One reason men lack vision is because they lack poetry in their lives. Men no longer sing or recite inspirational verse. Our boys are no longer required to memorize the great psalms, hymns, and poems of Christian manhood. This should come as no surprise. The 20th century has wreaked havoc upon chivalry and manhood. The transformation of poetry from the ennobling to the coarse, the banal, or the irreverent is as much a sign of our national loss of manhood as it is of the decline of decency and civilization.
Poetry is essential to a man's life. We should never forget that God chose to communicate through the language of poetry. A large portion of the Scripture from Psalms to The Song of Solomon -- even the book of Isaiah in the original language -- was written in verse. Why? Because poetry and song allow us to use the beauty of language to paint mental images of victory, of devotion, and of the beauty of life in Jesus Christ.
This is why I often begin my speeches or end them with verse. For years, requests for these poems have poured in. Now, in Poems for Patriarchs, I have compiled the most inspirational and vision-communicating selections. The collection includes poems and prose both obscure and popular, but selected because of the profound way they speak to the most important issues in a man's life. They are neither fluffy nor frilly, foppish nor foolish, but virile and often sage, both as to their composition and character.
Each chapter in the book contains a generous number of selections, some new, some ancient, but all designed to address the various biblical roles, relationships and seasons in a man's life, from early boyhood to his twilight years.
The book begins with the ''Poems of Patriarchy,'' a section designed to inspire men to think in terms of sacrifice, certitude, and vision. In ''Poems of Boyhood,'' the memories of childhood and glories of being a boy are joyfully proclaimed. ''Poems of Sonship'' is dedicated to the meaning of honor between father and son. ''Poems of the Groom'' focuses on a man's love for his wife and the Lord's love for his bride, the Church. ''Poems of Fatherhood,'' includes my favorite poems that remind me of the ''big picture'' and the glory of raising up sons and daughters for the Lord. Many fathers will especially love ''Poems for the Children's Hour'' and ''Poems of Heroism'' because they include some of the very best ''daddy read-aloud'' poems.
A Sampling of Included Poems:
- The Patriarch
- The Pilgrim Vision of William Bradford
- The Hymn of Boyhood
- Woodman Spare That Tree
- The Letter of Sullivan Ballou
- King Alfred's War Song
- We Few, We Band of Brothers
- The Children's Hour
