For anyone reading this blog of mine, may 2024 be a year of pleasant surprises, joy, and a more conducive world.  Personally speaking, I am currently continuing a writing project that I commenced in December of 2022, which is committing the biblical book of The Song of Solomon to the rhyme and meter of English poetic verse (named Walking with Jesus in the Garden: Amazing Grace in The Song of Solomon).  From Dec. 2022 until around July of 2023, I penned Version 1 of the poem but was not well-pleased with my efforts; I found the first version to be overly (and unnecessarily) wordy; it was also clunky in many parts and it was not an effort that I was particularly proud of.  So from July onwards I wrote Version 2 of the poem, which I just completed writing last night.

While v.1 had around 4,500 words it was not as easy to read because I had tried to keep it to beats of 10 per line (or thereabouts).  I also was trying to put too much into the poem that did not fit its flow and meaning.   V. 2, on the other hand, has thus far ended up with 4,800 words, and yet it flows much easier because around 99% of the poem only has an average of 7-8 stressed beats per line.  There are some sections that have 10 beats per line but those are the exception rather than the norm.  I personally found Version 2 more readable and faithful to the meaning of the biblical account.  But at least the poem is now finished and all I need to do now is to make some necessary edits to 1) ensure the poem is faithful to the original biblical text; 2) to ensure that the poetic expression of the poem is flowing properly; and 3) to iron out any rough spots, such as typographical errors, punctuation mistakes, and so on.

Embarking on this project has been a challenge because I am attempting to bring holy writ alive for modern readers by expressing it in a particular form that is quite foreign to how it was originally written.  Song of Solomon was written in Hebraic poetry, not English poetry, in a world that is very different to our own.  And while I am writing about something that is very theological in its scope and essence, I am also doing so using techniques that are more creative and emotional than they are didactic and expository.  I have tried as much as is humanly possible to write a poem that is faithful to the witness of Old Testament Scripture and helping its readers to comprehend the erotic imagery behind it, while also highlighting how Jesus Christ and His church fulfils the shadows within this glorious love poem.  I’m not sure when and how I can get it published, if I ever will, but I will keep everyone posted.

God bless, Nahum.