In warmth and beauty of old Palestine,
Eusebius composed his poetry.
With these few words commenced my poetry
to please my Lady (then), whose perfidy
I (too naively) did not fear nor see;
nor her derision, subtle and malign,
that scorned my callow verse in mockery.
Author's Notes/Comments:
My first poem, intended to be an epic, on the Historia Ecclesiastica by Eusebius of Caesarea, was supposed to please my Lady, my first love. I began writing the poem on the afternoon of October 13, 1975. Of course, it proved beyond my ability, and in a month I turned to another subject just as my Lady turned to another love. But I knew that I wanted to be a poet, and on July 16, 1994, the Lord confirmed that for me. The first rhymed poem I wrote followed in August of that year.
