Home >Oasis > Poetry> Sonnet (On his Blindness)

Process:

1. Quiet yourself and imagine dropping
down into the dark abundant well of your
soul. Take a few moments to feel that deep place and become aware of God's presence there.

2. Silently read the poem completely
through once.

3. Read the poem out loud.

4. Slowly read the poem again silently,
savoring the phrases, the words, the feel,
the taste of it.

5. On a blank piece of paper or on a page in your journal, complete the following:

a. The first image that arose in me as I read this poem was...

b. My immediate feelings after reading this poem are...

c. The reality that has been unearthed for me by reading this poem is...

d. If I were to paint a picture about this poem I would include my work of art...

e. If I were to add a line of my own somewhere in this poem it would be...

6. Read the poem out loud again, but this time as a prayer to God.

7. Sit in silence to see if God has a response to make to you.

8. End with your own prayer or poem of thanksgiving.

Sonnet (On his Blindness)

When I consider how my light is spent
Ere half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one talent which is death to hide
Lodged with me useless, thought my soul more bent
To serve therewith my Make, and present
My true account, lest he returning chide:
‘Doth God exact day-labour, light denied?’
I fondly ask. But patience, to prevent
That murmur, soon replies: ‘God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own grist, who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best, his State
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’er land and ocean without rest;
They also serve, who only stand and wait.’

John Milton (1608-1674)

From THE NEW OXFORD BOOK OF CHRISTIAN VERSE
Oxford University Press, 1981
pp. 97 - 98