( Log Out /  Zechariah's word, today comes true, 'See your King now comes to you.' DAVID MILLS — Following is the English writer G. K. Chesterton’s poem, “The Donkey.” Home‎ > ‎Quotations and Illustrations‎ > ‎~P‎ > ‎Palm Sunday‎ > ‎ Poem, "The Poet Thinks of the Donkey" The Poet Thinks of the Donkey, by Mary Oliver. The donkey remains dumb and does not declare his moment of greatness to those who deride him. Chesterton was an English poet, art critic and Christian apologist. Here is a further portion of the full blog entry with a reflection on the poem: The donkey serves as literary device to link birth and death, Christmas and Easter, We often think of the donkey as the lowly, humble, unattractive beast of burden who carries Christ into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. ‘The Donkey’ by G.K. Chesterton is told from the perspective of the self-hating donkey Christ rode into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday. Loving and meek, no power would he seek, as he sat on the donkey so humble. . What does it feel like? For I also had my hour; One far fierce hour and sweet: There was a shout about my ears, And palms before my feet. Palm Sunday celebrates Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey with palms at his feet. The reverence this animal has for its Messianic rider challenges the audience: they're encouraged to recover the immense wonder in the familiar biblical scene. The renowned author, journalist and Christian apologist GK Chesterton was the … the donkey. Christ rode him into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, and that one moment gives the donkey confidence in himself. The renowned author, journalist and Christian apologist GK Chesterton was the inspired […] But then, most us may be too hard on ourselves. As he wrote in Orthodoxy: 'I had always felt life first as a story: and if there is a story there is a story-teller.' He told them to look for a donkey tied by a house, with its unbroken colt next to it. But a famous poem illuminates the tale by embracing the perspective not of Jesus or the people, but the humble colt on which the Messiah rode. And palms before my feet. Before Jesus entered the city, he told his disciples, “go into the village in front of you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied, and a colt with her. 4 tried and tested ways to slow down and reflect, Racial discrimination 'has no place' in evangelicalism, Big Tech may soon ban Christians, church leader warns. Paraphrase The theme of the poem is explaining the story of Palm Sunday that most important man to ever walk the Earth used the most unattractive animal to take him into town. James Tissot, Palm Sunday painting. The Donkey . Palm Sunday - The Donkey Poem - G. K. Chesterton. The renowned author, journalist and Christian apologist GK Chesterton was the inspired mind behind a short poem that puts a new spin on Palm Sunday. Patrick Comerford has posted GK Chesterton’s poem “The Donkey” as his Palm Sunday entry in his Lenten Poems series. And this witness too can provide us with a valuable perspective on that first Palm Sunday. leap with delight! Of ancient, crooked will; VIDEO : 1 min Read by Dame Edith Evans, 1939 They don’t read poetry like this nowadays. […] A Poem for Palm Sunday: GK Chesterton’s “The Donkey” […], […] A Poem for Palm Sunday: GK Chesterton’s “The Donkey” (2012) […]. It … Fools! The tattered outlaw of the earth, Of ancient crooked will, With monstrous head and sickening cry And ears like errant wings, The devil's walking parody On all four-footed things. The Donkey, by GK Chesterton. Fools! Was you ever in Fortune Bay? There's a wider point not just about Easter but human life: we're invited to see in the lowly and unimpressive glimpses of glory and supreme dignity. The tattered outlaw of the earth, Of ancient crooked will; Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb, I keep my secret still. The Donkey: A Poem for Palm Sunday. For I also had my hour; One far fierce hour and sweet: There was a shout about my ears, And palms before my feet. Is the donkey too hard on himself? A number of people have requested copies of it, so I’m making it available here. When fishes flew and forests walked, And figs grew upon thorn, Some moment when the moon was blood, Then surely I was born. Also a wonderful metaphor for how God uses the flawed to complete his perfect will. In the first lines of this piece, the speaker begins by stating that as he was born he was made into something ugly. The tattered outlaw of the earth, Chesterton’s poem The Donkey is a classic of reversed perspectives – ‘unexpected prophecy in the mouth of a donkey … highly suitable for celebrating Palm Sunday, the festival of the king who rides humbly on an ass, rather than on a war horse like the Roman conquerors’ as Janet Morely puts it in her excellent book, The Heart’s Time – a series of mediations on various poems for Lent and Easter. Please click here to learn how. With monstrous head and sickening cry. On the outskirts of Jerusalem. He truly is, Gods righteous Son, So in Jesus came, and the strong and the lame At the end of the third stanza, the donkey informs us that he has a secret, and that secret is revealed in the last two lines of the poem. The Poet thinks about the donkey. The poem's final stanza gives us the revelation of this lowly animal's secret past: 'Fools! Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. The image of the donkey in his moment of glory carrying Christ speaks of the intrinsic worth of every human, and the glory of every human soul in God’s love. This is the best Palm Sunday poem we know. the donkey waited. When it is untied and let go, nothing can stop the love of God and neighbor that is inside of us. The One who carries the world in the palm of his hand allowed a donkey to carry him, and endured those waving palms in the hands of those … You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. By David Mills Published on March 29, 2015 • David Mills. eval(ez_write_tag([[728,90],'christiantoday_com-box-3','ezslot_4',113,'0','0'])); Palm Sunday celebrates Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey with palms at his feet. Palm Sunday by Albert Watson. Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com. And figs grew upon thorn, Palm Sunday celebrates Christ’s triumphant entry into Jerusalem, riding on a donkey with palms at his feet. Was you ever in Miramichi, Where ye tie up to a tree, An' the girls sit on yer knee, Ridin' on a donkey? Of ancient crooked will; Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb, I keep my secret still. His  writing would later inspire the atheist CS Lewis to convert. Fools! went up the shout. Five days later, Jesus broke bread with his disciples and told them, “This is my body.” Just as the donkey is an unsung, unloved and unattractive creature who becomes the hero in Chesterton’s poem, so too the most humble and unattractive people, even though they are without social connections or the appearance of being important, are seen by Christ as who they truly are, made in God’s image and likeness. Admin April 14, 2019 April 14, 2019 Other Writers. You have to be familiar with the story of Jesus entering Jerusalem on the back of a donkey to catch the allusion. Spread your cloak, grab a palm, Let's all rejoice and sing a psalm. THE DONKEY. Christ looked even more “monstrous” than the donkey (Isaiah 52: 14), he was “starved, scourged, derided,” four times in the Gospels he was “dumb,” but his hour of glory came on the cross. Some moment when the moon was blood, And ears like errant wings, Post was not sent - check your email addresses! No matter how humble or crushed in spirit we may feel, we are all God’s beloved children and we are all capable of being raised in glory. GK Chesterton, a Catholic, explored theological and existential truths through fiction and poetry. One far fierce hours and sweet: The story in this case grasps the easily forgotten absurdity of Palm Sunday: a prophesied King of Israel entered Jerusalem not on a throne or with an army at his side, but on a donkey. At the words "rejoicing" and "shouting," the crowd began to stir. The Donkey poem is one of the most popular posts on Ichabod, The Glory Has Departed. A tender poem that references Palm Sunday. Patrick Comerford has posted GK Chesterton’s poem “The Donkey” as his Palm Sunday entry in his Lenten Poems series. Chesterton captures Palm Sunday from the perspective of the donkey that Jesus rode. For I also had my hour; One far fierce hour and sweet: There was a shout about my ears, And palms before my feet. In God’s eyes, we all deserve palms before our feet. The tattered outlaw of the earth, Of ancient crooked will; Starve, scourge, deride me: I am dumb, I keep my secret still. Nobody is truly worthless, no matter what others may think. As the world changes at breakneck speed, can the Church keep up? For I also had my hour;eval(ez_write_tag([[300,250],'christiantoday_com-medrectangle-3','ezslot_1',156,'0','0'])); One far fierce hour and sweet: There was a shout about my ears, And palms before my feet.'. clatter away, splashed with sunlight. My Poem for Lent today on this Palm Sunday morning is ‘The Donkey’ by Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936), an English writer, journalist, critic and poet who was well-known for his reasoned apologetics. When fishes flew and forests walked. For him, theology and imagination were intimately connected. For I also had my hour; Palm Sunday is the day when we, like Jesus’ animal companion, are set loose to … Way hey and away we go, Donkey riding, donkey riding; Way hey and away we go, Ridin' on a donkey. Change ), You are commenting using your Facebook account. gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey." by G.K. Chesterton. But a famous poem illuminates the tale by embracing the perspective not of Jesus or the people, but the humble colt on which the Messiah rode. However, this poem points us, not so much to the donkey, but to our “Beast of Burden,” Christ, who carried the burden that no one else could bear – the sins of the world. The whole poem is written with the donkey … The Donkey: How GK Chesterton radically retold Palm Sunday. With monstrous head and sickening cry, Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email. But a famous poem illuminates the tale by embracing the perspective not of Jesus or the people, but the humble colt on which the Messiah rode. ( Log Out /  They didn’t know the half of it. It's God – not human judgments – who gives creatures their glorious dignity.eval(ez_write_tag([[580,400],'christiantoday_com-medrectangle-4','ezslot_2',150,'0','0'])); Stay up to date with the latest Christian news! The Donkey. ( Log Out /  ), Our compilation of Easter Resources & Links, Practice Resurrection (Ordinary Splendor blog), 2006 Anglican Bloggers Lenten Devotionals Series – Index, Biola: The Lent Project (online multi-media devotional), Homemaking Through the Church Year (Lent), Jouney to the Cross Devotional (D365.org), Lenten Scripture Cross – a Lenten “Jesse Tree”, Passionists: Meditations & Prayers for Lent, Trinity School for Ministry: Online Lenten Devotional, Magic Statistics (Prayers & Liturgy posts), Middle East & North Africa (Lent & Beyond), The King’s English – Reborn as Reading Between The Lines. “What can we possibly learn from the donkey?” Well, God once used a donkey to speak to someone in the Old Testament. Imagine perhaps that you are the donkey. With monstrous head and sickening cry, Fools! I’ve really appreciated the Rev. Why does China feel so threatened by Christians? This entry was posted on Sunday, April 1st, 2012 at 5:56 pm and is filed under Anglican Heritage, Devotional, Holy Week, Lent Devotionals, Palm Sunday, Poems, Hymns and Songs. All humanity is graced to be made in the image of God, and like Balaam's Ass in the Old Testament, its often through rejected, unexpected outsiders that God chooses to speak his wisdom. ( Log Out /  The donkey may be derided as a stupid animal, yet he is used by God for the most triumphal journey in history, highlighting the difference between God’s wisdom and ours. 1. He’d come to that place to show God’s saving grace, that God’s on the sufferer’s side. Then surely I was born. Palm Sunday Story Summary On his way to Jerusalem, Jesus sent two disciples ahead to the village of Bethphage, about a mile away from the city at the foot of the Mount of Olives. he stood and waited. Maybe they started dreaming of the grain and wine he would provide for them. Titled simply 'The Donkey', it narrates, in the voice of the colt, its sad existence. "Son of David!" When fishes flew and forests walked, Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window), Click to share on Twitter (Opens in new window), Click to email this to a friend (Opens in new window), Holy Week 2012 Index of Posts « Lent & Beyond, A Collection of Palm Sunday Prayers and Devotionals | Lent & Beyond, Poems for Lent, Holy Week, Good Friday… | Lent & Beyond, 43 Poems for Lent - a complete index of Patrick Comerford's 2012 blog series, A Compilation of 70 Favorite Easter and Eastertide Hymns, A Poem for Palm Sunday: GK Chesterton's "The Donkey", Music for Lent: Not What My Hands Have Done, The Rev. To enjoy our website, you'll need to enable JavaScript in your web browser. In 2016, it is observed in the Western church on March 20, while in … Transfigurations blog – Advent Devotionals, Becoming Easter People (Ordinary Splendor blog), Daily Prayers & Reflections for the Easter Octave (Creighton U. What kind of king rides on a donkey a donkey that might be borrowed, or might be hijacked? Palm Sunday is a day we Christians commemorate as we remember Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem during this Easter season. When fishes flew and forests walked And figs grew upon thorn, Some moment when the moon was blood, Then surely I was born; ... Aries - I have always loved this poem, since i first read it at school.Really thought provoking, wonderful . Works Cited Its pretty self-explaining. 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