THE SERVANT
OF CHRIST
THE SERVANT
OF CHRIST
CREATED AND UPDATED BY: JASMINE
YEAR 2003
PREFACE
Writing is a joy.
Writing to glorify God is an even greater joy.
And it is for this joy that I decide not to waste the creative and artistic talent God gives me, even if my command of English is not up to standard yet.
I write poems for joy, for fun, and to pass off times.
I had always appreciated the art of poetry, even before I come to know God.
Poem is a gift of expression for God... a beautiful artistic way of putting words together.
Reading poems... especially those, with my very limited literacy talent learnt to appreciate is a joy to the sentimental but timid me. Writing them out is an easy way to express my resentment at the actions of the world, my gratitude for God, and in times of pain and difficulties, the magnitude of my pain.
I, like the rest of the world am a mere human. There are times when God seems to be faraway from me, and there are times when his presence is not felt closely and at such times, I tend to reveal the ugliness within me… the ugliness perhaps, within every single one of us.
Not all my poems are written after I become a Christian. Some of them were written before I knew God, as well as during my initiate Christian walk, when I was Not fully on fire for God.
I cannot help but admit, that while I do have a tiny little bits of poetic talent, I am no GREAT poet. My poems are simple, and to the eyes of the professional poets, childish and immature.
Yet, I beseech you, my dear friends, with greater talent than me not to laugh at me or despise my works. For even if they are not up to standard in your eyes, they are my works. I can accept constructive advises that will make me into a greater poet than I really am, but I do not like people who criticize my work and yet not offer me a valid reason for their dislike.
My poems, I know, will offend some of you. But take note that it is not my intention to offend anyone. If I offend you with my poems, I apologized… but I will not destroy my works. My poems are often… although not always a reflection of what my views are towards the many issues in my life. When first written, they accurately reflect how I feel but people changes their viewpoints as they grow older and perhaps, wise. I am of course, no exception. Still, when I write poems, I will never hide what I feel from the world because poem is my escape-- a tool to voice out what I will not had dared to say in front of people, under normal circumstances, due to my extreme shyness when it comes to expressing myself, verbally.
If not for the gift of poetry, I am afraid that all my sentiments and thoughts will have to die with me, unknown by anybody in this world but God. That is why I thank him for allowing me this little way of venting out my thoughts and feelings. So, even if I don’t like to offend anyone, when writing poems, I might just offend some of you because you can’t force me not to let go of all the thoughts within me. Poetry is my only way of screaming out my opinions, unhindered by anything.
Talking about poetry, I need to thank a few people for my gift. Firstly, I must thank my savior for without him, there is no me, and without me, there will be no poems from me. Secondly, I will like to thank my Serangoon Junior College Literature teacher, Miss G, who teaches me comment and appreciation of poetry. Without her creative and alive way of teaching, I will not have appreciated poetry the way I did today.
If I can, I hope to be a professional poet one-day, but my talent is so limited that my dream seems far. If you are a good poet, and have a good command of English, and you are able to publish and sell your poems, I, humbly hope that you will give me constructive advise on how to improve myself as a poet. I hope you will fairly criticize my work, and teach me how I can write better poems. For it will be a great joy for me to learn from those with better poetic talent, who do not despise my works because their works are better. To tell you the truth, I always envy all of you who can write better poems than me. The talent you have, I lack. And if you are willing to impart your skill to me, I am more than happy to call you my poetic mentor. And when I do reach a level of professionalism with my writing skill, I will not be afraid to let people know that I was once your student.
Yours,
Jasmine Chong Shipei
20th of May 2003