Sunday, January 4, 2009
God's Champion
After the fall of the Roman Empire, darkness and unrest filled the known world. Only a few spots of God's grace was evident thru-out the Dark Ages, especially in Spain before the First Crusade. After great conquest of the Muslims, one man brought light to all of Spain, using his political and military guineas. Rodrego de Vivar, called El Cid, ( c. 1043-99) was exiled for spite of the king of Spain unjustly, but he continued to fight for Spain, his family, his king, and his God. At the time this poem takes place, the greatest force of the muslims make their move on the shore of Valencia in 1099, earlier captured by El Cid in 1094. This is the final battle in a generational war between the light and the darkness, and El Cid is God's champion.
Dark was the night the enemy came
To our haven in Golden Espania.
Dark their intent, and without shame
Did they lay siege to Valencia.
Though my heart pains to remember more,
I must sing the deeds done on that shore.
The Saracen banner they held high,
Within their endless, ominous ranks,
Towering onward into the sky,
Shadowing the glittering, peaceful banks
That were to be silent forever no more.
God, save us all on this, Your shore.
Lo, El Cid, our conquistador and lord,
Can even you fight this monstrous throng?
Hear the drums, the horns, the noise abhorred?
It is their battle cry, their bloody song.
But our champion opens the gates wide
So that many may charge by his side.
Morning after morning, night after night,
The drums kept time with the cries of death.
The arrows were flung with no end in sight
And many brave soldiers gave their last breath.
None would falter; all gave cheer
As long as our El Cid was near.
Oh! Ill hand who unfurled the shaft
That struck our champion's shoulder,
Were you half as steady and half as daft
You would have caused all hope be over.
Poison heads can men kill alone;
Tis the heart that is made of stone.
What can men do while their God given hope
Is on death's bed, and they with him.
Out side these walls, the darkness gropes
For the final blow, to destroy from within.
They call out, "El Cid is dead at last!"
Can we be saved from this fell blast?
"El Cid! El Cid!" is our thundering reply
As our champion rides to front of our ranks
The morning has come. In God we rely
To give the courage to retake His banks.
All fear has past, all doubts undone
With the coming of light added to the sun.
The gates were opened wider than the first.
El Cid was the first to charge the fray.
The enemy was panicked, their hope had burst
Before their eyes with the light of day.
We could not stop nor slow our pace.
Now the war had turned to a race.
The foes now ran faster than we could chase
But that would not begin to slow us.
We chased them to Africa, to their base.
The ending of it all was, at last, before us.
But none had expected nor foreseen
The sadness our return had been.
The truth was found; El Cid was dead
His wife had strapped him to his armor.
For he commanded to be put at the head
Of the ranks, to lead them to the shore.
He said, "Be I in heaven, allow one thing more,
That the darkness forever leave this glittering shore."
Cruel, cruel! and yet, mercies abound.
That in his death, he gave us life.
The Lord takes our lord for all to astound
With His Providential ways of relieving all strife.
Light has returned and gives us communion.
So is the deeds of our God's champion.
To our haven in Golden Espania.
Dark their intent, and without shame
Did they lay siege to Valencia.
Though my heart pains to remember more,
I must sing the deeds done on that shore.
The Saracen banner they held high,
Within their endless, ominous ranks,
Towering onward into the sky,
Shadowing the glittering, peaceful banks
That were to be silent forever no more.
God, save us all on this, Your shore.
Lo, El Cid, our conquistador and lord,
Can even you fight this monstrous throng?
Hear the drums, the horns, the noise abhorred?
It is their battle cry, their bloody song.
But our champion opens the gates wide
So that many may charge by his side.
Morning after morning, night after night,
The drums kept time with the cries of death.
The arrows were flung with no end in sight
And many brave soldiers gave their last breath.
None would falter; all gave cheer
As long as our El Cid was near.
Oh! Ill hand who unfurled the shaft
That struck our champion's shoulder,
Were you half as steady and half as daft
You would have caused all hope be over.
Poison heads can men kill alone;
Tis the heart that is made of stone.
What can men do while their God given hope
Is on death's bed, and they with him.
Out side these walls, the darkness gropes
For the final blow, to destroy from within.
They call out, "El Cid is dead at last!"
Can we be saved from this fell blast?
"El Cid! El Cid!" is our thundering reply
As our champion rides to front of our ranks
The morning has come. In God we rely
To give the courage to retake His banks.
All fear has past, all doubts undone
With the coming of light added to the sun.
The gates were opened wider than the first.
El Cid was the first to charge the fray.
The enemy was panicked, their hope had burst
Before their eyes with the light of day.
We could not stop nor slow our pace.
Now the war had turned to a race.
The foes now ran faster than we could chase
But that would not begin to slow us.
We chased them to Africa, to their base.
The ending of it all was, at last, before us.
But none had expected nor foreseen
The sadness our return had been.
The truth was found; El Cid was dead
His wife had strapped him to his armor.
For he commanded to be put at the head
Of the ranks, to lead them to the shore.
He said, "Be I in heaven, allow one thing more,
That the darkness forever leave this glittering shore."
Cruel, cruel! and yet, mercies abound.
That in his death, he gave us life.
The Lord takes our lord for all to astound
With His Providential ways of relieving all strife.
Light has returned and gives us communion.
So is the deeds of our God's champion.
About this time, the First Crusade was in full effect, and the eastern muslims had the retaking of Jerusalem to deal with. Without effective forces, Spain was not attacked again for quite some time, allowing it to be Christian for most of its existence until recently, when an increasing number of Muslims are gaining influence in Europe. Talk has even been seriously taken to exclude El Cid as the national hero of Spain. If he is, God pity them, but he should never be forgotten. His efforts as the true knight in shining armor are a beacon to all to stand in the gap for the cause of truth, no matter the cost. A loving husband, father, soldier, and politician, he still pointed all to his Lord's mercy, remaining loyal to his principals even into exile and death. May we all remember that God has champions for us to look to, and that we must follow their examples.
# posted by Kenneth F. Godslord @ 22:50 