The book that came to me #6

Ruelha 
Let me take tell you about my history with scriptures.
Right since the age of understanding, it has been an adventure.
As a child, my mom always told me to repeat a verse thrice.
And that was supposed to bring those words to life.

We had a poster containing a list of scriptures pasted on a wall.
It covered a lot of basic needs, both big and small.
And I'd claim whatever I wanted, even if it was partially.
See, I thought it was like chanting a spell and things would appear miraculously.

But yes, I did believe every word was gospel truth.
And my Bible was always my absolute.
Each of us had our own.
That makes four Bibles in one home.

I still have the same one; it's been with me for decades.
It's the oldest possession of mine that has been with me always.
Well, Bombay Catholics usually use a GNT.
Too accustomed to change it now, although with the version I'm not too happy.

Every day before dinner, it was family prayer time.
And we'd gather together as a family and not whine.
To say a decade of the rosary and a lot of other prayers.
A family that prays together stays together ...all those years.

And at the end of it, me or my brother would take turns to read a portion.
The fun part was the reader had the gift of choice and option.
So, we'd randomly open any page and pick any thing we'd fancy.
Since we were two kids, the other one got to interpret; that was our modus operandi.

There was no right or wrong.
No pressure, so it was like a fun song.
Since early years, my Bible has suffered torturously at my hands.
With all kinds of markings and highlights and writings resembling a scrambled egg pan.

I remember during my time as crew with Jet,
in transport I'd be reciting a list of verses, how can I forget?
All in the hope of attaining knowledge, memory and wisdom.
Before every international flight, I followed this system.

You see, every sector was assigned different wines.
And remembering all those French names was like paying for some crimes.
A different collection for economy, business and first.
Oh come on people, why so many choices to quench your thirst?

Remembering the main grape varieties.
New world, Bordeaux or Burgundy.
Even the pronunciations were quite a task.
So, to God and scriptures I'd go to help and ask.

I recited those in the hopes of honing my memory.
But, at the back of my mind, this one thing always bothered me.
I noticed early on, the Bible always referred to wisdom as 'reverence for God'.
It disturbed me almost like that description was flawed.

Because I just wanted good memory.
But just about every verse described it differently.
I had a huge list written on few papers.
About forty verses seeking wisdom in favour.

Those were days before search engines and regular internet.
So I was the one who searched those verses and did select.
Well, that is my history with scriptures; and now, you know.
I still have those pages, though tattered, from years ago.


-RUELHA 
www.ruelha.com 
© Copyright Protected. All Rights Reserved

This is a series of poems describing a week in my life that occured four and a half years ago. I encourage you to read it in the correct sequence. I have listed them here for your convenience:

  1. The book that came to me #1
  2. The book that came to me #2
  3. The book that came to me #3
  4. The book that came to me #4
  5. The book that came to me #5

20 Comments

  5. True Rue i Read “the Book”
    Too Yet With Close To A
    Photographic Memory

    It’s Hard To Spit The

    Rotting Corpse

    Parts Out

    Like The

    Concubine Gang

    Raped Asking For

    Mercy Only To Be

    Cut Up And Served

    Up As Parts

    To 12 Tribes

    Not to Do

    Evil Again

    Or An All Forgiving

    Jesus As The Priest Just

    Described Him In A Homily

    Yet Forgetting About The

    Part Where Jesus Changes

    The So-Called Christian

    Loyal Sheep who

    Does Not Clothe

    And Feed

    And

    Provide

    Free Health

    Care To The
    Naked Immigrant
    At The Border Just

    Trying to Escape Harm
    As Jesus Promises To Change

    That So-Called Loyal Christian
    Sheep Who Does Not Help

    The Immigrant

    According to

    Matthew

    Who Jesus

    Sees As

    Himself

    As Sheep

    Is Changed

    Into Goat And
    The Judgement

    Of Jesus is For the Goat
    To Burn Forever Tortured

    Like it’s Not Torture

    Enough

    To Have

    A Soul So Dark
    Not Insisting The
    Poor Immigrant

    At The

    Border

    Receive

    Help Yet
    What About Love
    The All Forgiving

    Love How

    Did It

    Suddenly

    Change From
    Not Only Death
    For Punishment

    Yet Torture

    Forever

    Yes

    Obviously

    More Than One
    Set of Eyes Wrote

    The Bible Good Cop
    Folks And Bad Cop Folks

    Too Unless Love

    Becomes

    Never

    Forgiving

    And ‘Silence

    Of The Lambs’

    Torture Forever

    That Even ‘Stephen

    King’ Would Write More

    Of An Ever For Giving

    Ending of A Story

    Moral oF A STory

    This One

    Too

    Story

    Rules

    Don’t

    Be a Fool

    Write Your
    Own Book Of
    Love And Live

    It Better

    All For Giving

    Thanks Giving

    Than A Book That

    Is Still Used As

    Justification

    To Harm

    The Least

    And Most

    Loving Of All
    Like Sweet Gay

    Folks Who Only
    Wanna Be Told

    That

    God

    Is Their

    God Of Love

    Complete Too True

    Rue i Exchanged

    That

    Book

    For A Flower

    Worthy Of Love

    A God Within

    Colors

    That

    Exclude No

    One From Love

    Truly Standing

    Up For Those

    Who Are
    Seen

    Lesser

    No Matter
    Where i
    Flower Next…

    Sadly the Church

    i Visit Doesn’t

    Even

    Deserve

    A Visit from me Now

    As They Denigrate

    The “Lesser” Still

    And That Book is

    Reality The Horrible

    Nightmares And

    Dreams

    One

    Species

    On Earth

    Is Still

    Capable

    Of Doing Now
    Just The Fact
    We Still Exist

    With

    All The

    Harm Human

    Has Brought to

    The Rest of Nature

    Proves ‘God’ Is Not

    Fair Yet We

    Retain

    A

    Potential

    To Love the Dreams We Create
    The Better Stories to Still Be Come

    Like

    Reply
  8. Pingback: The book that came to me #6 — Ruelha – QuietMomentsWithGod
  9. Pingback: The book that came to me #7 – Ruelha

  10. love this Rue… the family bond is immesurable and your travels and questions and introspection admired as you continue your journey. I love your inquistive naturee and open heart which is love in action!~ 💖

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply
  11. Pingback: The book that came to me #8 – Ruelha

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