Monday, October 4, 2021

Out

Out of the night that covers me,
Out of the cradle endlessly rocking,
Out of me unworthy and unknown,
Out, damned spot! out, I say!
Out, out, brief candle,
Out of Africa,
Out west,
Out of the frying pan and into the fire,
Out of sight, out of mind,
Out of desperation,
Out of the question,
Out on a limb,
Out of bounds,
Out of luck,
Out of time,
Out of options,
Out with the old, in with the new,
Out for blood,
Out for a stroll,
Out of my mind with worry,
Out of my mind with grief,
From out our bourne of time and place,
Come out, come out, wherever you are,
Come out from among them and be ye separate.

Out of my bondage, sorrow and night,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into thy freedom, gladness, and light,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of my sickness into thy health,
Out of my want and into thy wealth,
Out of my sin and into thyself,
Jesus, I come to thee.

Out of my shameful failure and loss,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the glorious gain of thy cross,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of earth's sorrows into thy balm,
Out of life's storms and into thy calm,
Out of distress to jubilant psalm,
Jesus, I come to thee.

Out of unrest and arrogant pride,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into thy blessed will to abide,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of my self to dwell in thy love,
Out of despair into raptures above,
Upward for aye on wings like a dove,
Jesus, I come to thee.

Out of the fear and dread of the tomb,
Jesus, I come, Jesus, I come;
Into the joy and light of thy home,
Jesus, I come to thee.
Out of the depths of ruin untold,
Into the peace of thy sheltering fold,
Ever thy glorious face to behold,
Jesus, I come to thee.

(Note. Beginning at line 25 is the American hymn "Jesus, I Come" written in 1887 by William T. Sleeper. --RWP)

8 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Emma, I can’t decide whether you wrote a comment or another line to be added somewhere in the piece, but I appreciate it either way.

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  2. Sometimes we all need out so we can come back in with a fresh start. I hope all is well with you and your loved ones.

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    Replies
    1. Bonnie, I believe you have misunderstood my intent. I was not trying to convey or imply in any way that I was taking a break from blogging. I was merely exploring the many ways a single word (in this case, out) has been used in literature and in everyday life. I may do more of this in the future, or not.

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  3. You take me back to Sunday evenings in church, band playing in their most devotional style, younsters like me itching to get home. Maybe some of the adults were considering the words and the impact of that testimony.

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<b>Always true to you, darlin’, in my fashion</b>

We are bombarded daily by abbreviations in everyday life, abbreviations that are never explained, only assumed to be understood by everyone...