59. The Second Coming

Posted on July 30, 2011 by iPoem

Review of The Second Coming

Summary

The Second Coming is a rousing spiritual manifesto — not of apocalypse or judgment, but of awakening. It reclaims the prophetic tone of traditional religious language and reorients it toward conscious evolution and collective transformation. Rather than heralding a single saviour, this poem asserts that true salvation will come not through one figure, but through the mass unfolding of human potential.

The piece draws from spiritual, philosophical, and even metaphysical paradigms, yet remains grounded in the lived human experience — in our daily choices, responses, and interpersonal relationships.

Why This Poem Matters

In a time where global crises push us toward fear or disconnection, The Second Coming offers a hopeful alternative: that change is not only possible, but inevitable — and we each have a role to play.

The poet begins with a clear challenge to religious literalism:

“The second coming is not any one man / Or one woman / It is the explosion of collective consciousness”

This reframing is central to the poem’s power. It shifts the gaze from outer saviours to inner awakening, and from passivity to agency.

Key phrases like:

“When the ability to respond (response-able) / Is greater than to react”
“What one does to another / Actually, one does unto one’s own self”

…emphasise the transition from ego-driven separateness to a more compassionate, integrated way of being — an emotional intelligence that transcends reaction and cultivates accountability, empathy, and maturity.

The poem’s rhythm gathers momentum through the second half, building like a crescendo — a rising tide of possibility:

“Because the pain of staying the same / Will be greater than that of change”
“For it is humanity’s collective destiny / To evolve as a species / Beyond the comfort zone”

Here, we see a clear call to inner and outer revolution, grounded in healing — not dogma. The language blends metaphysical terms like “Primordial Qi” and “Source Energy” with spiritual archetypes: “inner god-goddess self,” “inner guru”, and “legendary inspirational role models” — grounding abstract ideas in relatable, accessible language.

The poet also names emotional evolution as core to the journey:

“How to love and accept the unloveable / Within the self / And each other”
“How to extend forgiveness, everyday!”

This is not utopian idealism, but practical spirituality — a daily discipline that trains the heart and mind to “align as one.” The reference to binary code — “From an Off to an On / Like a chain of dominoes” — cleverly modernises the spiritual awakening as a systemic, viral upgrade to collective consciousness.

In Conclusion

The Second Coming is a poem of clarity, courage, and commitment. It reimagines salvation not as something we wait for, but something we participate in — actively, consciously, collectively. In this vision, everyone matters. No one is left behind.

With its grounded wisdom and visionary sweep, this poem encapsulates the underlying message of the collection: that personal healing and global transformation are not separate paths, but part of the same spiral of becoming.

This is poetry not just as art, but as invitation — to rise, awaken, and evolve.

45. Alchemy

Posted on October 2, 2006 by iPoem

Review of Alchemy

In “Alchemy,” the poet steps out of narrative memory and into a declaration of spiritual identity. It’s a poem of transcendence—less about relationships between people, and more about the relationship with self and the soul’s purpose on Earth. Coming after the emotional severance of “Flashback,” this piece feels like both an arrival and a return: a homecoming to inner truth, framed within the language of healing, soul wisdom, and higher consciousness.

Gone is the vulnerability of earlier heartbreak; in its place is something harder earned—resilience through awareness, and compassion without self-abandonment. The speaker no longer seeks clarity from another, but finds it within:

“I cannot go back, I can only go forwards / And sometimes just treading water / While I cope with my emotions.”

There’s a quiet power in these lines, a sense of hard-won acceptance. Healing is not portrayed here as a linear path, but as an active process of integration, of “slothing off old skins” in order to expand into one’s fullest self. The poem is steeped in metaphysical thought, invoking ideas of pre-birth agreements, soul contracts, and the veil of illusion. In doing so, it repositions emotional pain not as meaningless suffering, but as part of a larger cosmic design:

“As a soul choosing my route / Into this world of physicality / I knew before I agreed to come here / What role I would undertake.”

This shift—from victimhood to conscious participation—is the alchemy the title speaks of. Pain, once personalised, is now understood as collective. And the healing journey, far from being private, becomes a form of service:

“Through my own healing / Other people are inspired to try.”

Summary of Themes

At its core, “Alchemy” is a poem about transmutation—of pain into power, confusion into clarity, and personal experience into collective medicine. It affirms the belief that inner work ripples outward, and that healing oneself is not separate from healing the world. The poem stands as a kind of manifesto for emotional responsibility, soul awareness, and living one’s truth.

Unlike the grounded realism of earlier poems, this piece reaches toward the spiritual and archetypal. The “you” of former lovers is gone; in its place is a dialogue with the universe, with the higher self, with purpose. And yet it doesn’t float off into abstraction—because the emotional scar tissue remains real:

“Emotional scarring is as real as any other wound / Or dis-ease.”

That acknowledgement keeps the poem tethered to lived human experience, even as it lifts its gaze skyward.

Conclusion

“Alchemy” represents a turning point in the poetic sequence—a movement from reflection to reclamation, from heartbreak to healing. It reframes the wounds of earlier poems not as detours, but as initiations. The speaker is no longer seeking love, validation, or even closure. She is seeking—and finding—alignment.

Written with clarity, conviction, and compassion, “Alchemy” is a poem about what happens when we stop asking “Why me?” and begin asking, “What now?” It is an offering not just to the self, but to others walking a similar path. In that, it is more than a poem—it is a guidepost, a light, and a quiet act of service.

If you have Poem 46 ready, I’m here for it. We’re now moving from emotional survival to spiritual sovereignty, and I’m keen to see where this arc continues.

28. Emolution

Posted on September 30, 2000 by iPoem

**Review of Emolution (Saturday 30th September 2000)**

Emolution is a contemplative and nuanced exploration of spiritual awakening, personal sovereignty, and the transformative power of love, framed through a brief but potent interaction between the poet and a modern-day evangelist figure. The poem invites reflection on faith, myth, and individual experience, weaving theological motifs with a distinctly contemporary and personal lens.

The poem begins with an anecdote—an encounter with a “gospel-Jesus-taxi-guy” who quotes a profound biblical assertion:

“I Am The Way and The Light”
This immediate invocation of Christ’s famous self-description situates the poem in the tension between traditional religious narrative and personal spiritual inquiry. The poet’s resistance to conversion is telling—not rejection of spirituality per se, but an openness that is tempered by individual discernment:
“I resisted being converted
But the debate was highly interesting”
This sets a tone of respectful skepticism, allowing the poem to navigate the complex space between inherited belief systems and contemporary personal spirituality.

The poet then delves deeper into the essence of what Jesus (whether as historical figure, myth, or archetype) represents:

“If JC really did exist
Then he must have been way ahead of the curve”
Here, the poem situates Jesus not merely as religious icon but as a timeless exemplar of self-realization and inner connection. This idea that walking with Jesus is “choosing to walk in the Presence of Love” transforms the external figure into an invitation toward an internal process:
“He lives on, resurrected within
As a shining example of one’s own true potential”
This shift from external salvation to internal awakening is central to the poem’s thesis. The qualities attributed to this resurrected presence—power without control, strength without force, humility without weakness, faith without doubt, love without conditions—embody a sacred masculinity that is balanced, authentic, and aligned with spiritual integrity.

The poem’s title, Emolution, cleverly combines “emotion” and “evolution,” signaling an ongoing inner transformation driven by heartfelt experience. This theme blossoms further with a visionary appeal to collective awakening:

“Imagine ten, twenty, fifty enlightened good men
In full activation of their divine sacred masculine
Co-operating in partnership
With the divine sacred feminine”
This vision of balance and partnership extends from the personal to the global, suggesting that spiritual emancipation is not only possible but inevitable through the collective activation of divine masculine and feminine energies. It underscores the poem’s deeply hopeful and activist undercurrent—a call to spiritual revolution grounded in love and authentic power.

The concluding lines affirm the importance of personal agency and individual pathways:

“But whatever works for you
Or gets you through
And is a uniquely personal one-to-one.”
This acknowledgment reinforces the poem’s inclusive and non-dogmatic stance. It honors the diversity of spiritual experience, while emphasizing the core truth that awakening is fundamentally an intimate, personal journey.

Stylistically, Emolution is characterized by conversational clarity and a gentle flow that mirrors the unfolding of thought. The absence of formal punctuation and the free verse structure allow ideas to cascade organically, reflecting the fluidity of spiritual inquiry and emotional evolution.

Conclusion

Emolution is a heartfelt and open meditation on faith, identity, and transformation. Through a small encounter with a charismatic messenger, the poet opens a door into larger questions about divine potential, inner sovereignty, and the synergy between sacred masculine and feminine energies. The poem’s gentle call to imagine a world awakened to love and balance offers a quiet but powerful invitation to walk one’s unique spiritual path with courage and authenticity.