My first try writing Eliotian relatively-structured free verse poetry. T. S. Eliot owns his own highly-structured free verse poetry, I just read it, like it, and occasionally write poetry similar (?) to it.


The River

by Sophia the Scribe


To the River to pray
I went down to the River to pray
I was sent down to the River to pray
And to be healed

With wandering heart and mind and wondering thought
And foreign hands and offered gifts unsought
To Jordan's banks
Come down and taste the nations' healing draught
In word of promise

A word to witness worth in sacrifice
A herald's price
A martyr by mouth and body, faith fulfilled
Behold! sight, hearing, strength, riches in gospel
Riches in water and in fire and spirit
And in blood freely spilled
For men

I pass unharmed through the tempest
Windows opened and fountains broken
Through water to salvation
On the vessel of my salvation
My mother, my ferry
To carry
Me safely through death
The valley of the shadow of death
For I have died
In Him
And been buried
With Him
And death has no more power over my soul

On Jordan's banks the curious crowds
The marvelous mystery
And righteousness completed
For now
Not yet

Where is thy victory, o grave


One of my last assignments of high school! I have one more final and then I'll be Officially Done! Next year I don't think I'll be assigned any poetry (neither engineering nor violin really call for it...), so you (fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your opinion) won't be getting the same kind of random smattering of stuff that barely qualifies as fanfiction. I'll certainly miss having classes that let me turn in poetry...

Anyway, what did you think of this one? I've never tried free verse before...it was really an experiment...but my teacher liked it, so yay? But I'd love to have your opinion, too ;). Oh, and the assignment was to write "your own free verse poem, adopting an Eliotian perspective" with "some structure" about a "spiritual experience," so if you don't know what the poem was talking about...that might help? ;)