Christians! Let Us Take the World For Jesus!
Guy Arneson will be perfectly honest when he titles his collection of poems A Life in Poetry (Xlibris, 2009). The speaker in these poems lays bare the life span of a person who's fallen deeply in love, only to possess that love betrayed. In the depths of his despair, he turned to God for comfort. Even while he prayed God would send him an angel, a woman he could respect and who would not repeat the tragedy of his heartbreak. toponguiders
The poems which address this tale of loss and redemption dominate the collection, and range in emotional tone from blissful to sad to bitter. The best of they are the blissful poems, such as the eloquent ode "You Are Woman" and the earthy "My Baby Back." "My Baby Back" is definitely an exploration on the themes of physical love and food, twin pleasures in a sexual feast. Like a good country or blues song, "My Baby Back" is not too self-conscious to get silly:
"And in the event that you asked
what I prefer the absolute most
"I'd have to state
Your juicy rump roast"
The most amusing poem in this series may be "Stuck on Stupid," in which he admits he and his new love may be rather dim, but he doesn't mind, because she's sexy and he's fallen in deep love with her. But when you're looking for a poem to recite at a marriage or on another romantic occasion, you can't go wrong with the collection's opening verse, "My Heart," or the lovely, chant-like "To Be One."
The poems'love-struck speaker turns to God at other times, too, as when he feels frustrated at the amount of hate and misunderstanding in the world. Poems such as for example "Smoke and Mirror Alibi," "A Child Cried," and "Cosmic Father" touch on current events, like the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and express the speaker's love for his fellow people overall religious and political differences.
Other religious imagery in this collection is more traditional. There are several poems of praise, but Arenson's creativity as a storyteller comes through best when he puts a Biblical story into their own words. You can find three such poems in this collection ("Apocalyte," "The Creation," and "A Child Is Born"), and they stand among his best.
And also a love of God, the poems express a love of nature and a concern for the environment. Primarily, though, they give attention to the loving bond between man and God and the complex, sometimes painful relationship between man and woman. Although some of Arenson's rhymed poetry tends toward the obvious, A Life in Poetry will attract both lovers of Christian poetry and lovers of love poetry.
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