Wordless Book Sidlak

Without God,
And quite without hope,
Full of selfishness and pride,
My stubborn heart knew no remedy.
Black

But Jesus,
Born of a virgin,
Sinless, spotless Lamb of God,
Shed His perfect blood to redeem me.
Red

I trusted
In His saving power;
He took all my sins away,
Washed me in His blood, as clean as snow.
White

In heaven
He is preparing
A place for me, His redeemed,
To spend eternity with my King.
Gold

In God’s Word
I now meditate
And pray each day, that I may
Grow in grace and the knowledge of Christ.
Green

Scansion:
Sidlak — a 5-line poem with 3-5-7-9 syllables and a color. The last line is a color, and it embodies the theme of the stanza or the mood of the writer. Many thanks to Elsie Hagley of Ramblings of a Writer for introducing me to this form.

This poem is comprised of a series of Sidlak stanzas.

Why is it called the “Wordless Book Sidlak” when it is obvious that there are words written here? It is based on an object lesson I learned as a child, a literal wordless book we created in Vacation Bible School to remind us of the basic truths of the Bible. The pages were made of construction paper in the colors mentioned in the poem. As we constructed our books, the teacher taught us the significance of the colors using Scripture verses and illustrations. In later years, we also made Wordless Book beaded bracelets, Wordless Book bookmarks, Wordless Book beaded Christmas ornaments, etc., all utilizing these five colors. I even know a song that goes along with the book. Now I have a poem.

Photo courtesy of wordsaremylife.wordpress.com