“Evening”
A poem.
Spirit of fire and of wind,
Blow through my heart again.
Kindle in me what you send,
‘gainst storm and tempest do me fend.
Let not then that flame grow dim,
Nor flare and rage as full of sin.
Quench my heart and fill my cup;
At thy table, let me sup.Lines begun walking and praying, in the overflow of tears. Saturday, Jan. 31, 2026.
Under his wings,
— Digory
Note from the poet:
With my first poem (“My Friend’s Headlamp”) having served as a preface for all the rest, this poem continues a sequence of three that together gave rise to the title “Songs for the Eighth Day,” which theme has shaped all of my subsequent work.
Poems in this sequence:
“Evening”
What did you think?
What images, poems, passages of Scripture, or other works of imagination or analysis came to mind in your reading, either by way of similarity of theme and form or by way of contrast?
Do you perceive any particular weaknesses, any strengths?
Did any line, phrase, or image stand out, either positively or negatively?
Was anything either unduly explicit or obscure?
Did you feel that there were any infelicities of poetic punctuation or any other missed opportunities?
Should, say, “blow” be changed to “blow thou,” or is it better as is?
Please share any comments and/or your constructive criticism below, in the chat, via DM, or by emailing me directly.
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A beautiful prayer. It is a gift to wrestle into words what moves our spirits. Since you asked for feedback, I would look at the phrasing of the 4th line. It reads more awkwardly than the rest. It is hard not to rearrange syntax to get that rhyme lined up. Another consideration might be the fire imagery. After asking the Spirit to kindle his fire, why does the final couplet ask him to quench it?
Early human cultures worshipped wind gods and cloud nymphs. There were spirits associated with dawn and dusk and rainbows, and deities responsible for thunder in the night. The presence of the sky, in other words, was obvious; almost every ancient culture included air among the four key elements, alongside fire and water and earth. - Boyce Upholt