DEAR LORD

Gebhart praises God in this Christian picture-book poem.

Gebhart has a song in his heart, and it’s directed at God. “Dear Lord, Dear Lord,” it begins, “I love you Lord // And all day long // I sing my song.” This book contains Gebhart’s 32-line poem in praise of God, with each line given its own page. The pages include full-color photographs of trees: some lining paths or the banks of ponds, others standing in parks or forests. The poem expresses the author’s appreciation for the Lord’s presence in his life from sunrise to sunset. The language of the poem is simple and accessible, with occasional uses of unexpected language, as here where he refers to the cross on which Jesus was crucified as a tree, appropriate given the photography: “Your spirit carried me // When you hung on a tree.” The concept of Christ’s sacrifice for the sins of mankind features heavily in the final lines of the poem, in which the poet contemplates his own and humankind’s sinfulness: “I love, I try not to sin // Without sin I have not been // On the cross Jesus died // In sin our souls are tied.” These lines are the most reflective and probing of the poem and will likely resonate with Christian readers. Unfortunately, the poem does not generally display a high level of craftsmanship. Gebhart pays no attention to meter but rather chases end rhymes that lead to clunky couplets like, “I am all aboard // I love my Lord.” The end rhymes are so expected that when Gebhart goes with a near rhyme instead of a perfect one, the poem screeches to a halt: “I walk not on waters // You are all that matters.” The slapdash nature of the book is exemplified by the fact that several of the photos—stock images, all—repeat. One of them is an illustration. Gebhart’s co-religionists may appreciate the poem’s message, but it fails to impress as either a work of poetry or a published product.

A clumsy Christian poem accompanied by stock photographs.