Glimpse of the Divine: Lyrical Meditations for the Contemporary Christian

By Isaac Tang

Glimpse of the Divine aims to restore Christian poetry as a powerful and vibrant voice for change in our modern, rapidly developing world. Preferring traditional metered forms over free verse, this poetry collection draws deeply from the well of Christian literary tradition, especially the writings of Herbert, Rossetti, and Manley-Hopkins. Written by a Christian doctor who is familiar with the cultures of East and West, and both theology and science, the poems offer fresh and unique perspectives into multiple subjects. These range from the deeply personal struggles with life and its imperfections, to satirical and philosophical reflections on contemporary global issues including human warfare, impacts of colonization, and climate change. Although these writings, through diverse allegories, metaphors, and poetic forms, explore the breadth of human experience, they are ultimately grounded in the Scriptures and a strong faith in God, never ceasing to praise the "Father of all things true and beautiful."

• Language: English
• Publisher: Resource Publications
• Release date: Sep 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9781666788136

Isaac Tang

Isaac Tang is a junior doctor that works in the public health system of Victoria, Australia. However, he is always seeking opportunities to experiment new ways to artistically express his Christian faith and interactions with the complex world in which we live in, whether this be through literature or music..

Book preview

Part I

The Poet

Entrances

Before my soul had known of God,

His heart had made a room for me,

And thus He travelled far abroad

To hand to me Salvation’s key.

God’s heart contains a vastness none can know,

But vast enough for Love and Grace to flow

In rushing torrents onto man;

Man still despise to learn of their Creator,

Rather desiring to dwell in their crater

That goes against His plan.

Lord, I have heard your invitation;

There’s no escape from such a cry.

Although men boast of much sensation,

Yet to your heart I needs must fly.

None could persuade me of another rest,

God’s gentle light within my soul is best,

Pointing towards the heavenly shores.

Since you have made a space within your heart,

For me, cause the dividing seas to part;

Come make my heart now yours.

I run across the dancing ocean,

The sun dispersing misty air:

My happiness and leaping motion

Greeted by my dear Savior there.

God is my Inspiration

My mind sees wonders, and my heart

Shivers with joy and restlessness—

To weave soft shadows of pure Art,

And trap a touch of Consciousness:

I pin, on mulberry sheets, the wreath

Wafting down from the autumn moon;

I roam, with tingling ears, beneath

Stone archways of scholastic tune.

I dip my hands within blue crests

That ripple through the vast, deep lake;

I gather dew from high cloud-nests

That round the pine-tops flow and flake.

I shelve these treasures in my book,

And bind them in rich, glossy ink—

But who shall give my work a look?

My poetry would not earn one blink.

For Mars’ red dust is here not praised,

Its muscled warriors or wild tension,

And Venus’ yellow smoke, so crazed

By others, gains no worthy mention.

Rather, I trace things men would call

Dull, old, and strange: a moral law,

Scriptural fragments, mankind’s fall,

Redemption’s hill, our winter’s thaw.

But sometimes, from deep depths within,

A spirit of pride, whose ancient charm

Spawned forth our mess of grief and sin,

Lurks, searching for new ways to harm.

Its trickling words and gushing reason

Question why I choose cloistered chants

O’er boundless secular themes in season,

Forfeiting all the wealth Fame grants.

Yet when, swayed by its sinuous speech,

My works no pious thought apply,

They wane and pale, drained by a leech

Unseen, and droop down dead and dry.

For when I fly to lands of wonder,

To deep green mountain forests where

Pink-white flower clusters burst asunder

On cliffs of