Hymn to Perpetual Light

Book excerpt: Hymn to Perpetual Light: A Transcendental Comedy in Six Cantos makes use of Spenserian Stanzas and free verse to describe God's salvation of a world gone astray through Primal Sin. Beginning with theological and philosophical observations about God's relationship to his creation, poet Don Beach compares enlightenment to a spiritual journey. This would be from the darkness of a cave-like existence (ignorance and unawareness similar to Plato's Allegory of the Cave) to the bright light of reality and redemption through God's divine love and compassion. Fortunately, some cave dwellers aren't incorrigible or sinful beyond redemption; they are more likely to be confused and misguided. This, in turn, causes them to be detached from truth, beauty, and God's redeeming love. But the poet shows us that every person can be saved by traveling the challenging road to enlightenment and salvation that he describes in Hymn to Perpetual Light.