Archives: Rich Man's Rue

(Originally published at www.iuchallenge.org/blog on January 13, 2005)

RICH MAN’S RUE
by Jon Smith

The muse is upon me…

I were a rich man,
once upon a time.
Lived the best a man can;
baubles, games and rhyme.

I skied on sno-capped mountains,
fished rivers in the spring,
was loved through all temptations,
I saw most everything.

Then I found myself in judgment.
Surprised, I was, to die.
Looking back across my memory
(my life without Christ in it)
was just another lie.

I lived!
I loved!
I held my own,
comparing man to man.
But before the throne
I stood alone,
and frozen my heart ran.

Just God demanded judgment,
and truly He was fair.
My sins though small condemned me.
Now I burn in Satan’s lair.

Here, O Death, thy victory!
Here, O Death, thy sting!
Who’d have thought a life like mine
to this estate would bring?

I heard.
Ignored.
Scoffed!
At the life in Christ that’s found.

Embrace Him now! my fervent prayer,
lest, like me, in flames, you’re bound.