The Raven
Then the Lord said to Elijah…. “Drink from the brook and eat what the ravens bring you, for I have commanded them to bring you food.” (I Kings 17:4 NLT).
The Raven 1
Once upon a midnight dreary, I was hungry, tired, and weary,
Wallowing in my selfish pity there on Cherith’s barren shore;
In my stupor, nearly napping, suddenly there came a flapping,
Rapping, tapping (what was happening?)—such noisy clamor I deplore.
Tis a raven, nothing more.
“Sir,” said I, “Your presence shocks me, have you come to taunt and mock me?
Are you fowl or are you demon? Tell me, tell me I implore.
In this desert of my sorrow, will you rob me of tomorrow?
Reveal to me your dire prediction, shed some light on what’s in store,
Dirty bird 2 that I abhor.”
Then the raven, gently flitting, neared the place where I was sitting;
He did not speak but in his beak—a gift from heaven’s golden shore!
This pinioned, plumèd darksome beast had brought to me a royal feast:
Fresh bread and meat; I ate so much I couldn’t eat a morsel more.
My feathered friend whom I adore!
Ah, distinctly I remember, it was in the bleak December
As I struggled with the things in life that made me sore;
To the desert God had led me, then with Wonder Bread he fed me,
By a bird (it sounds absurd), but listen to what I underscore:
You could never ask for more!
If God is in your desert place, then trust in his unfailing grace.
Look around and you will see a bird in your proximity;
Who flaps and flutters strangely odd but bears a gift for you from God!
He glides down into your pit and helps you triumph over it.
So, if you do not understand the ways of God with mortal man,
And if at home you have a bust of Edgar Allan Poe
That sits upon your mantle place and mocks your faith with his dark face...
Well, throw his poem out the door; and kill his raven “Nevermore.”
His bird’s a liar! ...nothing more.
So, if you’d like to rise and soar and leave your pit’s dark dusty floor,
God has a raven just for you, he’ll come with grace to get you through,
And help you face the very worst, he’ll feed your soul and quench your thirst.
Listen, listen I implore; God will send a bird once more,
And you will thrive—forevermore!
1 With gratitude to the prophet Elijah for inspiring the contents of this poem (see I Kings 17:1-7) and to Edgar Allan Poe for inspiring the rhyme and meter (see The Raven, 1845). I wrote it as if it were the personal meditation of Elijah himself. It is dedicated to anyone today who struggles with discouragement and doubt. 2 The Mosaic Law declared ravens to be “unclean” and “detestable” (see Leviticus 11:15).
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