Then Came the Dawn

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Then came the dawn
of changing times
of shifting winds and paradigms
when all but gone
was memory
of how we lived and used to be.

It was the year
that some foretold
on scribbled stone in days of old
“Sit now and fear.
For all your days
will fade in this galactic haze.”

It was the year
that others told
to those in other days of old:
“Sit now in fear
and trembling still.
Work out your faith as is His will.

"For it is not
the task of man
to set or see the sovereign plan
nor then to plot,
according to........................................................ Mayan calendar in stone
the flesh, what he in turn will do.

"‘Tis all, alas!
what’s meant to be
and though it seems a tragedy,
This, too, shall pass,
and in the end,
bring hope as sun and moon descend.”

Then came the dawn
of changing times
of shifting winds and paradigms
when all but gone
was any fear
of what might happen in that year.
© Copyright 2012 Tom Kapanka

In case you didn't know it, the year of our Lord 2012, according to some mystics, is going to change (or end) our lives. Spend some time reading this Wikipedia article and you'll get the general idea. It opens by saying, "... Many contemporary fictional references to the year 2012 refer to December 21 as the day of a cataclysmic event…” That article closes by citing many cultural references to this phenomenon, including this note for tourists:
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"In 2011, the Mexico tourism board stated its intentions to use the year 2012, without its apocalyptic connotations, as a means to revive Mexico's tourism industry.... The initiative hopes to draw on the mystical appeal of the Mayan ruins. On December 21, 2011, the Mayan town of Tapachula in Chiapas activated an eight-foot digital clock counting down the days until b'ak'tun 13 [December 22, 2012]."
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We at CCS do not ascribe to any "Dooms Day" prophecies that set dates--especially from pagan sources. Consider the paragraphs above a primer for trivial conversations about the "2012 phenomenon."

I don't mean to trivialize, however, the importance of this year for our school.

In the weeks and months ahead, the School Board will be updating our school family about the transition to an independence as well as the continuity of the most important aspects or our Christian school program. The school board, administration, teachers and nearly everyone else involved agree that the new independent paradigm will help ensure the future of an inviting, growing evangelical K-12 CCS for west Michigan.

Note about the writing process: The short poem above uses medial rhyme (as seen in "Summer Road") and a variation on alternating tetrameter and dimeter lines (eight-count and four-count) (as seen in "My Father's Hands"). But these lines follow a 4-4-8 count, medial rhyme while including a pattern of initial rhymes (the first word of the 1st and 4th lines of each stanza). Sometimes incorporating that much form in poetry hinders the function. Here are the same words in prose form with links for further understanding. [Click on red text below to go to links.]
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Then came the dawn of changing times of shifting winds and paradigms when all but gone was memory of how we lived and used to be.It was the year that some foretold on scribbled stone in days of old: “Sit now and fear. For all your days will fade in this galactic haze.”It was the year that others told to those in other days of old: “Sit now in fear and trembling still. Work out your faith as is His will. For it is not the task of man to set or see the sovereign plan nor then to plot, according to the flesh, what he in turn will do. ‘Tis all, alas! what’s meant to be, and though it seems a tragedy, This, too, shall pass, and in the end, bring hope as sun and moon descend.” Then came the dawn of changing times of shifting winds and paradigms when all but gone was any fear of what might happen in that year.