because

 
because or so.jpg
 
 
 
 
 

The idea for this came after hearing someone express frustration with their inability to do all they felt they needed to: “I know I’m saved by grace, but I still need to do things.” Yes, that’s true, but it’s not the best way to put it.

Grace and works are not a paradox, and they’re not a divine mystery. God has saved us, so we are being remade in the image of our Creator. We do good because we are children of God. He is making us new. “But what if—?” He says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV).

Of course we still strive, but we strive on a secure foundation and because we are on that foundation.

The original version of this poem was a little different:

Because or so
(whichever goes)
binds mercy to my hands.
Subordinates
accomplish it,
not but, not or, not and.

He and Him
(or sometimes Them)
handle how and why—
the only who
that makes things new—
not me, you, or I.

Suppose and if
(the devil’s gifts)
no longer have a place.
The one condition
with fruition:
God’s unending grace.

I realized that the final stanza had an ambiguity that I liked: The condition could be the grammatical condition, or it could be the believer’s condition as a regenerated person. I rewrote the other stanzas to have similar ambiguities.

The first was easy (though it’s also probably my least favorite of the three). The second was much more difficult, and I struggled for some time to figure out how to make it work. For a while, I was stuck on the idea of punning “do” and “does” as the different conjugations of the various pronouns, but it didn’t really work.

The short lines and silly meter and rhyme scheme fit the conceit of the poem, but they don’t leave a lot of space to work with. I ended up having to fudge the meter and settle for some half rhymes, but I’m nearly happy with the result.

There are still things about the original that I like, and some things about the revision I’m dissatisfied with. Which do you prefer?

 
 
 
 

Other Poems