Jean Immerwahr’s Poems
 
 
All of these poems were published in The Christian Science Journal
 
His Holy Plan    
1958, p.541                        
 
There is a goal, a place for safe arriving;        
To reach it, all must pass beneath the rod
There stillness shall take the place of striving;
Meekness and love shall know the things of God.
                                        
Think not thy struggles are for nought.        
Thy Shepherd takes thee in when thou art ready.
To drop the hidden error in thy thought.              
 
There is a nest, a promised peace awaiting,
A radiant joy to know and share with men.
Fear not, the fire that tries will not destroy thee;
The gold of purest manhood shall remain.
 
There is a mountaintop of holy vision
Where thou canst glimpse the love of God for man
And lay thy burden down in self-surrender,
Willing at last to serve His holy plan.
 
 
Pure Song      
1958, p. 2082
 
I  know song
without singing    
even a note;

heard without ears
voiced without
throat.
 
I  know
pure golden melody
poured from above;
 
an outburst of harmony
from the great heart
of Love!
 
 
 
Grace      
1960, p. 713                          
 
I longed to serve my God,                              
but saw before me  
only menial tasks. Chafing and tearful,  
these I did,                              
until I came to see                                
that there was beauty hid  in work well done.    
 
I yearned to serve His Christ,  
but there were those  
who greatly needed me.  
In caring for them, I learned
humility  
and selflessness.      
Rebellion disappeared.                    

I longed to serve my God.                
At last, I thought,                  
I'm free.  "Now Lord,
may I not give my all to Thee?"                
His answer made me smile,  
so tenderly it came: "Beloved,                
you have been serving all the while."        
 
 
Household of God  
1961, p.808
 
May I know all loved ones
as they are known of Thee,
Dear Father, may I know
these children dear,
and all who enter here
as Thine, not mine.
Thine own dear sons.
In my thought may they be
released from mortal birth,
from taint of earth,
from fear, concern, anxiety.
 
Even from natural pride,
may I be free.
From all that cruel creed insists,
may I desist; know them instead
as fellow saints.
and always in my concept
may they be,
even as I am, Lord,
maintained by Thee.
 
 
This Day    
1962, p. 409
 
This day can ask no more of us than we can give.
In the infinitude of Life divine we live.
With the omniscience of the Mind of God
There is a fold, a safe and lovely dwelling;    
We know just what to say and do and where to go.
 
Sacrifice    
1967, p. 466                        
 
Father, if they only knew                        
the dear rewards which come    
from serving You  --
if they could only find    
the blessings You so bountifully give;  
the peace of mind,      
the inspiration bright, the inner song,  
the life unburdened, free    
from sense of wrong  ---  
then would they understand how small the price,    
how large the good that flows into our lives  
from sacrifice.  
 
 
 
What Love Imparts      
1981, p. 1223                  
 
Not only by how                                  
I think - or pray -                                
when I'm striving to find the way            
does the impartation of Spirit's ray              
illumine my consciousness today                                                          
 
What Love imparts                        
comes silently,                          
as I turn from self                            
and, willingly,                                  
meekly acknowledge                          
perfection to be                                
the only reality                        
of you, and me.
 
A Definition
1983 p. 409
 
More than
begging
beseeching
imploring,
    prayer is
        acknowledging,
        praising
        adoring.
More than
           stillness,
           listening
           confiding,
               prayer is
                   trusting,
                   yielding,
                   abiding.
 
 
Love's Doing

1986, p. 381      
 
Swallowed                                
by dailiness of life?                        
Routine of chores,
the treadmill of                                
sheer / mere / existence;                        
    the tediousness of                        
    life in matter and                        
    its care-taking-          
    locked-on-to-
    patterns
    of boredom / dullness / sleep?
 
Then, lift your head!                        
let Truth and Love
bring sweet release --                      
not from the tasks,                        
    but from the thoughts                                  
    that bind you to the flesh.                
    Ascend! Rise up, be free!                  
   Then will you do your daily thing                            
   gloriously.                                
 
 
His Nearness        
1989, p.41-8
 
God's nearness
does not come
and go . . .
 
His goodness
will not, ebb . . .
And flow.
 
His hereness
is not now,  
and then,  
going and
coming back
 again.
 
When His oneness
fills our sight,
His All-allness
dispels our night.
                                                
The REAL You
1989, p 34-16
 
You have shown so much
of your heavenly self
in the kindly things you do
that when I see its opposite
I know it isn't /
can't be/ never was/
and never will be
YOU