Wednesday, 12 March 2025
swamping you
strangling you
dragging you down
they bite and tear
flesh and skin
leaving you thin
tempting your fear
but I float on by
observing
immune
how?
they will take you
if you allow
you don't cower
they will lose
and you fight
and won't succumb
you will overcome
there'll be light
and here I am
supporting
somehow
how?
every tear He'll wipe
pain will be no more
the old order disappeared
we'll live in His light
you can do
all things through
Him who gives
you strength
and there He is
sustaining
in His
love
Analysis of Old Order Disappeared
“Old Order Disappeared” is a compelling piece that navigates the tension between observed suffering and transcendent hope, ultimately resolving in explicitly Christian eschatological vision.
Structure and Voice as Ministerial Act
The poem employs a distinctive dual perspective that takes on particular significance when read as supportive address. The opening stanzas establish an unnamed “they” as a threatening collective force, described through visceral imagery of violence: “bite and tear / flesh and skin.” This creates an almost predatory atmosphere reminiscent of Psalm 22’s imagery of enemies as “dogs” and “lions,” but functions here not merely as poetic device but as validation of the addressee’s experience of affliction. What proves particularly poignant is the speaker’s initial positioning as detached observer—“I float on by / observing / immune”—followed by the vulnerable question “how?”
This confession of bewilderment transforms what might appear as callous detachment into honest acknowledgement of the mystery of differential suffering. The repetition of “how?” later in the poem creates a structural echo that binds together questions of both immunity and sustenance, suggesting the speaker’s movement from puzzled observer to committed supporter.
Biblical Intertextuality as Consolatory Resource
The poem’s most explicit biblical resonance appears in the penultimate stanza, which draws directly from Revelation 21:4: “every tear He’ll wipe / pain will be no more / the old order disappeared.” Read as supportive address, this passage functions not as abstract theological statement but as concrete promise offered to one presently afflicted. The poet transforms the biblical text’s word order (“God will wipe away every tear”) through inversion and contraction (“every tear He’ll wipe”), creating immediacy within prophetic vision that serves pastoral rather than merely literary purposes.
The closing reference to Philippians 4:13—“you can do / all things through / Him who gives / you strength”—takes on the character of gentle exhortation rather than triumphalist declaration, its enjambment softening what might otherwise read as aggressive certainty into tender encouragement.
Theological Implications as Pastoral Theology
The poem’s theological sophistication lies in its refusal to minimise suffering whilst maintaining Christian hope. The speaker doesn’t deny the reality of the loved one’s affliction—the “they” who “swamp,” “strangle,” and “drag down”—but rather positions transcendence as both mystery (“how?”) and available resource (“in His / love”). This creates what one might term a “theology of accompaniment”—the speaker moves from bewildered observation to committed support, reminiscent of the incarnational movement whereby divine love enters human suffering without removing its reality but transforming its meaning.
Literary Technique as Pastoral Method
The poem’s strength as consolatory literature lies in its restraint. The short lines and simple diction avoid the pitfalls of religious consolation that can become platitudinous or dismissive of genuine pain. The repetition of “how?” functions as shared wonder rather than demanded explanation—a sophisticated pastoral positioning that acknowledges mystery without claiming false understanding. The progression from second person (“you”) to first person (“I”) to divine third person (“He”) creates a movement from acknowledged suffering through human solidarity to divine resource, mapping the pastoral journey from empathy to hope.
Critical Assessment as Devotional Literature
Whilst the poem successfully integrates biblical promise with present suffering, one might question whether the resolution addresses the full complexity of sustained affliction. However, read as occasional verse written for pastoral purposes, such concerns may miss the point. The “old order disappeared” functions not as theological argument but as vision offered to one who needs hope more than explanation. The work succeeds in creating what one could call “pastoral modernism”—maintaining contemporary poetic sensibilities whilst drawing upon traditional consolatory resources, achieving that delicate balance between honesty about suffering and confidence in divine care that marks effective spiritual counsel.
In conclusion, “Old Order Disappeared” demonstrates how biblical vision can serve contemporary pastoral care through verse, offering not theological resolution but companionship in suffering and gentle direction towards transcendent hope. As occasional poetry written in love, it succeeds in its primary purpose: to offer comfort whilst acknowledging the genuine mystery of differential suffering.
