Lost Paradise

With so much turbulence on the geopolitical landscape, shocking reports outlining mass extinctions, racial and religious divisions and satanic references seemingly on the rise, some thoughts and feelings needed to be captured.

The 26 opening lines of Milton’s Paradise Lost (book 1), the Prologue and Invocation flooded in.. are we aware of our current fall from grace? That fall having been enabled by our blind/unquestioning obedience to materialism and a foggy minded obliviousness of the uniquely beautiful paradise we are losing. And so here is a modern day revision — I hope Milton will not mind.

Lost Paradise (compare and contrast)

Of our first blind obedience and the lure

To all that made us ‘free’, what crushing waste

Bought ‘wealth’ into our world, any yet we know

Without our garden we are without a plan

Oh help us, and refrain from hateful speech

Bring enlightened truth that sings to every one

Of mountain, and of ocean, sand and mire

Remind us, who first held the soil we need

And from where they came, the shades that made us whole

Arose from chaos, human powered will

Forthright and bold, with ancient notes foretold

Far down the passages of time; we knew

Of what we made and where we could belong

The answers in the light of nature’s law

And of the highest crowns the word would pass

Our dreaming respected by day and night

How in all our heavens did this loss occur?

Unwind the passages for love is sure

Entrust us, once more show us; of this we thirst

Till pounding hearts are eased from mighty dread

And sorrow sits correctly in its place

And fear no more swells: All in us that’s dark

Raise us from low vibration and report

For in our truth there is no argument

We may yet find our human governance

And justify our will to start again

K Smele