Mt. of Olives

A parable of life

"Christ on the Mt. of Olives", abt. 1604, by Caravaggio (1571-1610)

 

Mt. of Olives

Here, sit I, on the Mount of Corruption¹,

Waiting my time…the flesh is weak²

And whomsoever I shall kiss, saith death,

Hold him fast³, for he has sold his soul―

For silver!⁴

 

…Will you not stay awake with me one hour?⁵

I long for company and succor for my misery.

For I am the seed of the Sower⁶

Cast on infertile ground,

Destined not for immortality.

 

In this garden I sweat great drops of blood⁷.

Sit ye here, while I shall pray⁸,

And suffuse myself with the greatest commandment:

Love…with all thy heart, and with all thy soul⁹,

For there is naught else of value in this world.

 

In quiet tears, I have passed my life in doubt,

For all these things are done in parables¹⁰

To confuse my mind!

But I do know this: When ye stand praying,

forgive if ye have aught against any!¹¹

 

And in the darkness gather thy strength,

For in this Garden of Gethsemane,

When great Caesar comes to collect his due,

All is silence…and last breath,

 

For then It is finished.¹²

 

 

 

 

©2008, Richard Puetter

All rights reserved

 

 

 

Notes:

 

Most of the references for this poem are drawn from the passion of Christ--see below. Quotes from the bible, both in the poem and the notes, are given in italic.

 

^[1]The Mt. of Olives, also known as Mt. Olivet, was known in the time of King Josiah as the Mount of Corruption (Kings II 23:13).

 

^[2]This is from Jesus’ often quoted remark to Peter upon finding his apostles asleep in the Garden of Gethsemane: “…for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” This passage is returned to at the beginning of the second stanza.

 

^[3]This is from Judas’ statements to the Roman soldiers before he identifies and betrays Christ: “Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is He; hold Him fast.” (Matthew 26:48)

 

^[4]An obvious reference to Judas who betrayed Christ for 30 pieces of silver.

 

^[5]This returns to Jesus’ admonition to Peter when the apostles were asleep in Gethsemane: “What, would none of you stay awake with me one hour? Stay awake, and pray that you may be spared the test, for the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.” See note [2]. (Matthew 26:40-41)

 

^[6]A reference to the “Parable of the Sower” who dropped seed on the path, on rocky ground, and among thorns, and the seed was lost; but when seed fell on good earth, it grew, yielding thirty, sixty, and a hundredfold. (Mark 4:1-20, Matthew 13:1-23, and Luke 8:1-15)

 

^[7]A passage from Luke regarding Jesus seeing an angel in Gethsemane and his praying becoming more earnest: “And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:44)

 

^[8]From Jesus’ first request to his disciples upon entering Gethsemane: “And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray.” (Mark 14:32)

 

^[9]This is abstracted from “The Greatest Commandment”. “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength; this is the first commandment.” (Mark 12:30)

 

^[10]Again taken from the “Parable of the Sower”--see note [6]. “…all these things are done in parables: That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should be forgiven them.”

 

^[11]This is from the “Prayer of Forgiveness”. “And when ye stand praying, forgive if ye have aught against any, that your Father also who is in Heaven may forgive you your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25)

 

^[12]The last words of Christ. (John 9:30)

Reviews

[Sheila Kline]

Dear Rick,
This is a most fascinating piece speaking of the various aspects of the life of Christ classified as a parable of life. This is what I noted first:

You have taken the life of One who is regarded as the son of God, and likened his time and experiences to that of a "life"...could be pertaining to any of us in that regard.

I have just read through all of the previous reviews, and your comments to Satine and C.T. Bailey, which I have found to be most interesting. I agreee in that I do not see a correlation to your life, but that of "life in general" as to how profound Christ has been in touching the lives of millions since his birth and death.
We all have a Mount of Corruption, a betrayer at some point who would sell us out for 30 pieces of silver.

I am especially impressed and touched by the lines.....
"In quiet tears I have passed my life in doubt
for all these things are done in parables to confuse my mind.......

You are executed the meaning and importance of the events of religious and historical importance in a most memorable way, and I commend you for the finished creation!

And, I must mention how fitting and beautiful is the image you have chosen. I think the starkness of the black and white painting with subtle highlights sets the tone for the write.

Also, footnotes would not be needed for me, but many are not aware of the meanings of phrases you have quoted, or used, so in that regard, I think of them as most appropriate.

As always....an admirable write!


Best Regards,
Sheila

[Rick Puetter]

Dear Readers and Reviewers,

This note is inspired by the perceptive review of Todd Bailey.

Use of the other name of the "Mt. of Olives", i.e., "Mt. of Corruption", in the opening of the poem is indeed a hint that this poem can be seen as a parable of Man's life. Now I had no specific aspects of my life in mind when I wrote this. It was more of a grander view of Man and his fate of death, and what Man could possibly put in place to give value. So in my deliberate expanding of the "Greatest Commendment" to include love for everything, I try to offer advice to the reader, as "love" is one of the only things that we poor humans can hold onto.

The "Prayer for Forgiveness" is also "edited for content" and made less specific. So now the message is just to forgive. This is in keeping with the advice to love, and is, in my view, a requirement for a truly satisfying life.

The reference to the "Parable of the Sower" illustrates how Man feels at times with all of his strifes in life. He may try hard, but perhaps he is simply sown on poor earth. And beyond that, I suggest, here, that all of existence is perhaps barren soil for Man's enterprises. Nothing ultimately grows, and hence the admonition to "love".

Regarding "All these things are done in parables / To confuse my mind!", this refers to all of life. Life is confusing. We battle for understanding. I think the ultimate message is that the universe simply doesn't care if we understand. And more, we see the world through parables, i.e., we see what goes around about us, but is this relevant to each of us, individually? Do we truly understand?

Todd Bailey's review of stanza five is perfect, and captures my meaning quite exactly. In the end, nothing matters. Man's fate is final and it comes when it comes, and then it's over no matter whether you're ready to put down your life or not.

Kindest regards,

Rick

[C.T. Bailey]

Good Morning Rick,
I go two ways with this and I'm not sure of the one or the other. On the one hand, as I read the excerpts, I can in fact see the Christ and various events from his life. The first line of the poem, however, offers me a possible detour to read this in another light, especially given that your poetic metaphor of "The Mount of Corruption" is parallel the Mount of Olives and this was a segment of his life that was entirely removed from most of the rest of your biblical references which point to the Garden of Gethsemane and the night of his betrayal.

So the detour for me could be that this whole poem presents itself a metaphor for your life and your struggles with research and truth finding. Perhaps even the quest for funding your projects plays into this with references in the first stanza to Judas and silver and again in the last stanza with Cesar collecting his due.

The other misplaced parable, which is of the seed and the sower, for me tends to lend itself to the possibilty that you feel that your efforts sometimes may seem futile to you, that your audience on occasion will turn a deaf ear.

Stanza three, my favorite in either interpretation of this poem, pulls this work together for me when I consider this as a cryptique of your life. I see your many hours in laboring over vast calculations and even more so the time spent in celestial debate with naysayers, seeking to convince them of your passion.

Stanza four has me seeing you sometimes reconsidering a course taken, possibly after explaining your point in parable (story form) to the layperson. This itself bringing a welling up of ire towards ignorance.

Stanza five is perfect closure for this portrayal that I describe. For it is a realization that efforts, knowledge and ignorance matter not, for in the end Death comes calling and your work is finished...complete or not.

That is the beauty of poetry...it is subject to the reader for his own interpretation. I'm sure this is not what you intended, however, it is one way that I read this piece. I enjoyed the poem, sometimes, I found the scriptural references misrepresented from their original meaning...but their usage in your work added strength to the poem.

Well done Rick...

Todd

[Legion]

Good poem. You know your Bible. I have often wondered about certain parts (and some you have used here). For instance:
[4]An obvious reference to Judas who betrayed Christ for 40 pieces of silver. - Did he actually betray him willingly or was it divine intervention to carry out God's plan? If that is so, then one could consider Judas had been framed.
[8]From Jesus' first request to his disciples upon entering Gethsemane: "And they came to a place which was named Gethsemane: and he saith to his disciples, Sit ye here, while I shall pray." (Mark 14:32) - why does Jesus pray if He is part of the Trinity? Why would divinity pray to itself or was He simply human that people thought was the Messiah? Of course that depends on what you believe I suppose.
No need for rebuttal. Just some thoughts.
Anyway, I like what you have done here. Good write.