The Moving Finger
Karl Constantine FOLKES 1935 (Portland)
The Moving Finger,
Having writ, moves on, therewith
Inscribing onwards
An unfolding epilogue
With all of us as players.
Having entrances.
Placed on a stage we call Life.
With our acts measured.
As we strut backwards and fro.
The Moving Finger watching.
The Moving Finger
That offers us guidance
Is The Hand of God
Contained in sixty six books.
A manual for lifetime.
We are its keepers
Placed on its stage as actors
Guided by its hands
To move at its instructions
Or course our way unhindered.
The Moving Finger
Provides us with discernment
Guides us with choices
As we course our way in life
Leaving indelible prints.
The Moving Finger
Sees the footprints of our lives
All the steps taken
As we traverse the journey
From our first breath to our last.
We are the movers,
The movers and the shakers
Of the holy script.
The Moving Finger watches
With guidance and discernment.
The Moving Finger,
Having writ, moves on to scribe
Divine inscriptions
That we, as actors, play out,
From sunrise until sunset.
How we course The Way
Is up to each one of us.
We are the movers,
All actors given choices,
Given sixty six choices.
Choices that commence
In the book of Genesis
Given to us as
A prologue and beginning
That ends with Revelation.
The Moving Finger,
Having writ, moves on a screen.
The whole world as its canvas.
An open stage, with us as players; acting.
The Finger ever watching.
The Moving Finger,
Having writ, moves on, therewith
Inscribing onwards
An unfolding epilogue
With all of us as players.
About this poem
Ghiyath al-Din al-Fath ‘Umar ibn Ibrahim Nisaburi (1048-1131), known as Omar Khayyam, was a Persian mathematician, philosopher, and poet. The title of this poem, “The Moving Finger,” bears the lines of verse 51 of Omar Khayyam’s poem, “The Rubaiyat,” which expresses the notion that whatever one does in life, for ill or for good, is done out of free will; is therefore one’s responsibility, and cannot be altered, for which one must be accounted. The poem draws on this sentiment, and links it with the sixty six books of the Holy Bible, written by a “Moving Finger” under divine inspiration and guidance, beginning with Genesis as Alpha, and ending with Revelation as Omega, directing mankind who must take responsibility for the decisions made and taken in life, affording mankind sixty six proverbial opportunities to “get it right,” with Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior as Advocate. The opening lines of Omar Khayyam’s “Rubaiyat” reads as follows: “The Moving Finger writes; and, having written, Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit. Shall lure it back to cancel half a line. Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.” This extended Tanka poem is written as an Inclusio, with the opening and closing stanzas being identical. All having said and done, “The Moving Finger” concludes by uttering a resounding “AMEN.” more »
Written on May 30, 2022
Submitted by karlcfolkes on May 30, 2022
Modified by karlcfolkes on May 05, 2023
- 1:35 min read
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Quick analysis:
Scheme | ABCDE fghxi Axxxx eexjh Akfgx Axlxx Eexfk Axjxx xmEff xmxil Axmii ABCDE |
---|---|
Closest metre | Iambic trimeter |
Characters | 1,527 |
Words | 319 |
Stanzas | 12 |
Stanza Lengths | 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5, 5 |
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"The Moving Finger" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 31 Oct. 2024. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/128377/the-moving-finger>.
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