Rainbow Strings: Hope in the
Poetry of Dr. Stephen Gill
Ann
Iverson
The poetry of Dr.
Stephen Gill summons us to the threshold of peace, to the pathway of solitude,
and to the river of imagination. He offers that “The world of poetry / is woven
with rainbow strings / sorted in the secret caves of desire…” And it is only in
reading the lyrical lines of his work that one can feel the hope that carries
us to a new belief in poetry and a new thirst for peace.
In “The World of Poetry” Gill ordains
the art as “[a] sky…studded with diamonds, excavated from the rocky valley of
human experience.” In this line, the poem itself is given glorious healing
capabilities as it lets us rise from a rocky terrain to a sky shining and
faceted. Gill’s constant tone of gratitude and amazement amidst pain and
suffering offers an oracle of hope that every human can and should enter.
Gill’s words commit us to a new notion of believing for the good of things.
“I am often greeted / by the bursting
flutters of the dove /while rambling the rayless
resort/ of the fears / from the scamps of my surroundings.” -- This opening
line from “Flight of The Dove” signifies the poet’s commitment to searching for
the virtuosity of hope and peace within any human struggle. In his
extraordinary poem “Seeking the Dove of Peace” he continues to pull us down the
path of peace with his graceful, steady lines of friendship: “Let us walk /
side by side / my friend / to seek out that dove.” With a language and tone
filled with such trust, how could we not follow? “Let us ask all beings / even
the beasts / if they would / give us their hands.” So even
the creatures of the world will not be left behind on the journey in search of
the dove of peace.
And Gill maintains his faith in the
natural world of animals and nature in his shockingly beautiful poem “Who Shall
Buy” in which he offers us a resting place filled with gratitude and an over
abundance of song and hope, a trust and strength in those things we take for
granted.
No one can
buy
nor sell
the blessings of
the skies
the warmth of
the valleys.
No one can
buy
nor sell
the freedom of
the winds
the grace of the
lakes
the dignity of
the palm trees
the mystery of
the oceans
the sobriety of
the jungles
and the songs of
the seasons.
No one can
buy
nor sell
the fragrance of
the flowers
which is a friend
of the universe;
and the
inter-dependence
of all animals,
nations and nature
who form a
family with humans
and who breathe
the same air
under the same
canopy.
While Dr. Gill’s poetry travels many
diverse topics including war, abuse, death, and disease, he always returns to
the dove of peace, the god of harmony, the voice of oneness, the rainbow
strings. His art extends to us a new vision of nobility and calls us to gaze
upon the face of hope and peace.
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Ann
Iverson is Senior Academic Director of Arts
and Sciences at
including Come
Now To The Window and Definite
Space. Her
poems have appeared in prestigious
publications such as The
Oklahoma Review, Margie:
American Journal of Poetry, Poetry
East, Water-
Stone Review, Conte, Tarwolf Review, Kritya
and
others.