"The Fall of the Rebel Angels" by Pieter Brueghel the Elder‘Beyond the Visible Veil’: A Poem by Peter Venable The Society June 10, 2023 Culture, Poetry 8 Comments . Beyond the Visible Veil Gravity cannot hold those forms who float __And drift—hiding in air— Though some guard human souls; the others gloat __And sow their bait on snares. These spirit shapes wage constant war unseen. __Shadowy ones stalk near— Whether in daylight bright or moonlight sheen, __Their sly voices we hear. Beings of light with flashing, flaming swords __Invisible to us, Wave off and bind those fiends with mighty cords— __They whine and fuss and cuss. Forces of darkness, versus powers of light __Imperceptibly war, And in my heart both whispers We are right. __Which one knocks at my door? . . Peter Venable has been writing poetry for 50 years. He has been published in Windhover, Third Wednesday, Time of Singing, The Merton Seasonal, American Vendantist, The Anglican Theological Review, and others. He is a member of the Winston Salem Writers. On the whimsical side, he has been published in Bluepepper, Parody, Laughing Dog, The Asses of Parnassus, Lighten Up Online (e. g. # 48) and the Society of Classical Poets. NOTE TO READERS: If you enjoyed this poem or other content, please consider making a donation to the Society of Classical Poets. The Society of Classical Poets does not endorse any views expressed in individual poems or commentary. Share this:Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window)Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window)Click to print (Opens in new window)Click to share on LinkedIn (Opens in new window)Click to share on WhatsApp (Opens in new window)Click to email a link to a friend (Opens in new window)Click to share on Pinterest (Opens in new window)Trending now: 8 Responses Petlwane Molotsi June 10, 2023 The choice remains yours and only yours as to whether you lean toward light or darkness. May I hear an Amen … Reply Roy Eugene Peterson June 10, 2023 We each decide who will win the spiritual war surrounding us. That thought is tied up in a neat bow in this poem. Reply Paul Freeman June 10, 2023 Unfortunately the dark can often be as persuasive as the light. Great stuff, Peter. Thanks for the read. Reply Cynthia Erlandson June 10, 2023 I like your form — five meters, then three, throughout; and I like the way you made the invisible, visible in the poem, which isn’t an easy thing to do. I’m not sure I like the use of the word “cuss” in the third verse, only because it it doesn’t seem to match the tone of the rest of the poem. Just a suggestion: perhaps a multi-syllable word like “furious” might be used somehow in that line. Reply Paul Oratofsky June 10, 2023 Good job form, music, and language-wise, and brilliant [poetic] ambiguity in what it says and also can’t say. Reply Yael June 10, 2023 It’s great to see a poem on the higher powers and principalities, the existence of which so many people do vehemently deny. I like the rhyme of “fuss and cuss” because it helps to delineate the holy from the profane realm, a distinction which the Bible advises the believers to make. It seems to me that from a grammatical standpoint the penultimate line should read “And in my heart both whisper We are right”, instead of “whispers”. Reply peter Carrington venable June 13, 2023 Appreciate all of you. Key on, versifiers! Reply David Hollywood June 13, 2023 A great challenge to our mental and spiritual certainties versus faith. An intriguing poem. Many thanks. Reply Leave a Reply Cancel ReplyYour email address will not be published.CommentName* Email* Website Notify me of follow-up comments by email. Notify me of new posts by email. Δ This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
Petlwane Molotsi June 10, 2023 The choice remains yours and only yours as to whether you lean toward light or darkness. May I hear an Amen … Reply
Roy Eugene Peterson June 10, 2023 We each decide who will win the spiritual war surrounding us. That thought is tied up in a neat bow in this poem. Reply
Paul Freeman June 10, 2023 Unfortunately the dark can often be as persuasive as the light. Great stuff, Peter. Thanks for the read. Reply
Cynthia Erlandson June 10, 2023 I like your form — five meters, then three, throughout; and I like the way you made the invisible, visible in the poem, which isn’t an easy thing to do. I’m not sure I like the use of the word “cuss” in the third verse, only because it it doesn’t seem to match the tone of the rest of the poem. Just a suggestion: perhaps a multi-syllable word like “furious” might be used somehow in that line. Reply
Paul Oratofsky June 10, 2023 Good job form, music, and language-wise, and brilliant [poetic] ambiguity in what it says and also can’t say. Reply
Yael June 10, 2023 It’s great to see a poem on the higher powers and principalities, the existence of which so many people do vehemently deny. I like the rhyme of “fuss and cuss” because it helps to delineate the holy from the profane realm, a distinction which the Bible advises the believers to make. It seems to me that from a grammatical standpoint the penultimate line should read “And in my heart both whisper We are right”, instead of “whispers”. Reply
David Hollywood June 13, 2023 A great challenge to our mental and spiritual certainties versus faith. An intriguing poem. Many thanks. Reply
