~ by Dee Bran
Author’s Note: This poem was inspired by the inner struggles Orual faced in “Till We Have Faces” and some struggles we all seem to have. Although Orual suffered and did not live a “happy” life, she was said to have been one of the greatest rulers of her kingdom. When we go through trials and the death of that which we love and want, we might indirectly light the world with how we handle those moments that overtake us. Thus, we can be happy, good people; however, to be great men or women, we commonly must lay our own happiness on the pyre and sacrifice that which we love most. The concept of dying to self and losing one’s self to gain eternal happiness and the happiness of others is truly a hard lesson to master. Although (at first) Orual’s character seems slightly abstract on the first read, now I see a bit of myself and my own inner struggles in the great queen, and hope to learn from her example. Lewis truly has a gift for writing characters in which people see a bit of themselves, whether they be from the popular Chronicles of Narnia, Space Trilogy, Greek Mythology, or even Lewis himself.
***
I watch the first light and vanished again.
It made me wonder.
Chained, I began to see
Death of foolish fancies laid on the pyre
—beating, repenting fast.
Swilled with darkness,
It shone the whole world.
The great voice went though
—golden, soaring, weeping.
My heart broke then.
Bare to my eyes, near and far, imagined pillars crashing quickly.
I was overtaken.