Songs of the Beloved: Life, Love, and Learning by S. J. Beguely

This book begins with an end and ends with a beginning. The first poem, "The Fisher King," describes our struggles of life and faith and their ultimate end, eternal life in Christ. The last poem, "Good News," describes the first steps in a life of faith and the first breakthrough. In between them the very different works elaborate the long and diverse journeys of many lives, the author's own and those of the many who have touched his life and whose lives he has touched. Everyone is perceived as minor in the world's scheme of things, yet all are marvelous beings worth dying for in God's sight. Many of the poems have a deeply personal touch, some are a little comic, and some go into depth on crucial issues of faith and life, the struggles of Bible students as they go deep into the word, the state of the world, and issues of the last days. Some have a strong historical strain that reflects the struggles of personal histories, but all point ultimately to the eternity that will complete each person's life story.