In my previous two posts, I introduced a long, T.S. Eliot-inspired poem I wrote back in the 90s entitled, The Seven Circles of Eternity’s Garden. Here is the link to the first post, (Circle 1: The Blood of Eden, and Circle 2: Rome), and here is the link to the second post (Circle 3: Death by Water, and Circle 4: The Olive Garden). In this post, I am going to share my readings and a general overview of Circle 5-7. And, as I did in my first post, I’m providing a PDF of the entire poem at the end of the post.
A Brief Summary of Circle 5: The Sword and the Desert
Part 1 is inspired by a key scene in the movie, The Fisher King, when Perry (Robin Williams’ character) is “slain” by the Red Knight. Perry is a homeless man who is also completely crazy. He used to be an English professor, but he witnessed his wife being shot in the head while they were out on the town one night. It was so traumatic, that he became detached from reality. In his mind, the Red Knight is his memory of the tragic event. Thus, in the scene, the Red Knight finally catches Perry. It is a truly horrific scene, and I have used it to represent how we as sinners must recognize our own sin and realize we are condemned to die because of it. One of the roles of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin and to help us put our sinful self to death. Therefore, the sword of the Red Knight is also a direct allusion to the sword of the Spirit in Hebrews 4:12. We deceive ourselves if we think the killing of our sinful selves is easy, with no pain. So, although the scene looks horrible, it is necessary in order for salvation to occur.
Part 2 shows the city of Rome levelled, destroyed by its own inhabitants. In that respect, it is the reality of this creation. It is enslaved to death and thus everything in this world ultimately runs down, decays, and dies, often times though actions of society itself. The uncontrollable passions of this world always, eventually bring about corruption and death because our passions ultimately are selfish and seek to control the things we think we “love.” True love, though, does not yearn to possess or control. In any case, it is only when we learn that lesson do we finally cry out to the Lord. And this is precisely what is being conveyed in the last section of Part 2.
In Part 3, the desert wind carries the secret of salvation—confessions of our sin. I believe God wants just that—confession of sin in all its ugliness. Honesty is what He wants. Many times, my confessions to God resemble what is written here—desperation bordering on blind rage. It is only after honest confession that the Holy Spirit can begin to make us new. Then there is the allusion to C.S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles. The cat that died in Circle 4 is now a Lion. The wasteland stream is of our honest confession and the salvation that is made possible by it, once we have recognized our sin. The Lion that makes no promises is a reference to Christ, who doesn’t “make deals.” He is God.
A Brief Summary of Circle 6: The Tree of Souls
Circle 6, “The Tree of Souls,” represents the final crucifixion of our selves before we can re-enter the New Eden and union with God. Again, this emphasizes that picking up our cross and dying daily is not easy. It shouldn’t be glorified. Yes, Christ died for all, but to be raised with Him we must first be crucified with Him—that is never easy.
Part 1 begins with an initial burst of despair. The journey through human history, from being exiled from Eden and eastward through Rome and beyond, now leads to another tree, the Tree of Souls. In reality, this tree is really the Tree of Life once our journey comes full circle. Of course, at this point, as one approaches the Tree of Souls, with the rising of the sun it casts its shadow, which again is the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. So, even though there is that initial sense of despair for never being able to get out from under the shadow, in reality, we are actually closer to the telos (consummation) of God’s plan—full maturity and transformation in Christ. Not surprisingly, a Lion is calling from the tree. It is the same Lion that “roared” in “The Olive Garden” from the cross, “It is finished.”
In Part 2, there is a description of the Tree of Soul, which resembles the trees in Circle 1 and Circle 4. The shades that hang on this tree are those who were “religious” but were never known by Christ. The first stanza in Part 2 contains a number of lines from the song “Strange Fruit” by Billie Holiday. In the original song, the “strange fruit” Holiday sees is a black man who had been lynched. Here, I use that image of death to describe the “bitter fruit” of Adam’s crop. The next section contains the cries of humanity before the tree. As is noted in the poem, I’ve taken them from a variety of poems and books. At the end of Part 2, when the speaker finds the courage to climb the tree and look into the hole in the tree, it is there he confronts God, much in the same way the prophet Elijah confronted God on Mount Sinai in I Kings 19:8-18.
Part 3 consists of the songs of three children. They sing about how death has become a way to being reconciled to God, who works all things, even death, to the good. Yes, the songs are trite, but then, it is children who are singing them. But that’s the point. Once the reality of salvation is truly understood, it causes us to realize that death itself, as dreadful and horrible as it is, actually is the means by which God brings about salvation. Thus, for Christians, death is not “the end,” but rather a time to sleep as we await the future resurrection.
A Brief Summary of Circle 7: The Circle of Eternity’s Garden/The Epilogue
Circle 7 is short. Here we realize that the “seven circles” of Eternity’s Garden is really one circle. In any case, the content of Circle 7 is pretty self-explanatory. It is praise and celebration of Christ and God’s salvation.
