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A Mighty Fortress

for Diane

My eyes ache from the tears still left unshed
As I remember all she meant to me.
I still can’t quite accept that she is dead
And find scant solace in the eulogy.
A vibrant life bled out to ashen sod.
Faith wavers. Maybe Death does have a sting.
But then the congregation starts to sing
The hymn “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God.”

The music swells. The words are spare and lean
And yet describe a force which makes one shout.
Whence comes this strength? What do these lyrics mean
To those who are both struggling and devout?
They mean our foe and his satanic squad
Are powerless although they cause us strife.
For none but our Creator gives us life
And hope. A mighty fortress is our God!

This bulwark, how I long to settle near it
And bid farewell to all that I despise!
But that is weak. I must rebuild my spirit
And separate what’s easy from what’s wise.
If called to follow where the saints have trod
Would I have strength to see this promise through?
I can’t be sure. But what I pledge to do
Is pray “A mighty fortress is our God.”

Life’s challenges make people feel defeated,
Discouraged and exhausted, sad with loss.
And these are feelings which have been repeated
Since Time began. But we forget the Cross,
The Grail, the Holy Tablets, Aaron’s Rod—
Those ancient symbols we are charged to find
Within our hearts, with power to remind
The world a mighty fortress is our God.

The Enemy may leave a bloodied trail
As he attempts to land blow after blow;
But goodness has more strength and shall prevail!
And though he breaks my body, yet I know
My soul lives on. I cannot help but laud
The One whose sacrifice I’ll ever cherish,
Who promises that life need never perish
And proves a mighty fortress is our God!

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Poet’s Note: “A Mighty Fortress Is Our God” (originally written in German (“Ein feste Burg ist unser Gott”) is one of the best known hymns by the Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, who composed it between 1527 and 1529.

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Brian Yapko is a lawyer who also writes poetry. He lives in Wimauma, Florida.

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38 Responses

  2. jd

    I knew I would like whatever you wrote, Brian. Thank you for an excellent weapon, so
    useful in our rather challenging times.

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Thank you so much, jd! These are indeed challenging times and the more bows in our quiver the better!

      Reply
  3. Cynthia Erlandson

    This is so good. I love the refrain at the end of each verse; your creative rhymes for “God” (especially “squad” — I don’t think I’d ever thought of that one); and your allusions to “And though this world with devils filled / Should threaten to undo us” in the second verse, and “The body they may kill” in the last verse. I also really identify with the feeling you’ve expressed at the beginning of the third verse, and the wisdom in the line “And separate what’s easy from what’s wise.”

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Thank you so much, Cynthia, not just for the kind words but also for recognizing some of the themes picked up from the original hymn. It’s a challenge to write something original based on something that’s already beautifully written and iconic. But this hymn means a lot to me and I felt I needed to write about it.

      I was pleased with that “squad” rhyme and worried that people might think I meant the Squad (the far-left Democrats) rather than Satan’s minions. But now that I think about it, there ain’t much difference.

      Reply
  4. Roy Eugene Peterson

    Another amazing poem of yours that echoes in the mind with the resonance of each verse end rhyme. Diane was blessed to have such a wise and caring soul eulogize her passing. What a great concept to take one of the most well-known songs of Christendom and place it in such a moving context. You must have used every possible word that rhymes with God while achieving another masterpiece of yours.

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      You are very kind, Roy, and I think you for this. My sister (also a Texan!) and I were somewhat estranged the last few years so writing this poem allowed me to not only grieve her death but to give her something meaningful at the end — something from the heart — that she otherwise might not have accepted. The Luther hymn means a great deal to me and has inspired me. It is a uniquely robust and muscular repudiation of Satan. I rarely talk about the Enemy and have written about him only once before but I now have no doubt that he exists. All the more reason why I had to write this poem.

      Reply
  5. Alan Steinle

    An excellent poem of sorrow and sustenance.

    Your rhythm is fluid despite the enjambements. The only thing I might suggest is in regards to this line:

    “As he attempts to land blow after blow;”

    “land blow after” seems to have three consecutive stresses, so you might revise to something like this:

    As he attempts to land each [adjective] blow;

    On the other hand, maybe the force of three stresses was your intention.

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Thank you so much, Alan! And thank you for the suggestion concerning the “blow after blow” line. Your suggestion would undoubtedly create a smoother line but, as you correctly consider in the final line of your comment, that was not my intent. For me, the stresses create something of a forced slow-down (at least when I read it) which emphasizes not only the repeated blows with a heavy-handed meter, but the repetitiveness of such blows throughout time. So I want to keep that effect and I also want to keep the alliterative two-word parallel with “breaks my body” two lines down from that. But, again, I’m not always sure what works so I very much appreciate your keen eye on this.

      Reply
  7. Satyananda Sarangi

    The refrain about God at the end of each octet is the central point – it shows how everything comes to God. This poem had a lot in it to remind me of my Guru, H.W. Longfellow. Thanks for the read.

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Thank you so much, Satyananda. Yes indeed, everything comes to God. And I’m so glad to have made you think of Longfellow! I also consider him a wonderful poet.

      Reply
      • Satyananda Sarangi

        I found your poem similar to the one below in terms of seriousness and spirituality.

        The Ladder of St. Augustine

        Saint Augustine! well hast thou said,
        That of our vices we can frame
        A ladder, if we will but tread
        Beneath our feet each deed of shame!

        All common things, each day’s events,
        That with the hour begin and end,
        Our pleasures and our discontents,
        Are rounds by which we may ascend.

        The low desire, the base design,
        That makes another’s virtues less;
        The revel of the ruddy wine,
        And all occasions of excess;

        The longing for ignoble things;
        The strife for triumph more than truth;
        The hardening of the heart, that brings
        Irreverence for the dreams of youth;

        All thoughts of ill; all evil deeds,
        That have their root in thoughts of ill;
        Whatever hinders or impedes
        The action of the nobler will; —

        All these must first be trampled down
        Beneath our feet, if we would gain
        In the bright fields of fair renown
        The right of eminent domain.

        We have not wings, we cannot soar;
        But we have feet to scale and climb
        By slow degrees, by more and more,
        The cloudy summits of our time.

        The mighty pyramids of stone
        That wedge-like cleave the desert airs,
        When nearer seen, and better known,
        Are but gigantic flights of stairs.

        The distant mountains, that uprear
        Their solid bastions to the skies,
        Are crossed by pathways, that appear
        As we to higher levels rise.

        The heights by great men reached and kept
        Were not attained by sudden flight,
        But they, while their companions slept,
        Were toiling upward in the night.

        Standing on what too long we bore
        With shoulders bent and downcast eyes,
        We may discern — unseen before —
        A path to higher destinies,

        Nor deem the irrevocable Past
        As wholly wasted, wholly vain,
        If, rising on its wrecks, at last
        To something nobler we attain.

        – Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

      • Brian A. Yapko

        Satyanada, thank you for sharing this Longfellow poem. It’s both beautiful and inspiring!

  9. Joseph S. Salemi

    This is a nicely crafted piece, and at the end of each stanza the repetend is handled very skillfully, with excellent variation in the sentence structure that uses the well-known title of the German composition. This is not easy, especially (as Cynthia points out) if one must find five appropriate rhymes for “God.” I like that Brian has varied the perfect form of the verb “to tread” in the third stanza to “have trod” (it is usually “have trodden”). This is good example of poetic license!

    The original hymn by Luther is declaratory and triumphant. Brian’s poem uses that as a framework, but his poem is more personal, beginning with a deep loss and then following with a strong desire for hope and strength against tribulations. Luther’s hymn is objective — Brian’s poem suffuses the memory of that hymn with subjective emotion.

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Thank you very much, Joe, for your kind words and appreciating exactly where I was coming from both in content and the form of the piece. I’m especially pleased that you liked the “repetends.” Those “God” rhymes were indeed a challenge. I’d like to take credit for “trod” but I actually remembered this slightly archaic usage in the hymn “Shall We Gather at the River” where one of the lines is “where bright angel feet have trod.” I don’t know whether this counts as an allusion or is simply an uncommon usage which I borrowed. Either way, when I wrote the line I certainly had “Shall We Gather…” in my head. As for suffusing the hymn with subjective emotion, thank you for describing it thus: that’s exactly what I was going for — to show how the Luther hymn actually inspired me and might perhaps similarly inspire others. To simply rewrite the hymn or add an additional verse would, I think, have been rather dull and unnecessary.

      Reply
  10. Yael

    What a nice read, I like it! I have always been fascinated with the old German hymns and their depth of hope, feeling and emotions and you have really done this one justice. Great job!

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Thank you very much indeed, Yael. My mother was German and so I too have long loved both hymns and carols in that language. Church music for me is best sung in the voice of Bach.

      Reply
  11. Joshua C. Frank

    Wow, Brian, this is great! I love the form, the tone of hope relating it all to the hymn, the repetend, and all the rhymes with “God.” Plus the other rhymes are great too: cherish/perish, defeated/repeated, near it/spirit.

    Interesting fact about that hymn: we Catholics sing it too, even though it was written by the founder of Protestantism against the Catholic Church, because the sentiment toward God is still accurate—just as “Yankee Doodle” was written by a British person to make fun of American colonists and was later adopted by Americans as a patriotic song.

    A lot of people in the English-speaking world are unaware how many of our hymns were originally written in German, such as “Holy God, We Praise Thy Name” and “Praise to the Lord” (interesting fact about that one: it was written by Joachim Neander, after whom the Neander Valley was named, which in turn was made famous by “Neanderthal Man”).

    I wish I could have that kind of confidence in God that the speaker has…

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Thank you very much, Josh, for your detailed comment. I’m especially intrigued by the fact that the Catholic Church could accept as part of its musical canon a piece by a protestant reformer who caused the Church so much grief. That Luther’s hymn could transcend such bitter differences is cause for great hope.

      Your “Neander” bit of trivia is fascinating. I was once fascinated by paleontology and physical anthropology and so have of course heard of the Neander valley. It never occurred to me that it was named after an individual. I must look him up!

      Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Thank you for commenting, David. While it’s true that death is a part of life, I think a great many people have historically considered it to be an issue of the utmost seriousness. That is one of the reason’s Christ’s message of resurrection (“I am the Resurrection and the Life…”) was eagerly and gratefully received along with the idea that “death’s sting” (which I reference in the poem) was forever blunted. This message, I believe, still resonates today for most. On the other hand, I met someone recently who had her cremated husband’s ashes embedded in a glass paperweight. But as for me, I prefer the old-fashioned view.

      Reply
  13. Patricia Allred

    Hello, Brian! You are a master poet, condolences on losing Diane .Yes, she has gone to be with God, a reason to celebrate. Yet as humans…mouning is a natural process that varies with individuals and is quite natural.

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Thank you very much, Patricia. That’s very high praise indeed! And as you point out, mourning is truly a very human thing. It’s painful, but as I have heard it stated, grief is the price we pay for loving someone. Loss, though inevitable, is not meant to be painless.

      Reply
  14. C.B. Anderson

    As always, Yapko’s cinches are brass-riveted. This poem is yet another master-class in what great prosody should look and sound like. If he would put his mind to it, I’m sure he could write hymns to rival those composed by Luther. Great work!

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      This is about as generous a comment as I’ve ever received on a poem of mine. Thank you so much, C.B.! And in all seriousness, I think I would like to try my hand at writing a hymn or two. Thank you for the idea.

      Reply
  15. Susan Jarvis Bryant

    Brian, I always admire the polish of your poems and I thoroughly appreciate the discerning commentors who have pointed out your skillful employment of many a poetic device in crafting this masterful piece.

    I am particularly struck by these lines: “Faith wavers. Maybe Death does have a sting. / But then the congregation starts to sing”… what a magnificent and heart-touching turn of mood that builds as the poem progresses to the point where I can feel the emotion pulse and rise in the soaring final stanza that is filled with images that make me look to the heavens and rejoice. Superb!

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Thank you so much, Susan, for this generous comment! I especially appreciate your bringing up the two lines that you mentioned because those are really the set-up for the rest of the poem. I believe I’m right in referring to “But then the congregation…” as the volta of the poem, the turning point where despair begins the slow process of transforming into resolve and then exultation. The effect I was hoping for was something of a slow, steady emotional dawn. I’m so glad that these words touched your heart!

      Reply
  16. Margaret Coats

    Brian, your poem, I would say, begins with a prelude, and continues with four stanzas corresponding (at least in some ways) to the four verses of the hymn as usually sung in English. In these latter four stanzas you describe the hymn and its effect on one particular individual in deepest sorrow.

    Your opening line is as strong as the opening line of “A Mighty Fortress.” Your prelude thus begins with a uniquely evocative way to describe the physical and emotional strength of grief present and grief yet to come. This is the condition of the grieving person before hearing the hymn.

    The title of the hymn (as translated by American Unitarian Frederick Hedge) becomes a refrain for all five stanzas. It is interesting to note that in Psalm 45/46, the Biblical basis for the hymn, this particular line is also a refrain, occurring in verses 1, 7, and 11 of the eleven-verse psalm. The word “fortress” now appears in verses 7 and 11 of the New International Version, possibly taken from Hedge’s translation of the hymn. The psalm (NIV and KJV) keeps the word “refuge” for verse 1. In the King James Version, “refuge” is used in verses 1, 7, and 11. As KJV is more literal than modern versions, it probably corresponds more closely to the Hebrew. I don’t have resources to check that at present.

    In your stanzas 2 and 5, there is reference to the devil (the “ancient foe” of the English hymn). The four-verse hymn, in verse 1 and more extensively in verse 3, speaks of Satan and his power. This is not part of the psalm, which refers to the “heathen.” Verse 2 of the hymn is devoted to Christ who gives strength to overcome, while your references to Him are in stanzas 4 and 5. Here I am comparing three works (your poem, Hedge’s English hymn, and the psalm). This is too complex to do thoroughly, but the simple differences cited show the complexity of your use of material (whether or not you intend any reference to the psalm present in the hymn).

    The concern with the demonic may be the most important likeness of hymn and poem. The Enemy seems to be the source of wavering faith and severe struggle of the spirit in the sorrowful speaker. A battle rages in the hymn and in your poem. The words “though he breaks my body” in your final stanza indicate again the physical dimension of grief in the poem, while also speaking of death the speaker himself will suffer, as has Diane for whom he grieves. In my opinion, they point clearly to the hymn’s final lines:

    Let goods and kindred go,
    This mortal life also,
    The body they may kill,
    God’s truth abideth still,
    His kingdom is forever.

    Kingdom, fortress, refuge, strength, bulwark, all describe what your speaker is seeking–and finding as singing of the hymn proceeds. Gradually and carefully, the poem reveals a magnificent development of confidence in the grieving speaker. This takes place (as it must) at the personal level, rather than the congregational. The poem is a psychological depiction of the process, easily traced from stanza to stanza as grief, then understanding of the hymn’s words, then desire to respond, then consideration of challenges and promises, and finally faith restored. It’s a fine tribute to Diane and to Christ.

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Margaret, thank you! I’m so grateful for the attention you’ve given to this poem and for really analyzing it in ways poetic, psychological and theological. I must tell you that I never went back to the psalms 45 or 46 in writing this poem. My only inspirations were my sister’s passing and Martin Luther’s hymn that kept repeating in my head — certainly, in part, because of my Lutheran mother but also because this is a forceful hymn that I have both sung in choir and accompanied on the piano. It is a hymn that I find very inspiring and musically satisfying and which means much to me personally.

      But most importantly, “A Mighty Fortress is Our God” offers a profoundly muscular, full-blooded Christian response not to the passive question of “why do bad things happen to good people” but which goes beyond philosophical questions into ACTION. How do we do battle with evil, how do we fight this despicable foe who has plagued Mankind since Day One? As you well note, my poem pulls from the Luther hymn the idea that we are indeed at war with Satan and his demonic minions and that it is Christ alone who has the power to save us from this ancient foe. And I decided to focus on this particular hymn and its attention to demonic enemies because, in the wake of recent events, I have no doubt that Satan and satanic minions exist, are highly active now, and rejoicing in their petty little victories. But I believe — I now with certainty — that they are destined for failure. And how I welcome that day!

      I’m glad you bring up the line “though he breaks my body…” because that is — as you observed — a direct echo of Luther’s words (of course Luther said it far better:) The body they may kill,/God’s truth abideth still, His kingdom is forever.” That is truly the point of the piece. But it must be stated in personal terms to have more than an abstract effect. This you also note. Otherwise, there would be little point in simply rewriting the hymn lyric. It must have application.

      Indeed, everything that you describe in your comment is true — especially the fully transparent psychological development of the speaker from grief and despair through resolve to exultation — a complete reaffirmation of faith in God and the ultimate triumph of goodness. Really, the only place where I fully deviate from Luther is my reference to the physical, tangible symbols of faith from which we can also draw strength. My thoughts here were inspired by iconoclasm in Byzantium in the 8th Century and the idea that images — especially icons, but clearly things like the Cross, holy relics, the Holy Grail — have a deep power to move people’s hearts which should not be denied or trivialized.

      I have more I would love to say but time presses. Let me again thank you for your attentive reading and analysis, Margaret, and for explaining quite a bit of what this poem is about.

      Reply
  17. Shamik Banerjee

    Dear Brian, my condolences. In this powerful poem, you have skillfully packed all the major experiences life hurls at us: loss of a loved one, grief, contemplating faith, God, distance from Him, and the strength to unite with Him again. I hope your words reach Diane, who is in the most blissful place now. God bless you.

    Reply
    • Brian A. Yapko

      Shamik, thank you so much both for the condolences and the kind words about this poem! I hoped with this poem to touch upon universal experience and your generous reading of this poem gives me hope that I have done so to some degree. Blessings to you as well.

      Reply

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