The Old Church Ruins

A metaphorical look into the degradation Christ's church has suffered under the insolence of man.

See you the church upon the hill,

The faded light now shadows still,

A memory of men devout,

None yet remains within or out.

 

A thousand years of thirsting greed,

Burdened the souls of those in need,

The Face of Sin so dominant,

No prayers uttered that could prevent,

 

The Spirit left to live alone,

A lonely God upon His throne,

"Could man be spared?" His only thought,

They that his two bare hands had wrought.

 

A dismal dank environment,

To purge this place, a spirit sent,

We all will kneel as we're destroyed,

For sacred things were vainly toyed.

 

All hope is crushed, the day draws nigh,

A trumpet call, a desperate cry,

A brick by brick the world's undone,

All else will fall before the Son.

 

The ruined church gave us a sign,

A destiny always divine,

From gilded age to worthless rocks,

The bell rung on the mouth that mocks.

 

Destroyed ourselves with idle faith,

Our doubt creates a wicked wraith,

No lives left are there worth saving,

For fruitless hope, we're all slaving.

 

Author's Note

I hope no one finds this offensive. I just think we're not worth it. =)

Reviews

[Bethany Woody]

I'm not an overly religious person. I believe all religions are the same, one person's interpretation of events or words, who is charismatic enough to induce people to follow his interpretation. If you spent time looking at the major religions of the world, and even some "pagan" ones you would see tons of similarities between them all.
Okay, not here to debate religion. :)
This is a litle dry in it's imagry, but it works for the content. Your whole point is that church/religion has become dry, used up. It's not about the miracles anymore, it's about the money and the number of followers. This mentality is destroying religion and we see that in the correlation of the destroyed church building.
I absolutely loved the line: The bell rung on the mouth that mocks.
It's a little reminder that judgment day is coming and you better watch out
One thing of interest to note, in the last stanza you mention idle faith, as in a passive church goer or casual believer, I think idol faith would work also, as in false faith, believing in the wrong things(sex as god or drugs/alcohol).
Overall it's a good piece, makes a reader sit back and reflect on life a little.

[Jūdan FyreHeart]

I should say I'm not christian.
However, you portray your story and images very nicely here. The descriptions are done very well, bringing about the feelings and understanding of your message. I like the language, it adds to the religious feel and tone. The final stanza wraps it all up and brings it home.

[Goodbye]

Very, very powerful in its mourning for the ideals that once were. Although I'm not Christian, I do feel you in this poem.

All we can do is cultivate our faith and live it as best we can in the world we have right now, to be the loving spirits God intends us to be...

[Miss Coral]

Powerful piece- I think that perhaps you could make some of the imagery a bit more grabbing for the reader, introduce images that are really thought-provoking, but as it is, this is a well done piece.

-Coral-

[Christy Sargent]

You know, I still have faith in God. It is the church that has let me down. Once, I jumped out of an airplane for fun. Actually, they had to push me out at the last moment...kicking and screaming. At the moment of free-fall...I knew for sure that I believe in God. It was when the Methodist minister (who led the church chior in a procession down the isle on Sunday mornings)), in my college town, invited me to smoke a cigarette in his church office and, "have a drink sometime," and who wouldn't quit calling my apartment and who actually showed up at my front door...that I knew for sure that the church had let me down. I cannot give up on God.I am disappointed and disillusioned with church. Thank you for this very thought-provoking poem which draws this conflict out into the open for many of us. I look forward to reading much more of your work. C,

[Bubo]

We are worth it.........I understand how you feel, and mostly the church has gone somewhere else, power, greed, whatever, but we are in our hearts some one who believes, and no God expects we need to worship in front of a man of cloth, thats how I feel..........very powerful writing, intelligent, loss of faith for me has been in man, not God.

[EmpressPoetess]

I totally understand your feelings here. I have found that the church has the wrong concept of Worship, but the Bible clarifies it very well, and there we find a Creator with so much love for us that he sent His only begotten son to save us, if only we search for him, in the bible, not the church. I hope you keep seeking and find him, because the peace that you get cannot be measured!!

[Jasmine]

I agree with Kristen - this is a fascinating and well-written poem, but the last line could pack more of a punch. As an agnostic, I spend time trying to think about the value of religion.
Great write

[Tony]

This is a pretty profound piece of work.
Having spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to unravel the 'religion' question,
I can honestly say, this poem seems pretty True.
This is a good time to say something I like to say:
According to the bible, Satan is a fallen angel who can't go back.
He hates humans because him and his cronies fucked up our genetics and brought us craft, and now he has to pay the 'ultimate' price for it.
He is really really pissed.
If I were him, and I had all those centuries of time, and all those crafts and magic, I would get those humans.
I would screw them with History.
I am curious where the author stands.
This doesn't seem like the kind of work that would come from a soldier.
Unless he didn't like being a soldier.
Good work, GTVile.

[Clarisse Nanoit]

I love this very much. It accurately depicts the world--how it has been, is, and will be. Great rhythm and rhyme. My one critique: I'm not a fan of the last line. I think it could be more powerful and fit your rhythm better. But overall, a great poem! You're talented.
KH