Northern Beauty

by Jeffrey Essmann | September 2, 2020 12:04 am

This week’s poem in the Catholic Poetry Room is by Barnabas Ney.

Northern Beauty

I once did pack my bags and sally forth
When I sought solitude and tranquility.
I said, “I’ll sail up some inlet to the north.”
I up-anchored and shouted excitedly,
            “The North! The North!”

Past many treacherous shoals, rocks and isles,
I sailed in unquiet peace or fearful calm.
Then up some wild, grand inlet for many miles,
And I heard the forests sing their lilting psalm,
            “The Wild! The Wild!”

Through the virescent water I did glide
Until faced with a wondrous waterfall
That fell like diamonds into an emerald tide.
Sharp, superior, commanding was its call,
            “Look up! Look up!”

And as my eyes climbed the towering rampart
Of snow-capped crags which stood proud as lofty kings,
I stood like mist in the wind, awe in my heart.
Moved are the eyes and the soul that softly sings,
            “Praise God! Praise God!”

Originally appeared in Shadows by Moonlight: An Anthology of Verse from Young Canadians.

Barnabas Ney fell in love with poetry at the age of 11 through a school assignment. He had ten poems published in Canadian anthologies of verse and won several national prizes for his age category. Now, at twenty-three with an MA in Economic Policy from McMaster University, he desires to share his love for God though all things beautiful and especially through poetry.

Source URL: https://integratedcatholiclife.org/2020/09/poetry-northern-beauty/