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Fullness of Joy

by Angela Umphers Rueger

A stream flows freely from my heart;
It cannot be stopped—
Laughing, trickling, gurgling, bubbling,
Over weed and rock.

Nor wind nor storm can it abate;
Troubles make it strong—
Churning, swirling, perking, gushing,
My joy follows on.

The famine can be difficult;
Almost dries it up—
Ebbing, gliding, coursing, flowing,
Springing from my cup.

© 2017 Angela Umphers Rueger – All Rights Reserved
from The Abundant Heart

Posted on July 30, 2017 at 6:09 AM in Angela.U.R., Poetry   |  RSS feed |   Reply   |   Trackback URL

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10 Comments to “Fullness of Joy”

    
  1. myfailurestep, Education
    July 30, 2017 at 7:48 AM

    Ended on a sad note, yes, when the stream dries up, there are rains

    Reply
    • Angela Umphers Rueger
      July 31, 2017 at 3:54 PM

      Not really. In the last stanza I admitted that sometimes we experience drought, but then I recovered in the second half of the penultimate line and in the final line. Thank you very much for reading and commenting.

      Reply
      • myfailurestep, Education
        July 31, 2017 at 4:01 PM

        Can you please explain it? Thank you

      • Angela Umphers Rueger
        July 31, 2017 at 4:13 PM

        I’d be happy to. I’m comparing joy to a stream. I’ve been to Bolivia, where the streams only flow during the rainy season. In the dry season, or famine, some are completely dry, while others just barely trickle. I chose “ebbing” and “gliding” first, to suggest only a little water. But then I moved on to “coursing” and “flowing” to suggest that the stream has revived. The last line, “springing from my cup” is an allusion to Psalm 23:5, where David says “My cup runneth over.” It is also an allusion to a children’s song that says, “My cup’s running over with joy.” No one can be happy all the time because life is full of disappointments, but that doesn’t mean we cannot experience joy. Joy runs deeper than despair. Does that help?

      • myfailurestep, Education
        July 31, 2017 at 4:15 PM

        Yes, I get it, when your cup is empty, God fills your cup, you may run out of your stream in your day to day life and then you look towards God and he fills it!

      • myfailurestep, Education
        July 31, 2017 at 4:16 PM

        Thanks!

  2. thereluctantpoet
    August 1, 2017 at 3:44 AM

    Loved this piece! It flowed so wonderfully, just like a stream ever flowing and growing. This has such great imagery! I would love to hear an audio of this sometime if possible??? Ha!

    This poem reminded me so much of a poem I love “The Song Of The Chatahoochee”. This had the same flowing nature. Please take some time and read this? I think You will like it too!

    https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/song-chattahoochee

    Reply
    

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