Polemically Speaking, R&M, Iambic Options

[Guest_bombadil1247_*]

When early man first thought beyond his need,
he noticed laws at work in time and space
which governed how the stars and tides recede
and when first fruits appeared in proper place.
He saw that fire must burn while water cools
and judged they did so by these selfsame rules.

He deemed it wise to recognise a hand
far greater than his own at work, and praised
that Other who created sea and land
and every animal that earth had raised.
He granted godhood to this unseen force
and offered thanks to bounty’s single source.

He based his worship on his own desires
and sacrificed his best of kid and corn
on altars serviced by his fiercest fires
and thus the first religious rites were born.
A priesthood grew to serve the holy name
which soon usurped the sacrificial flame.

In time the ‘sacrifice’ was always sold
by peddlers making profit out of Hell,
instead of ‘best’ a tenth of all was tolled;
the temple needed sustenance as well.
Then ‘Please’ replaced ‘We Thank You’ as the norm,
for men feared famine’s blight and death by storm.

As men requested more than daily needs
refusals were more prevalent than not,
men turned away from worship’s first-sown seeds
and built up creeds that better served their lot.
Forgetting that the gift of life was free,
most sold themselves to Mammon’s slavery.

But souls have depths that money cannot plumb:
poor man needs recognition of his state
as first and best of all creation’s sum
and looks for confirmation, far too late.
Today’s revivals spring from man’s despair
that can’t accept a God who doesn’t care.

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hi Jim,

Great title for such a controversial topic!

This is very good! It boils down to this: Man is at the center of it all, behind it moreso. As my co-worker says, "Man louses himself up". I'll be back with further thoughts as this really needs more of my attention. Off the top:

Who is Mammon?
Should selfsame be hyphenated? self-same
Should this be best of kid - kin? Are you referring to child here?

Be back again soon!
~Cleo

N.B. Mammonist = one devoted to the ideal of wealth ?

[Merlin]

Well done, Jim.
I enjoyed reading from top to bottom, without missing a beat. Ah - I did miss a beat but that was my fault and I quickly corrected.

A minor point from the capitalization chapter:
stating capital "God" generally refers to the Christian God. Here, since you're talking about early man, that would not be in the Christian era, rather a small G-god and related words. In the final line, however, I believe that to be correct (also Mammon).

It's a pleasure to read a well-delivered posting, punctuation & grammar wise.

Merlin

[Guest_bombadil1247_*]

Hi, Cleo,

the premise behind this is that man created the god(s) in his own image and is naturally disappointed with the results, so yes, pretty well summed up. Mammon was/is the god of money or wealth; 'selfsame' isn't hyphenated on this side of the pond but I think the hyphen can be used without penalty; the line 'and sacrificed his best of kid and corn' refers to animals and crops - a kid is a young goat - but did hope to evoke the 'child' image as well, remember Isaac. I chose this phrase primarily for the invisible/aural alliteration. Thank you for stopping by, much appreciated,
Jim

[Guest_bombadil1247_*]

Hi, Merlin,

thank you for those kind words. I can take your point on the capitalisation but feel that is a result of a natural desire to give precedence to prevailing belief. My argument would be that at the time described the same attitude would apply so the capitalisation would be correct. Given that I also use Mammon and God later though, it's probably a good idea to differentiate for convention's sake. Thank you for taking the time to read and comment, the gift of both is deeply appreciated,
Jim

[Cleo_Serapis]

Hi Jim,

Almost done here wiht my day job schedule. LOL! A suggestion on the replies you post - if you go into your control panel and add something in the 'signature' section - this will add a line break to the bottom of your posts and move those skin images down a tad (use or lose of course).

Be back later...

Cleo