Eternal Verse

By John Lars Zwerenz

With Eternal Verse the poet uses words in carefully crafted poems to express and explore what it is to enter and exist in heaven. In vivid language he engages the reader in descriptions of what was always considered by most western theologians to be ineffable. In this depiction of paradise the author presents a unique and personal point of view, yet he remains faithful to the Catholic Churchs teachings on heaven in its Magisterium. This astounding volume of verse is a
voyage through the fantastic realm of our eternal end.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Mar 28, 2013
• ISBN: 9781483616674

John Lars Zwerenz

John Lars Zwerenz (1969- ) is an American journalist, poet and musician known for his romantic, impressionistic and mystical works. He owns a Bachelor's Degree in English from Queens College at The City University of New York, but at the age of 24 he left his graduate studies in order to travel and write poetry. His writings are deeply spiritual in subject matter and tone. Much of his verse employs transcendental language and is rich in meaning and musicality. Eternal Verse,(2013) widely lauded as a poetic masterpiece takes the reader on an astounding journey through the beautific realms of paradise. It has just been published by Xlibris of Simon And Schuster fame, and comprises his sixth collection of poetry. His latest volume of verse, A Lady Fair And Other Poems,(2013) published on the heels of Eternal Verse, is a book of rhyming stanzas of varied lengths and themes, all composed with classical meter and with great attention to visionary detail. This seventh volume of rhyme has been described as the poetic diary of a sailor who travels as a troubadour through the gilded gardens of a wondrous world. Zwerenz is a mystical romantic, and his poetry has been recognized by many literary critics as the best and most original verse ever penned since the death of Robert Frost of The United States in 1963. Zwerenz is also the author of Selected Poems,(2011) a poetic memoir on travel and adventure, Mist and Flame,(2011) a book of lyrical, romantic poetry, Visionary Wanderings,(2012) an astonishing volume of mystifying verse compared to the labor and results of Rembrandt, Sonnets of Dusk and Dawn,(2012) a collection of classically styled sonnets, many of which laud the poet's romantic precursors, and An American Romance,(2012) a novella which contains in its appendix Songs of Rapture and Other Poems, an exclusively mystical collection of poetry which explores the realms of existential darkness and salvific light. Zwerenz is 44 years of age, and currently resides in The United States. ~ R. Canter

Book preview

Eternal Verse

First Edition

22756.jpg

John Lars Zwerenz

Copyright © 2013 by John Lars Zwerenz.

ISBN: Softcover 978-1-4836-1666-7

Ebook 978-1-4836-1667-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

Rev. date: 03/26/2013

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-795-4274

www.Xlibris.com

132741

CONTENTS

Preface To Eternal Verse

Of Two In Paradise

Moonlight

The Courtyard

The Garden

A Rhapsody

The Sea Below The Forest Of Pines

Let Us Rove

In The Evening

On Entering Heaven

Snow

The Rain

I Hold You On A Bed Of Gold

After Our Walk Amid The Reeds

By The Lake

The Gilded Ball

I Met You In A Dream

In My Father’s House There Are Many Mansions.—John 14:2 My Mansion By The Sea

Mary

The Castle

The Cloister

Paradise

The Way To Heaven

In The Hush Of The Morning

My Fair Love

The Chaste Wood

Her Kiss

Le Chateau

The Chateau

I Walked With Byron

I Lay Down With Christ

Une Promenade Dans La Ville

A Walk In The Town

Je Vous Ai Rencontré À Paris

I Met You In Paris

The Priest

The Flowers By The Ocean

The Colossal Wood

The Zephyrs Of The Paradisial Sea

In Love’s Eternal Realm

Mary, The Mother Of God

A Wandering

Your Face In The Garden

The Holy Trinity

The Little Flower

A Tuft Of Daisies

The Hallowed Beach

The Bower

Night In Paradise

The Study

The Balcony

The Carmine Hill

Your Eyes

A Lady Most Lovely

Serenity

Adam And Eve

A Journey

The Arbor

The Carriage

Amour

Golden Shores

Our Bastion By The Sea

Let Us Drink Our Fill

Your Name

Your Wake

Beneath The Archway

Beauty

The Song Of Your Love

God

Peace

My Lady

Canticles

Fountains

The Fruit Of Iguasu

The Rosary

Epiloque

TO THE MOST HOLY VIRGIN MARY

PREFACE TO

ETERNAL VERSE

What I have attempted to accomplish with this book on heaven is to poetically out-duel Dante’s Paradiso, his poetic treatise on paradise which makes up the third and final part of his Divine Comedy. I have always thought that his depiction of heaven, although fantastic and possessing merits which time cannot efface, was too general in description, and I tried very hard while writing this volume to be more specific and vivid descriptively than he was in this book. John Milton’s Paradise Lost in his presentation of Eden, and John Keats’ Ode To A Grecian Urn are the two other works which I attempted to surpass in their poetic descriptions of the celestial and the infinite. In my descriptions of the celestial paradise I remained faithful to the teachings of The Magisterium of The Holy Roman Catholic Church. And if one wishes to doubt this fact, lest one does not believe in eternal romances, (and I use this one topic as an example) one need only to read the works of Saint John Chrysostom, the most profound of which are included in The Catechism Of The Catholic Church. When I write in this book of marriage husband and wife I am not referring to the earthly marriage state per se, but to the heavenly fruition of it. When the Pharisees asked Christ about marriage in heaven, His response was They shall be as angels. For the things of this world shall pass away. Yet love between a man and a woman shall not pass away, neither will the love of virginity pass away. As Saint John Chrysostom suggests, young husbands should say to their wives: I have taken you in my arms, and I love you, and I prefer you to my life itself. For the present life is nothing, and my most ardent dream is to spend it with you in such a way that we may be assured of not being separated in the life reserved for us . . . . I place your love above all things, and nothing would be more bitter or painful to me than to be of a different mind than you. – The Catechism Of The Catholic Church, section 2365, page 628.

And I attest, in agreement with The Church, without the shadow of a doubt, that every tear shed here on earth is transformed into gold in that happy kingdom which shall find us all together one day, reunited with the ones who went before us. I believe in one God, One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, and in all of her teachings, including the existence of Hell, Purgatory