The Ten Beatifications of Love.
The Ten Beatifications of Love.
1) “And seeing the multitudes, he went up into a mountain.”
“We will travel to the country, you and I,
Leaving behind the morass of the city,
Leave the dead bury the dead, say I,
Take up land in the vast, open Mallee,
Mark out foundations for a home,
And there we will start a family.”
2) “And he spoke, and his words did say.”
“What dull measure is an empty life,
Devoid of any flowering children,
What be the point of working hard,
When leaving nothing but trinkets to show,
Trashy jewels can be gained by any means,
Whilst children of one’s bloodline be pure gold!”
3) “Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
“So let us travel together, you and I,
To take up land beyond the riverside,
Within the mallee bush we’ll abide,
There, with carpenter adze, pick and shovel,
Will we frame the structure of a house,
With pine and pug, a home we shall model.”
[ How many seeds are sown to the wind,
From Mallee tree and flowering vine?
As many as stars in night time skies,
Reflecting in the river billabongs stilled,
As many as dreams in my sleeping eyes..
As many as notes from a fiddle played.]
4) “Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted.”
This was the hope, ‘twas the dream,
Writ in the hand of Julius Kramm,
Writ on the pages of a personal letter,
Found by me..his last surviving son,
All the rest, including children, dead, buried,
A whole line of them in graveyard serried.
5) “Blessed are the meek; for they shall inherit the earth.”
“It won’t be a palace, not even much,
Pug, native pine with a roof of thatch,
But it will be ours and an even match,
For the grandest residence of Kings,
Even bigger, for our court, vast forest be,
Shared with but nature’s creatures, thee, and me.”
6) “Blessed are they which hunger and thirst; for they shall be filled.”
“There, under the shelter of daeh and faeh,
Will our children be birthed, raised,
Under the shelter of the mallee canopy,
We will farm the soil to provide us plenty,
Grains and greens and pumpkins many,
Though our purse be thin, our self be healthy.”
[ For my lover;
How many seeds are sown to the wind,
From Mallee tree and flowering vine?
As many as stars in night time skies,
Reflecting the produce in a garden filled,
As many as dreams in thou’s sleeping eyes..
As many as notes from a fiddle played.]
7) “Blessed are the merciful; for they shall obtain mercy.”
What more do I need tell of their story,
Enough has been writ of pioneer history,
Not for nothing is this named ”Breakheart country”,
Backs, hearts, limbs and bank accounts,
Still they persevered with their conviction,
Matched their draught-horses in strength and action.
8) “Blessed are the pure in heart; for they shall see God.”
“Hymns we will sing to the glory of ages,
Songs from our lips writ by wise sages,
That beseech God of feast and famine,
Spare these humble servants the glare of mammon,
Grant instead good health, long life,
Equal exchange for disdain of pelf?”
9) “Blessed are the peacemakers; for they shall be called the children of God.”
For myself, I witnessed first-hand the grief,
When a thirteen year old boy, I played midwife,
To my mother, of my own sister, died at birth ,
Only me and my mother in house that day,
The others in the fields stooking hay,
The sudden birth making for a desperate play.
10) “Blessed are they which are persecuted; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
No, no..I’d rather not dwell if you please,
On that day, that moment ‘twill bring me to my knees,
Such a sight, is for a young boy not ready to see,
The mad panic, the fumbling, the screaming agony,
I had not the slightest idea the weight on me,
Would bear so heavy..heavy, until eternity…..
[ So yes indeed:
How many seeds ARE sown to the wind,
From Mallee tree and flowering vine?
As many perchance, as the stars in night time skies,
Reflected in lonely billabongs stilled,
As many as tears in my recollecting eyes..
As many as pious, hymn’d words at funerals played.]
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