the dimming of my spiritual light.

I had lost focus and strayed away from my purpose.

My trials consumed my faith like a locust.

So I became blinded by my plight.

Let me tell you, I wasn't living too right.

So in remorse I cried to my maker, the Father of Lights.

My judgment was clouded and my life was a mess.

I couldn’t figure