by Anna Eastland
Through the dark fog
of temptation and despair,
“the sun of righteousness will rise
with healing in its wings,”
breaking through the iron-clad clouds
to shine a beam of hope
upon the weary, beleaguered travelers.
They are sailing beyond the Lone Isles,
hope-driven in a dragon-shaped ship,
to the edge of the world,
to the life beyond life:
Aslan’s country.
In reading this month’s scripture passage, I had to shudder, thinking of all the evils of war that people are currently living through—the terrible injustices which will one day be righted by God. But I also pondered how the source of strife is within the human heart—we can be our own worst enemies. We are traveling in mortal bodies towards the immortal shores, and our dragonish tempers can at times cause us to despair, as the crew in The Voyage of the Dawn Treader was tempted to do in the nightmarish fog. In my poem, the line of scripture I quoted made me think of the albatross who breaks through the fog in answer to Lucy’s prayer. It is the remembrance of God’s ever-present grace and mercy which can help us carry on this worthwhile adventure of life, without being mortally burdened by our own imperfections.
About the Author
Anna Eastland is a nature-loving Canadian poet, blogger and mom of a large pack of homeschooling kiddos. She and her husband James live with them in (generally) joyful chaos in British Columbia. Her books, written deep in the night in her various offices (from the bathroom to her comfy nursing chair), include selections in the anthology Love Rebel: Reclaiming Motherhood, the poetry book unexpected blossoming: a journey of grief and hope, a story in Canadian Converts II, and Beginner’s Guide to Growing Baby: Tips to help You through All Four Trimesters, which she co-authored with her friend Bonnie Way.
You can find her at “Just East of Crazy Land: Adventures in Parenting” and Instagram @justeastofcrazy. She also writes occasionally for Sharing Magazine, a magazine for babyloss parents.