This Poem was Submitted By: Rick Barnes On Date: 2004-12-20 05:16:54 . . . Click Here To Mail this Poem to a Friend!

To Listen to Music While Reading this Poem, just Click Here!

Click Here To add this poem to your "Voting Possibilities" list!


I Remember Julenisse

It was so very long ago. There was no real evidence Beyond that Which desire required.  I held it straight in my mind Such that I don’t recall A losing of the faith. It is true I no longer believe, But I can keep  Belief and faith apart. One to nourish mind. One to nurture heart. The stream is never Two moments the same And yet it  always remains The same stream. It is true I no longer believe, But I don't recall A losing of the faith.

Copyright © December 2004 Rick Barnes


This Poem was Critiqued By: James Edward Schanne On Date: 2005-01-04 14:34:37
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.14286
I keep wondering if belief and faith can really be separated or if one doesn't imply the other , I know you make the distinction between one being of the heart and one being of the mind and while I find this to be true analytically i'm not so certain if they can exist apart actually, Thanks for letting me read and comment.


This Poem was Critiqued By: DeniMari Z. On Date: 2005-01-02 18:41:08
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 10.00000
Dear Rick, This is an incredibly superb write - my favorite part is: The stream is never Two moments the same And yet it always remains The same stream. - Very deep thought - and inspiring lines - I also like the message - not believing but still having faith intact - it's a little spiritual and touches me inside. My congrats to you - and also my thanks for being able to read this great poem. Sincerely, best wishes, DeniMari
This Poem was Critiqued By: Rachel F. Spinoza On Date: 2004-12-26 09:07:32
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.87500
Lovely winsome piece with deep reflective power.The Scandinavian title leads us into the "winter of [a] discontent with conventional religion and yet indicates a deep Eastern spiritualitu with the flowing unchanging stream. Rich and evocative. Thanks Rick. Merry Winter Soltice and a sweet new year. Rach
This Poem was Critiqued By: Dellena Rovito On Date: 2004-12-25 18:02:16
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 9.06250
Hi Rick, Here goes nothing........Expect the unexpected. Who or what is Julenisse? [I feel like an idiot] It sounds like a woman? Beyond that Which desire required. [I love the truth of keeping/believing what is necessary/as we actually do] I held it straight in my mind [yes] Such that I don’t recall A losing of the faith. It is true I no longer believe, But I can keep Belief and faith apart. One to nourish mind. [manifested especially in thought, perception, emotion, will, memory, and imagination. collective conscious and unconscious processes that direct and influence mental and physical behavior. One to nurture heart. The stream is never Two moments the same And yet it always remains The same stream.[yes] It is true I no longer believe,[you no longer believe everything they say/but you do believe what you know and what you will soon learn. You're not so gullible. You are open to possable-ness. Which is wonderful..... But I don't recall A losing of the faith.[true] Change is growth and this poem's about moving right along....... Happy day, dear Rick. Hope I'm not too whacko...I'm a pretty simple gal. Dellena
This Poem was Critiqued By: Tony P Spicuglia On Date: 2004-12-21 17:15:42
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 10.00000
Rick, I had to read this, and reread, and wish I had read it once more. I had a feeling of reading the melody to a Bach contrapuntal rewrite of a Vivaldi concerto. It was that spellbinding. The master imitator Bach, turning the renown into the subtle, so it can be reborn renown. It made me observe many things beyond “Julenisse” to the base of what belief and faith actually mean. In a sense, you granted a bit of “spiritual” guidance to me for I am dealing with everyone in this cynical world of nothingness, raising children in a differing manner. My child must come to grips with “Julenisse” by force rather than by inculcation and the passing of the need. It was so very long ago. - I really like this opening, it takes any of us with “long ago’s” back to wondering what “long ago” are we going to. There was no real evidence Beyond that Which desire required. – This is a poignant statement of a childs mind, that the goodness, needs no other evidence, for it is good. In this more cynical times I wonder if goodness is a good enough reason for joy! I held it straight in my mind Such that I don’t recall A losing of the faith. – I remember losing the belief, but I don’t ever remember, as you say here, losing the faith. Later I am some at odds, but maybe we are speaking the same language anyway. A losing of the faith. – You are correct, belief is a grand metaphor, faith is the substance of a metaphor worth being a part of. A wonderful metaphor this entire poem becomes. It is true I no longer believe, But I can keep Belief and faith apart. – I believe that, if the readers do not understand these lines, they cannot understand what I am to tell my six year old, that Santa, is, because, and whether truth provides the means, it does provide the reason. One to nourish mind. One to nurture heart. The stream is never Two moments the same And yet it always remains The same stream. – I didn’t separate out the lines for this is like the stream you speak of. That the blending of heart and mind, allow for the composition of fantasy and reality, of altruism and graciousness, of Santa and mortal, of fairy and faith, and faith to nourish the moments when faith interprets truth. It is true I no longer believe, But I don't recall A losing of the faith. Rick, too beautiful, I have placed this poem on my door at work. If you would rather I not let me know. This is a powerful treatise on the power of faith to add substance, when substance is not the property of faith. Wonderful!!
This Poem was Critiqued By: Joanne M Uppendahl On Date: 2004-12-20 12:47:56
Critiquer Rating During Critique: 10.00000
Rick: My heart made a wish -- and there appeared a shy elf, the same who watches over the hearth all year, waiting for Jule. Now how much better can it get? His song is sung with tristesse, but he nevertheless gladdens me, for he cannot be replaced by any other. Surely by coincidence, the frog has begun to sing again outside. It is a cold day, and no reason to celebrate -- but there you have it. It was so very long ago. There was no real evidence Beyond that Which desire required. I need to take the time to dwell in this piece and allow it to do its work. But in the interest of the day's onrush, I am giving you my quickest response. One gets the feeling of having existed forever while reading this poem. That desire keeps us as its slaves reminds me immediately of the roller coaster I've been riding. I held it straight in my mind Such that I don’t recall A losing of the faith. It almost seems as if a sly trick has been played on the speaker. He "held it straight" in his mind, and yet, there is "no real evidence" that faith still exists. Does the mind define faith, and if we do not recall losing it, is it gone? I know you are not asking me these questions, but you are asking me these questions. The answer which occurs to me is conditional. It is only in the self-questioning that I am aware that there has been a shift in the thing I refer to as 'faith' and when closely examined, it disintegrates like a puff ball mushroom, which my foot cannot help but squash. Ah -- look. It was nothing but air. It is true I no longer believe, But I can keep Belief and faith apart. One to nourish mind. One to nurture heart. Here you answer the questions posed. Faith, then, is of the heart, and cannot be disassembled by the questioning foot/mind. Because the heart is our dwelling and cannot be reached by any but the Other/One. Not even Hansel and Gretel's leaving a pathway of crumbs could lead us away from the heart and into the gingerbread house of illusions. (They went out into the manifest world, in-car-nate.) The stream is never Two moments the same And yet it always remains The same stream. I'm lost in this. Lost in the way of feeling engulfed and somehow, cradled. That stream is stronger than my resistance to it. It is true I no longer believe, But I don't recall A losing of the faith. I can't ignore the sadness of these last lines. But I think it is the sadness of having released the false. And the vacuum which is not yet filled. No one but you, Rick, could write words that will 'stick' with me, making me aware, once more, of what it was I began to do, and lost my way -- yet again! What joy in picking up the thread -- one can never be lost when one remembers "Julenisse." Thank you for this gift of light. I forgot what it was that I thought was so important on my 'to do' list for the day - but your words will accompany for more than twenty-four hours. I don't know how you do it. Joanne, abiding still
Poetry Contests Online at The Poetic Link

Click HERE to return to ThePoeticLink.com Database Page!